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CHAPTER FIFTEEN CLUB FINANCES We are a not for profit corporation. Our Club is organized as a Kansas non-profit corporation. Each year, around May 1, we prepare a budget for the upcoming year. The budget is premised on having a “zero balance” at the end of year – i.e., no profit. Scholarships. Like many clubs, both for profit and not for profit, our club offers scholarships. Outside of coaches’ compensation, scholarships are our largest single expense item. It is the policy of the Club that no player should be denied the opportunity to play for a team in the Club because of personal finances. The Club will make scholarships available to deserving players based on financial need only. A team manager should make requests for Club scholarships to the Executive Director. The Executive Director will review each application and make a recommendation and may, in his sole discretion, condition a scholarship grant on the performance of work by the player or his parents/guardians for the benefit of the Club. All financial information received by the Club and used in making any scholarship grant, including the recipients of any Scholarships, shall remain confidential. Open Records. Our books and records, with the exception of the amounts paid by specific members, are always open for inspection by our members and the public. Have a question? We will send you the spreadsheets. We believe that secrets are corrosive and eat away at the trust and confidence essential in an organization like our Club. As a result, we have no secrets when it comes to money. Deficits. Our Club ordinarily runs a loss every year. This is due to our commitment to scholarship players and because we set a fixed fee in August for our members and absorb the risk of cost increases. We have, however, never failed to pay our bills or run into a cash shortage. Generous members have covered the difference between income and expenses in every year. If you would like to contribute to the Club, please contact the Executive Director. Fixed Fees. We charge a fixed fee. The fee is broken into an up-front charge ($300 for 2007-2008) and a monthly component ($100 a month for ten months starting July 1, with the last payment due April 1. for 2007-2008). We moved to a fixed fee three years ago to help our parents in budgeting and paying their fees. You know the costs ahead of time and that you are not obligated for more. Optional Fees. The fixed fee covers all outdoor leagues fees, player registration, coaches’ fees, selected tournaments, coaches’ travel expenses to approved tournaments, coaches’ education fees, equipment, practice field rental, friendlies, administrative fees (web page hosting, postage, etc.), and one indoor winter session. It does not cover uniform cost, extra tournaments, indoor practice field rental, or a second indoor winter session. Teams may elected to do these additional activities, but they are optional and only charged to the players who participate. Uniforms. The Club is in the second year of a three-year Agreement with Adidas and Soccer Master. As part of our Agreement, we have received a discount on the purchase of uniforms and apparel. We pass this discount on directly to our members. We only require that our members purchase two jerseys, shorts and socks, the price of which currently totals about $82. Parents and players who wish may purchase additional apparel, such as warmups, coats, and equipment bags at a similar discount. Sample Budgets for teams. The following is a sample budget for a U8 to U10 team for the year 2007-2008. The Budget assumes a maximum roster size of 10 players, each paying $1,300 per year:
As teams age certain expenses increase. For example, the costs for tournaments increase almost ten fold from a U8 to a high school aged team. This is due to the greater number of tournaments enters, entry fees that are almost double and because we cover the coaches travel expenses for the out of town tournaments. Coaching fees also, increase for the coach has more practices and is required to travel away from home more. To help our families we have decided even at the high school age to collect fees over seven months. The next budget is for a high school age team with 16 players, each paying $1,300 per year:
These budgets are tools we use to manage the Club. They are not rigid guidelines such that we spend money just to zero the budget. We expect some teams to go over budget in some items and others to be under budget. One of the great advantages of a club is that the risks of expenses are spread over many teams. The State Soccer Association requires that our coaches involved with State Cup have a minimum USSF license. We pay the costs incurred by our coaches to obtain their license. The cost to obtain a National “C” or “B” license – course fee, hotel, means, and travel – can easily exceed $3000. By spreading this cost over many teams and sending a few coaches each year we reduce the exposure of this and other similar costs to our members. |