CPU Board Updates
Board Meetings
All CPU Board meetings are open to the public, and occur monthly on the second Thursday of the month from 6:30pm-8:00pm at the PHUL/CPU Office in Lawrenceville. Letter from the Board This month, the Board has a couple of very important announcements: As you know, the Community for Pittsburgh Ultimate ('CPU') is a 501(3)c non-profit. This status has been a huge boon to our organization, giving us the best chance to grow Ultimate in Western Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this status is in jeopardy. Because we are a 501(3)c non-profit, we are required to provide several reports to the government each year. For the past two years, these reports were not filed. If a non-profit fails to report three years in a row, the organization is at risk of several penalties, including loss of 501(3)c status. This Board is committed to making sure this paperwork is filed for 2011. While determining what needed to be done, several key problems in our organization became apparent: - Our financial record keeping is sometimes incomplete
- Oversight over the finances is poor, opening CPU up to potential fraud.
- Shared costs across leagues and events are currently being spent out of the CPU's savings and not accounted for in league, event, or program revenues
In order to ensure that these problems are solved for good, the Board has made several difficult, but important decisions. Starting in 2012, the CPU will be hiring an accounting firm, bookkeeper or bookkeeping service and treasurer. We are currently vetting accounting firms, considering bookkeeping options and interviewing for the open treasurer position. These services will standardize our financial processes and file our paperwork for us. Believe it or not, but the CPU regularly handles over $100,000 in revenue each year - so these are not small tasks! While these services are necessary, they are not free. Given the fact that we already are spending out of savings for shared expenses, the Board felt it was important to determine a way to fairly pay for these shared expenses. We considered several different options, but ultimately decided that we will be instituting a yearly CPU Membership fee. This fee will be required for all participants of CPU events and will be required starting with this year's summer league. You will only need to purchase a membership once per calendar year, so if you wanted to play in multiple leagues during that calendar year, you'll only need one membership to participate in both events. For 2012, the membership fee will be $5. A membership will also enable you to vote in CPU elections, something which has often been hazy in the past of who is actually eligible, and allow the Board to explore other opportunities for members - like CPU insurance, facilities and more. As always, we look forward to your feedback, concerns and questions. This was a difficult decision, but one the Board feels is in the best interest of our organization. See you on the fields! Justin Burdett Vice President, CPU Board |