Discussion: USA Junior Team Donations

QOC has issued a challenge to all clubs within OUSA. They will match any Club donation to the Junior Team up to $500 and this is in addition to a $1000 donation to be split between the Senior and Junior teams. The only stipulation is that the donation has to be made to the Junior Team by a club and before the beginning of JWOC 2011 and that is July 1, 2011. So if your club has been thinking about making a donation to the Junior team I would really encourage you to do it now so that the Junior Team can benefit two fold with the matching of your funds by QOC.

Thank You all

USA Junior Team

That is great. Nice job QOC!

If non-US clubs want to get in on the action, that's fine too.

Just to be clear though, we're offering to match the combined new donations of other clubs up to a maximum of $500, not an unlimited number of donations of $500 or less.

Also, the terms are the same for the WOC team except they have until WOC begins to gather $500 for us to match.

So, exactly how does a club go about making the donation so that it qualifies?

As far as I'm concerned, if the club hasn't made the donation yet and they make it before JWOC starts, it qualifies.

Well done QOC, leading the club effort to fund the Junior and Senior teams! I am working to persuade the NEOC Board to make a donation to both teams in light of this campaign, and I would encourage all clubs to make whatever donation they can to fund the elite teams.

While I applaud the club effort to keep the teams funded, I would like to register my dissatisfaction with existing OUSA policy to not fund the teams from the general operating fund. The federation should be funding the teams; the teams shouldn't have to rely on fundraising and donations. I hope that is rectified in the near future in OUSA budgets.

I guess what I met was-- who is the check made out to,where is it sent and what sort of notation needs to go with it. I know I can figure this out on my own but it wouldn't hurt to post it here so every club doesn't have to figure it out seperately.

Write checks to Orienteering USA and put US team (whichever) in the notation. Jon can tell you whether to send to QOC for accounting, or directly to director of accounting:

Robin Shannonhouse
PO Box 1444
Forest Park, GA 30298

Please don't send checks to QOC but sure, send me email saying your club is making a donation. Tell Janet and/or Lex while you're at it. Optimistically, the sooner I find out other clubs are giving both the senior and junior teams $500, the sooner I tell our treasurer to cut our check.

jtorranc - could you enumerate QOC's reasoning in this venture? Why is QOC willing to allocate $2000 to the US teams?

Arguably, no, since I didn't require everyone to give their reasons when they voted and the decision wasn't controversial enough to generate much debate. For my part, the teams are representing US orienteering, including us and one of their purposes vis-a-vis the orienteering masses is aspirational/inspirational. We're part of OUSA and one of the larger parts going by memberships and starts, therefore cash flow (and we don't, sadly, have vast amounts of great new terrain in need of professional mapping). Ken Walker Jr. being on the WOC team may have been a factor for some people, though I don't think it was a crucial one.

One post suggested that the O-USA Board is not funding the teams out of the general fund. If you look at 2011 budget ( http://orienteeringusa.org/sites/default/files/fil... ) from the O-USA web page, you will find that there is an "income" line for the teams and an "expense" line. The difference between the "income" and "expense" is funded by the budget. Yes, there is fund raising needed but there is also other funding.

There was some confusion about how the teams were funded associated with a change in the budgeting process required by auditors and the IRS. This change occurred with the present budgeting cycle. However, the support for the teams continues.

Another point, I think that what QOC is doing for the teams is great! I hope other clubs step up to the plate.

Hey, Peter - I hope I didn't misstate the situation, and my apologies if I did. My understanding was that the expenses for the US Teams not covered by donations and fund-raising are funded from the Team and Junior Team fund, and that the OUSA Board has not transferred any funds in the past year to the Team funds from the operating fund. Put another way, the only monies going into the team fund are donations and fund-raising. Am I mistaken?

Ian, you are not mistaken. I want to be very clear about this. USOF has NOT, in fact, allocated any funds for the teams in the past 2 years, and not for 2011 either. The numbers quoted in the budget are misleading due to the change in the funds structure that Peter described.

