At the union's annual meeting last night, board chairman Keith Cooper outlined the past year and the challenges the union faced in the next two years.
The union recorded a surplus of $18,986 for 2017 which Cooper declared as modest.
That modest surplus was forecast to continue for the next two years, and there were challenges on the horizon, he said.
The board had focused on investing in rugby development and so profit was affected by that. The board though was comfortable with that strategy.
Gate income had dropped by about a third since 2016 but that was affected by the union not hosting a Mitre 10 Cup semifinal and a final in the 2017 season, which it had done the previous year.
Cooper said the union wanted to grow its income from increasing spectator numbers at Mitre 10 Cup games. That was a simple way to grow the game.
Looking ahead, the union wanted to diversify the use of existing resources and grow the collaboration between itself and the Highlanders, DVML and the provincial unions.
Cooper believed the board had done a good job since 2012 but now was the time to step up its game both on and off the field.
There were risks on the horizon such as the funding model from New Zealand Rugby ending in 2020 and how that would impact on the provinces below.
Next year the union's profit was forecast to be about $16,000 but that depended on gate income.
With the World Cup in Japan next year, there would be just two tests in New Zealand, both staged in the North Island.
That would lessen the income for the Otago union by more than $100,000. It earns a fee from New Zealand Rugby for hosting a test at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Trust funding was also under pressure.
Cooper said it was important to keep the game relevant in this day and age.
The union also sought a 5% rise in affiliation fees for clubs but it was voted down by the clubs in a secret ballot. The fees had been introduced in 2013 and the union wanted to increase them to keep pace with inflation.
President Des Smith was due to stand down after two years in the role but, in an unprecedented move, he was re-elected to the role for another two years.
He was the only nomination.
Cooper said Smith had done a good job and had unfinished business in the role.
Nothing in the union's constitution stopped him from continuing but it had been accepted the role was for just two years.
Garry Chronican, John Latta and Cooper were returned as board members while Bob Perriam and Paul Allison were appointed to the board appointment panel.