In this week’s eNews

Association year-end financial review
Association Representative Program webinar
Watch past webinars on YouTube
Make sure to file Form 990 with the IRS

Association year-end financial review
With the 2011-12 season over and most outstanding payments complete, associations should be sure to complete their year-end financial review. Please remember the year-end financial review must be completed by an outside provider. Outside providers consist of anyone that is not a member of the Board of Directors or a family member. A committee can still be appointed as long as they meet the requirements stated above. In no way does this mean the association must hire a Certified Public Accountant or have to pay for the financial review if they can’t afford one.

Association Representative Program webinar
How well do your bowlers know you? Do the proprietors in your association know the directors on your board?

There is one answer to this situation: Communication! Join Regional Manager Jim Zebehazy as he guides you through the steps in creating a time-proven and effective program called the Association Representative Program. This program can be developed for associations of all sizes.

This one-on-one communication tool can improve all aspects of your association. It is designed to help build proprietor relations, improve tournament participation and, ultimately, assure that your bowlers know your association and what you do for them as members. These webinars will be held on Monday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time. If enough interest is expressed, more sessions will be added.

To register, send your name, association name and email address to jim.zebehazy@bowl.com.

Please remember that each Webinar is limited to 25 participants, so the first 25 to register for each session will be guaranteed spots.

Watch past webinars on YouTube
For those who have been unable to attend past webinars but were interested in the content, we have created a YouTube page that contains the slide deck for many of our popular Webinars including: Email in WinLABs, Association Roles and Responsibilities, as well as some others. To visit this page, please go to YouTube.com and search “USBC Webinars" or click here.

Make sure to file Form 990 with the IRS
Tax-exempt organizations are required to annually file some form of 990 with the Internal Revenue Service. The form must be filed every year after August 1 and before December 15.

Any organization that doesn’t file a form 990 and loses its tax exemption will be required to pay fines to the IRS as well as fill out a 24-page document to regain its exemption. Failure to complete this paperwork could lead to the association’s charter being revoked.

Any association with gross income of less than $50,000 per year can file the e-postcard (990-N). The e-postcard can be found on IRS.gov or by clicking here. Associations will need eight items of basic information about the organization:

Employer identification number (EIN)
Tax year
Legal name and mailing address
Any other names the organization uses
Name and address of a principal officer
Website address if the organization has one
Confirmation the organization’s annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less
If applicable, a statement that the organization has terminated or is terminating (going out of business)

If any association needs its Employer Identification Number, please send an email to mike.donahue@bowl.com requesting this information.

Are you a new association manager or can’t remember how you filed last year? The IRS has created a quick-start guide and a technical support line for tax-exempt organizations having trouble filing their 990N (e-postcard). To access these support pages, please click here.