If you just read the numbers straight up you see that the estimated expenditures for the team in 2011 total $16,300 and the estimated income (from donations and fundraising) are $10,500. The casual observer might think that this means OUSA will be funding the Sr. team to the tune of ~$6000. This is not the case. OUSA will be giving the team(s) $0 in 2011, just like the past 2 years. The fact is that all of the Sr team funding in 2011 will come from donations and fund raising. The difference is made up by the carryover in the team's account from the previous years. That is, we had some money in the old "Team Fund" at the beginning of 2011 and it is THAT money that will make up the difference seen here. That money DID NOT come from the OUSA general fund. It was prior donations and fund raising - existing team-dedicated funds. It only looks like it is coming from the general fund due to the accounting change.

This is exactly what I was worried would happen when the wording of the transition from the old funds structure to the new was set up. I brought this point up again and again at the board meetings last summer and last fall. Do NOT be mislead into the false sense that OUSA is giving the teams any money in 2011. It is not.

In subsequent years, the board can (if it so chooses) allocate money from the general fund to the teams, but the stipulation is that team expenditures must use any team-dedicated funds *first* before using any of that designated money from the general fund. If the dedicated funds are not used up, any BOD designated funds revert back (so-to-speak, since it never actually left) to the general fund. Money will no longer be granted directly to the teams to carry over from year-to-year as it had been in the past. This year is a bit of a transition year. Don't expect to see any money from the general fund going to the teams in 2011, and at least 2012. OUSA is broke and the teams have to continue self-funding for the foreseeable future.

Thanks, Eddie. I refer to my original remark, that while the effort by clubs to fund the elite teams is commendable, it is necessary because OUSA is neglecting what I consider to be a paramount responsibility. That this decision has been made in the interest of a broad strategy on the part of OUSA does not supercede the implicit obligation of OUSA to support the teams.

To be clear, then, does donating money to the US team via OUSA make any difference to the team? Would the team get the money anyway from OUSA?

As I understand it, if you donate to OUSA and specify a team fund on your check (Senior, Junior, Ski, Trail -- I think these are the only ones at this time), the money will go to that team and not be used for General Fund purposes.

If you designate a donation to the team via OUSA, the team will get that donation. OUSA cannot appropriate designated funds.

But, OUSA is not funding the team from its revenues.

This year, no. If the team didn't come up with the money itself (via donations) it would have no money.

The issue of the new accounting structure serving as a dis-incentive to donations and fund-raising came up at the summer BOD meeting in Spokane. It also makes it much harder for the team to make any long-term (longer than a year) financial planning, since there is no guarantee that any OUSA-designated money (if there was any) will still be there when the team actually needs to spend it.

For the foreseeable future this isn't an issue, since there is no money from OUSA for the teams to worry about. So donating money to the team via OUSA (by designating those funds specifically for the team) makes *all* the difference.

Are there plans to have on-line donation any time soon? With the ability to designate particular funds?

One comment about the "team money" is that the board had added money to the team funds in the past and donations had also come in to the teams. That "pot" of money, as I understand it and I may be wrong, was a combination of funds. Yes, it was designated for the team but some of it was what the board had given in previous years. I will also suggest that the board discussions have been clear on continuing to fund the teams at the present rate. Yes, there will be need for fund raising but the money from the board will not go away.

There is no money from the board to go away. No money has been transferred to the Team Fund from the general fund since the ED was hired 2 years ago. We've sent 2 teams to WOC in the interim, spending approx $25k in the process. If any of that older board designated money is still in the pot its in vapor form. Since the present rate of funding from OUSA is zero, it shouldn't be too much of a strain to continue that well into the future.

Well, that clears that up... ummm...

But this shouldn't be a battle between the board and the team. OUSA should be able to fund both ED and team, and if not, the clubs had better look at their funding models and get a strategy for growth in place.

Neil--you are a refreshing breath of fresh air... a man unbesmirched by these battles.

