After over 50 years as the local affiliate for the Park Ridge Park District, the Board of Directors acts as fiduciaries for the thousands of youth athletes that play under Park Ridge Football & Cheer, more formally known as Park Ridge Sports, Inc. (“PRSI”).
Our volunteer Board works diligently to provide youth sports leadership, accountability, candid discussions, transparent practices, and governance policies. Past precedents and consistent governance procedures from our Board include:
- Monthly Board meetings with a formal Agenda set by the PRSI President
- Maintain and periodically update PRSI By-Laws and other Board policies/rules
- Maintain and record PRSI Corporate Minutes at each formal Board meeting
- Annual Budget/Forecast with Board Discussion and Adoption
- Annually file an IRS Form 990 with independent CPA preparation
- Monthly Board-review of PRSI cash balances with full access to all financial statements
- Periodical post-season PRSI customer surveys with limited access due to confidentiality
- Disclose to the Park District, IRS, and/or upon written request and Board approval:
- PRSI’s four most recently filed annual returns with the IRS
- Application for tax-exemption and financial-related correspondence
- Board meeting minutes with some redactions as necessary
Fiduciary Responsibility
The Board collectively, and directors individually, owe fiduciary duties to the PRSI when they serve as members and directors. Basically, PRSI members and directors have a duty to act with care and in the best interest or good faith of the 501(c)(3) organization and remain loyal to its stated mission.
A Board member that properly exercises his or her fiduciary duties should always use his or her best business judgment and avoid any appearances of a personal conflict of interest as such.
There are 7 key distinct differences between for-profit vs nonprofit structures relative to PRSI:
- Mission – PRSI focuses on activities that benefit our local community’s youth athletes.
- Public Ownership – No person owns shares of PRSI’s corporation or interests in our property.
- Income – Any income generated (Revenues – Expenses) is recycled back into PRSI’s public benefit mission and trust. PRSI uses cash-basis accounting, so equipment and other tangible operational investments can create volatility swings in addition to their mismatched timing.
- Volunteers – PRSI Board volunteers donate time, money, and staffing to execute the mission and fulfills its purpose. Board members do not act as individuals but serve the group.
- Accountability – PRSI is accountable to the public and must file returns with federal and state governments. The community always comes first, and personal motives come later; the opposite for most privately held corporations driven for-profit to generate wealth for their owners.
- Culture – PRSI values the contributions of its volunteer members and how much can contribute even beyond the daily schedule of work. Our volunteers do their best to help other people.
- Funding – PRSI generates revenues from football and cheer programs, often exceeding expenses, to remain viable. Private donations of time and money are the second-largest source of financial support, followed significantly by corporate sponsorships across our 50-year history.
