Association eNews: May 24, 2012

In this week's e-News

Association Facebook group
2012-13 supply orders
IBC holiday closure
Form 990 with the IRS
New USBC Youth jersey
Association websites
Webinars
College bowling on TV

Association Leaders Facebook group
For those that may have missed last week’s eNews, we invited all association officials to join a Facebook group designed for you to discuss operations and best practices for bowling associations. The group has nearly tripled in members with 179 officials joining in the last week alone. Some great discussion has taken place, with topics including recruiting and retaining membership, attendance at league officer meetings and successful association newsletters.

All association officials are encouraged to join this group and participate in discussions. To join, please click here. Once on the group page, go to the top right and select “Join Group”. Please note you must be signed into Facebook prior to requesting access to the group. Feel free to pass along the group page address to your board:

www.facebook.com/groups/usbcassociations

Summer supply orders
Associations can start ordering supplies for the fall season starting June 5; all orders placed online beginning June 5 will contain supplies for the 2012-13 season. The eNews from last week stated that next season's supply orders would go live on June 4. After further research, we found that we will need extra time to prepare for the new season.

Any orders needed for the 2011-12 season should be placed online no later than June 3. Should the need arise for 2011-12 supplies after June 3, associations will need to call the Bowling Information Center at 1-800-514-2695.

Once an order is placed for the 2012-13 season, the association will receive an estimated ship date (when the order will ship from USBC Headquarters; not a shipment arrival date).

For those associations that did not attend the 2012 USBC Convention, Executive Director Stu Upson announced we no longer will award magnets after this season and will have a new award available for special achievements. Associations with a surplus of magnets may be able to contact associations nearby and see if they have a need for any additional magnets.

International Bowling Campus closing
The IBC will be closed Monday, May 28, for the Memorial Day holiday and will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 29.

Associations as “agents” for form 990
USBC local associations fall into the category of “agents” as defined by the IRS in the “General Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ.” As an agent, dues money collected on behalf of the national and state organizations should not be included in the association’s gross receipts.

The appropriate form to file is based on the association’s annual gross receipts. The form to file for the 2010 Tax Year and later (filed in 2011 and later):
990-N – Gross receipts normally less than $50,000.
990-EZ or 990 – Gross receipts greater than $50,000, less than $200,000, and Total assets less than $500,000
990 – Gross receipts greater than $200,000, or total assets greater than $500,000

Please be sure to remember this as the next tax filing approaches.

USBCYouthJersey2012New USBC Youth jersey
USBC Youth members had a chance to help decide the style of jersey they will sport on the lanes for the 2012-13 season, and soon they will add the new look to their collection.

The USBC Youth jersey is one of the benefits for USBC Youth Standard members. The latest version of the popular jersey will be sent to youth bowlers who purchased their membership through leagues that began after March 15, 2012.

This is the third design of the jersey, but this time around USBC Youth members were able to help select the style. The youth members were sent a survey that featured several design options and voters overwhelmingly selected the design that is predominately black and white, with red highlighting the USBC Youth "star" logo on the athletic jersey.

Adult Leaders and others can go to USBCSportStore.com to purchase their jerseys.


Association websites
Associations that have websites should be sure to enter their web address into WinLABs and transmit to USBC Headquarters. By sending the information to us, the website shows up on the “Find an Association” tool of BOWL.com and members can find it that way.

Please be sure when entering the website to use the “www.” format and remove the http:// part of the address (format should be www.associationame.com). Any associations that already have sent their information to us should be sure to remove this part of the website as well.

Upcoming webinars
Hosted by USBC Regional Manager George Lambert, the Association Development team will conduct another series of webinars aimed at helping local associations increase their awareness of programs and tools provided to them by USBC Headquarters. The schedule and titles of the webinars (all times Eastern):
Tuesday, May 29
3 p.m. – Association roles and responsibilities
8 p.m. – QR Codes: What they are and their functions
Wednesday, May 30
Noon – QR Codes: What they are and their functions
8 p.m. – Association roles and responsibilities
Monday, June 4
Noon - Using Email in WinLABS

To register for any webinar, please send an email with your name, association name and number, email address, phone number and the webinar in which you would like to participate to george.lambert@bowl.com. Classes are limited to 25 participants, so please register early. Registration ends 48 hours before the webinar is conducted. After registering, we will send you sign-on instructions.

Collegiate bowling on TV

Remember to tune in to the men’s title match of the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships on Friday, May 25 at 10 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network. To find out the CBS Sports Network channel in your area, please click here.