Virtual United Airlines Stock Purchase Program 2022

[UAL903 Gary Price]

The ongoing operation of Virtual United Airlines (VUAL) requires a significant financial commitment. Web hosting, DNS services, cPanel, data backup, schedules, etc. are all provided by various suppliers, who invoice us monthly to ensure ongoing service.

Historically, the CEO and other volunteers at VUAL have “stepped up” to pay for the ongoing operating costs. The staff and pilots greatly appreciate the contributions these members have made over the years to ensure a strong foundation for VUAL to grow and thrive, and allow us to enjoy our hobby.

Starting in 2015, the VUAL Executive Management implemented the Stock Purchase Program. The last round of fundraising kicked-off in December, 2019, before the COVID pandemic and the amounts raised lasted 2 years! As we begin to near our reserve funding amounts, its time to kick off the 2022 campaign.

Once again, this year, in order to reduce the financial burden on a few and to provide an opportunity for staff and pilots who would like to donate, the management is offering a “stock purchase option” to all staff and pilots. VUAL management recognizes that we are a group of hobbyists, from various backgrounds, and at various stages of our lives. It cannot be emphasized enough, a staff member or pilot’s decision to donate to VUAL is 100% voluntary, and will have no impact on that person’s standing within VUAL.

I have discussed with Garfield and Justin our required budget figures for 2022. The estimated cost to keep all our services “up and running” at VUAL for the next 12 months (April 2022 – March 2023) is approximately $600. This will cover all monthly operations costs ($400), schedule updates ($100), and a reserve fund ($100). Note, with the launch of the new site last May, we have reduced our hosting cost by $6/month, and switched from Teamspeak to Discord, saving an additional $80/yr. Thanks to the generosity of our staff and pilots we usually have a very healthy reserve fund.

How it works:

1. The VP-IT will provide a yearly “budget request” to VUAL upper management – COO and CEO.
a. The IT budget will include all the monthly recurring costs, any improvement/project costs, and a reasonable “emergency reserve” for items such as additional bandwidth, hosting space, backup, etc.
b. Any proposed spending of VUAL's funds must be approved by all members of VUAL upper management. This “checks and balances” will ensure the funds are being used exclusively for the operations of VUAL and no other purpose.
c. The budget and expenditures will be reviewed at each VUAL staff meeting. The transaction information will be completely transparent to the staff.

2. Once the budget is approved by CEO, COO, VP-IT, a “stock offering” will be made to the staff and pilots at VUAL. Each “stock” will be offered in the amount of $10.
a. Donations will be collected via a dedicated PayPal account.
b. The account information is "VUAL-stock@virtualunitedairlines.org".
c. There is a “donate” button on the VUAL home page linking to the account.
d. VUAL upper management will be responsible to monitor and track all donations. CEO, COO and VP-IT have access to the PayPal account.
e. Donations will be collected via a “donate” button on the VUAL home page

3. The option to donate will remain open year-round.

4. If funds are unused during the course of a year, the amount of stock sold for the future year may be adjusted to accommodate the surplus. VUAL has no intention to carry a surplus balance year-to-year above and beyond any emergency or project funds (that have been already approved my upper management)

5. Terms and conditions
a. VUAL is a non-profit group of Flight Simulator hobbyists.
b. The purchase of stocks is 100% voluntary. Staff and pilots are not required to purchase stocks to be a member of VUAL.
c. VUAL upper management (CEO, COO, VP-IT) will maintain the list of active “stock holders” in VUAL. The list will not be made public.
i. Each stockholder will receive a confirmation that their funds were received
d. Any pilot or staff who purchases stock will not receive and “special treatment” or “consideration” for staff positions or any other matter. Conversely no donations by staff and/or pilots will have no bearing on their status.

The management team at VUAL hopes that this stock purchase option eliminates financial burden on a few, and spreads the operating costs among many of our dedicated staff and pilots. Not only will this program provide a more stable financial foundation our IT team’s activities, it will allow them to more effectively plan for future enhancements.

Finally, we also hope that this program provides the many staff and pilots who have asked for an opportunity to donate to VUAL in order to help us offset the costs, a feeling of “ownership” in VUAL.

On behalf of the staff and all the pilots at Virtual United Airlines, I would like to thank everyone for their consideration of this program. Thank you for your continued dedication and support of Virtual United Airlines.