You have a lovely notion. If only it was so.

A strategy for growth was put in place a year ago, after about 6 months in development. Its called the Strategic Plan.

That's national. Does each club have one?

What Eddie is stating about the Senior team is also very true for the Junior team. We have not gotten any funds from the Board for either 2010 or 2011 JWOC , I can't remember about 2009 for sure but I don't think we got any funds then either. Last year and this year the parents for the Juniors going to JWOC have had to put up about $200 to cover a part of the expenses for the week of the training camp before JWOC. Last year it cover the food expense for the week of the training camp and this year is covers the Rental van and gas for it as the lodging and food were all one price. The parents also have to buy the airfare for their Junior but that is the way it has always been as far as I know.

I was very glad that the Junior team Fund had a good carry forward balance from last year as our fundraising effort this past spring were not as productive as last year's partly because there were not as many A events this spring. We really have to work hard at the convention this summer and the fall A events to build the Junior team fund back up or next year's JWOC could be a really problem.

So when you see something about a Team fundraiser please remember how much the Teams depend on the success of them and how much we need and appreciate your very generous donations to the Teams. If you or your club has an idea for a team fundraiser please let the team know and I'm sure that we can work something out that will be a success for all envolved.

I beg to differ on the funding. Looking back at the past three years, there have been fund transfers every year. The problem is that in the past year, the accounting methods have changed as required by auditors and the IRS. There are no fund transfers to teams because now there are just line items. Looking back at budgets from years before the accounting change, there were fund transfers to the teams. The Junior Team budget, for instance, is much larger than the money that has been or is forecast to be raised this year. This must mean that the board is subsidizing the team.

I believe that in the future, the board will support the teams. They will still have to fund raise because we are not, yet, in a situation where we can support them completely. The teams are an important part of O-USA and their support is important to orienteering in the United States. Perhaps, every member of O-USA should be required to buy a lottery ticket with the intent to donate the winnings to O-USA. A million dollars would make everything much easier.

Once again, I thank my lucky stars that orienteeringmom has stayed on with the newly formed US Junior Team Executive Steering Committee (JTESC) as Team Administrator. I know I will not have to worry about managing the Team Fund as long as she is on board.

- JTESC Chair

Looking back at the past three years, there have been fund transfers every year.

This is false for the Sr. Team, and true for the Jr. Team. For the Sr. Team, there were $6k transfers from the Op. Fund in 2008 and 2009, $0 transfer in 2010. For the Jr. Team, $8k transfer in 2008; $2k transfers in each of 2009, 2010.

The Junior Team budget, for instance, is much larger than the money that has been or is forecast to be raised this year. This must mean that the board is subsidizing the team.

According to my best understanding of both accounting and the English grammar, the correct statement would be The Board has subsidized the team.

Thanks for that clarification Vladimir. That is how I understand things, as well.

The accounting is fairly straightforward; the semantics are not.

The bottom line as I see it from my humble viewpoint is there is generally a lack of money to do everything we want to do. A decision was taken 2 years ago that we show hire an EC to help grow the sport in the USA. It required some compromises, the teams being one. If you look at fund-raising opportunities and going after sponsorships, it is propbaly easier to riase money for the teams which have specific fund raising time periods.
Having had my daughter participate in JWOC the last 3 years I fully understand the pressure this puts on us to raise funds - Janet has done a tremendous job for the juniors and the pressure is on us all to help refill the coffers for next year. Ditto for all the other teams.
The sport in the USA doesn't grow overnight - a strategic was developed and is in progress. I would be interested to see where we stand relative to where we planned in the proposed plan timeline. Are we attracting more participants - have we increased our revenue and sponsorships - what are we all doing to help this effort?

Just to bring this back onto everyone's radar:
So, were there significant club donations to the teams? Was there enough for QOC to make a matching check for the full $500? And does a donation made today still qualify as "by July 1"?

It would but there's no hurry on our account if you're still thinking of making a donation - QOC's offered additional donation has already been fully matched for both teams.