On behalf of the INS Board of Directors, I am pleased to submit INS' financial statement for the year ending December 31, 2017.
2017 proved to be financially challenging for INS, as both the health care and association landscapes continued to transform. Technology and demand for value are just 2 of the trends that are affecting both landscapes. A 2015 Deloitte report1 spoke to these trends and others that are challenging the ways in which health care is delivered, but also paving the way for new opportunities. Associations continue to transform by looking beyond the traditional membership-driven model and examining ways to engage a new generation of constituents. INS has adopted this philosophy, and we are actively incorporating it into our business model, fully understanding that there will be some challenges along the way.
INS revenues dropped by 16% in 2017, coming in at $2,857,598, while expenses increased by 2%, totaling $3,351,768. This left an operating loss of $494,170 (Figure 1). A review of each of our business segments follows.
After an 8% increase in membership in 2016, we experienced an 11% decrease in membership in 2017, leaving us with a year-end membership number of 6151. The trends we have seen developing over the last few years have continued. There is less emphasis on the traditional method of joining and automatically renewing one's membership each year. Today's trends lean more toward a membership opting in and out as they look to satisfy specific needs at specific times. As a result, we continue to build member benefits and resources to meet those changing needs.
We continue to get rave reviews about the educational content delivered through our meetings. This segment also continues to generate the highest level of revenue of all our business segments. In 2017, revenue from this segment was $1,197,179 and our overall profit came in at $552,425. However, we understand that this model is changing as well. We understand that face-to-face meetings are competing with online offerings that bring education directly to participants. We also understand that we are competing for people's time, which is becoming more and more valuable. This is one of the reasons we continue to expand the offerings in the INS LEARNING CENTER. These additional educational offerings, an expansion of our Virtual Infusion Education programming, and the ability for CRNI(R)s to use these offerings as a means to recertify, have made the LEARNING CENTER a valuable business segment for INS. Revenue for infusion education services, of which the LEARNING CENTER is a part, generated a total profit of $288,492.
Publications revenue is spearheaded by sales of the Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice and several versions of Policies and Procedures for Infusion Therapy. While revenue came in at $784,008, it was down significantly (30%) from 2016 when revised editions of all these resources were published. Also, the Journal of Infusion Nursing, which experienced record ads, permissions, and reprints revenue in 2016 ($1,115,221), saw those revenues drop in 2017 ($902,953), contributing to the overall decrease in revenue for this segment.
As we turn to the expenses part of the ledger, it is important to point out that we continue to work at containing expenses, especially in light of the reduction in revenues. As we have mentioned in previous reports, keeping expenses down as much as possible, while still bringing benefit to our members and constituents, can be a challenging endeavor, but it is one that we take quite seriously.
Infusion certification remains a vital component of INS' mission, and as such we continue to financially support it through a grant to INCC in the amount of $144,000.
Lastly, an independent accounting firm audited INS financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2017, in accordance with auditing standards. In its opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of INS.
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