2016 Transparency Report

The Hickory Playground is a pending 501c3 non-profit charity company dedicated to championing the arts throughout the North Carolina community generally and the Hickory community specifically. We believe that transparency is an integral component of any charity: we are a company whose first priority is the community, and members of the community ought to be able to know exactly how the money they give to the Hickory Playground is being spent. Thus, the Hickory Playground is happy to present its financial transparency report for the 2016 season.

The Hickory Playground financial account began with a $500.00 initial deposit from co-founder Dylan Tashjian in April of 2016, which was returned in June 2016. In total, between corporate sponsors, private individual donors, and the event itself, the Hickory Playground raised $8,211.27 by the end of July 2016. Here is the breakdown of expenditures from April 2016 to 31 December 2016:

$31.00 – to Dylan Tashjian for reimbursement for EIN registration
$26.00 – Website and Domain Name
$10.45 – Stamps for Individual Donor Letters
$50.00 – Logo Design
$180.00 – Security Deposit for the SALT Block
$20.31 – Paint from Lowe’s
$75.00 – Walgreen's Gift Cards (for the talent)
$200.00 – Initial cash out for the Event (For Change, Deposited Back)
$3.00 – Online Dep. Detail
$20.35 – Stamps for Thank You Letters
$90.01 – Travel Expenses for Dylan Tashjian, 1 Dec. – 3 Dec. 2016, during which time the Hickory Playground.
$3,000 – Charitable Donation to St. Stephen’s High School’s Art Department
$3,000 – Charitable Donation to Hickory High School’s Art Department
$ 129.60 – SquareSpace website

In total, the Hickory Playground spent $6,835.72 in the year 2016, $6,000 of which was charitable donation. Thus, of our expenditures, 87.77% was charitable donation and 12.22% was for maintenance, travel, and day-of expenses.

Of all the money raised in 2016 ($8,211.27), 83.24% was spent, with 73.07% being charitable donation and 10.17% being maintenance, travel and day-of expenses. 16.75% of the money raised in 2016, or $1,375.55, was left in the account for preparation for the second annual Hickory Playground in July 2017.

Thank you for your support of the Hickory Playground. We look forward to continuing to serve this wonderful community.

Signed,

Dylan Tashjian (Artistic Director)
Robert Fuller (Multimedia Director)
Jordan Makant (Technical Director)