Missouri’s Special Olympics is off to a rough start after a tough year. The organization has canceled most of its weekend events because of weather. The organization is coming off the toughest year President Mark Musso can remember. “It was the most difficult year since I got here in ’91 without a doubt. But it clearly is the most rewarding year because of what we were able to accomplish under the circumstances,” he says.
Musso says Special Olympics shaved expenses by about 400,000 by holding four positions open and re-scheduling several events. But nothing was canceled. In fact, some new programs were started.
He says Missouri’s Special Olympics dipped into its reserve funds last year He says the organization still has enough reserves to withstand a year twice as bad as 2009.
Other states have had some severe problems–Oregon has canceled all of its games, for example. But Musso says Missouri donors are still supportive even if some of them can’t afford to give as much as usual. He says the organization has created some new fund-raisers to soften the financial hit it took last year.
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