Town Lax Organizations

Today's youth sports organizations take on loads of responsibilities (managing people, funds, other organizations) and increased risks (vendors going out of business, misconduct or behavior).  Here are a few ideas to help manage the league activities and mitigate some of the risk. Most towns combine their boys and girls programs into one organization to leverage scale and shared activities.  Other town run them separately, while still other towns manage all youth sports under a town youth services organization.

Legal Status - Incorporate as a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization.  This allows you tax exempt status as well as the ability to raise funds through charitable donations. Key Point - if your organization does not do this, the IRS can come after your player registrations and other income streams as revenue that you will have to pay taxes on!  You still must file a tax return as a 501 (C) (3), but are not obligated to pay taxes.  You should seek the advice of Legal Counsel and a CPA to fill out and file the paper work. Here is a useful IRS document.

By-Laws - Draft (borrowing existing ones work well) by laws for your organization that describe the objectives, officers, how the organization will be governed, how often the officers will meet and how decisions will be made. Legal review of theses documents should be made before you file them with the state.
Sample table of contents:

I. Name. 1

II. Affiliations. 1

III. Mission. 1

IV. Membership. 1

Residence Requirements. 1

Voting Members. 1

Non-Voting Members. 2

V. Governing Body. 2

VI. Amendments to the Constitution. 2

VII. Provisions Required for Taxexempt Status Under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code  2

VIII. Conflict Of Interest 3

IX. By Laws

1.     BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 5

2.     ELECTIONS. 6

3.     MEETINGS. 6

4.     AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS. 7

5.     COMMITTEES. 7

6.     GENERAL.. 7

7.     ELECTED OFFICERS DUTIES. 8

8.     SELECTION OF COACHES. 11

9.     TEAM MEMBERSHIP / FINANCES. 12

Board of Directors - generally governs and manages the activities of the organization. Here is a sample list of directors and key responsibilities and are described in detail in the By Laws.

• President - the CEO of the organization with signature authority
• Vice President - Boys Program Director - coordinates and manages the league affiliations, coaches and teams for the boys division, 
• Vice President - Girls Program Director - coordinates and manages the league affiliations, coaches and teams for the girls division
• Treasurer - the CFO of the organization with signature authority. Manages all inflows and outflows of cash. Must be highly trustworthy since tens of thousands of dollars will pass through the organization.
• Secretary - manages all of the meeting scheduling, invitations, documentation, assistant the president
• Fields Director - manages and coordinates playing fields and facilities with the town, other sports organizations and 3rd parties. Manages maintenance budgets and coordinates field markings and accessibility.
• Equipment Director - manages the player equipment (if provided), goals, uniforms, balls and storage of same
• Registrar - manages the communications, setup and controls for player and team registrations
• Tournament Director - manages the enrollment of teams at tournaments, works with the registrar to collect fees, and coordinates volunteers.

Running the organization takes a dedicated board to make it all work. Most all of this activity occurs behind the scenes with little fanfare or appreciation.  It is all worth it once the season begins and the players get on the fields.

My admiration goes out to all town youth sports administrators who help grow this great game.