X-Message-Number: 1755
From: 
Subject: CRYONICS  Cash flow concerns
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 93 10:53:13 PST

Recently the Alcor board has been nearly paralyzed because of 
perceived concerns they think the membership might have over how Alcor 
copes with cash flow problems over the next few years.  (This is one 
of those problems which come with politicizing the board.) 

Steve Bridge, Alcor's new president, was in Northern California this 
last weekend talking to the local members of Alcor about this (among 
other) problems.  Cash flow choices he outlined were:  1) raising 
dues, 2) using the former "endowment fund" to cover expected shortages 
for the next few years, 3) having the patient care fund pay something 
between what it is paying now (marginal cost) and what it would cost 
if it paid overhead as if it were a stand alone operation, or 4) some 
combination of these.  There was also discussion of longer term 
actions, such as raising the suspension minimums, and reducing the 
fraction put into the patient care fund. (In the long term, growth and 
economies of scale should make Alcor "profitable" with minor or no 
changes.) 

I asked those present (who are the most active of the 50 members 
residing in this area) if any of them cared how Alcor solved the cash 
flow problems over the next few years.  At least among the local 
members present, there was *no* concern expressed as to how the 
management/board of Alcor might deal with the problems--as long as 
they did.  I suspect this attitude is the common one, though noisy 
people sometimes make it look like there is a lot of concern over this 
level of detail. 

Any solution is going to cause *some* dissention, especially in the 
highly charged political environment, but we are going to have to do 
something--and soon.  There are a lot of Alcor members reading this 
list.  I would appreciate all those who *don't* care how Alcor solves 
cash flow problems sending Steve a note () saying 
that they support whatever choice he thinks is best. 

Keith Henson

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