Introduction and Report Purposes

 

The American Checker Federation (ACF), established in 1948, is a registered 501(c)7 nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Ohio. Its purpose is to organize and promote professional checkers matches and tournaments in the United States, in cooperation with state and international checkers federations. The ACF is a charter member of the World Checkers and Draughts Federation (WCDF), which is in turn a member of the Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames (FMJD, the World Draughts Federation). Full ACF members receive a number of benefits, including an official rating, bimonthly issues of the ACF Bulletin, voting rights in ACF elections, and participation in a small but vibrant community of other checkers enthusiasts.

 

As specified in its Constitution, available online at  http://www.usacheckers.com/acfconstitution.php, the ACF is governed by an Executive Committee comprised of the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Player Representative. For the term ending in March 2013, the ACF President is Alan Millhone, and the Player Representative is Richard Beckwith. Kim Willis served as Secretary and Treasurer until mid-2012, when she had to resign due to health problems. John Acker is serving as Interim Treasurer, and the office of Secretary is vacant until the February 2013 election. The Executive Committee is assisted by two Vice Presidents (currently John Webster and Ken Millhone) and nine District Managers.  Jason Solan serves as the ACF webmaster, and Jim Loy is our Bulletin Editor. None of the ACF officers draw a salary, but certain ACF-related expenses (for instance, tournament equipment) may be reimbursed.

 

This financial report has two primary purposes. First, it meets the legal requirements for nonprofit organizations to release their financial data at least every two years. A copy of this report will be made available online, and a condensed version distributed in the February 2013 ACF Bulletin. Second, and more importantly, this report is a good-faith attempt to regain the trust of current and former ACF members, and to improve the ACF’s professionalism and financial transparency. For the past several years, the ACF’s accounting practices have been inconsistent at best, and while there is no evidence of financial mismanagement of ACF funds, many checker players have been rightly angered at the lack of information. On behalf of the ACF leadership, I apologize for these shortcomings.

 

The remainder of this report contains the latest and most accurate information available about the ACF’s income, expenses, and account balances.  Unfortunately, full information on the ACF’s discretionary spending and reimbursements is not yet available, but I have requested it from our former treasurer. If and when that information becomes available, this report will be updated to include it. Should you have any questions about the information given in this report, please contact me at  acker.jt@gmail.com. Thank you for your attention.

 

ACF Account Balances

 

The ACF manages several accounts, though we hope to streamline them in the near future. Here are the most recent account balances available. For the Oldbury, 200 Club, and Gene Lindsay funds, the ACF may only use the interest in most cases, so the principal remains constant. These ACF Funds were placed with specific purposes (at donor's wishes) for the interest earned; the principals do not represent spendable cash. The Oldbury fund supports the GAYP National Top 5 places and the GAYP World Title Match when an American competes.  The 200 Club fund supports the 3-Move National and the 3-Move World Title Match when an American competes. The Lindsay Fund Supports 3-Move ACF National Masters Division and International Matches.

 

Accounts:	Balance	Purpose
PNC	$1,524.66	Operating expenses, incl. $1,282.86 from youth fund
Wachovia	$5,469.08	Store proceeds
Oldbury Fund	$101,146.01	GAYP matches and GAYP Nationals
200 Club Fund	$85,359.21	3-Move matches and 3-Move Nationals
Gene Lindsay Fund	$291,670.91	3-Move Nationals, mostly Masters Division
Total of above 5 accounts	$485,169.87

ACF Income

The ACF’s income sources can be divided into four categories: membership fees, book and equipment sales, private donations, and endowments. Each ACF-rated tournament also collects its own entry fees, but as 100% of those fees are returned to the prize fund they are not detailed in this report.  Prize reports for individual tournaments are available from their respective tournament directors, and are often also published on JR Smith’s excellent website,  http://www.nccheckers.org.

 

Since three of these categories depend on supply and demand, e.g. the number of checkerboards sold in a year, it’s difficult to predict precisely how much money they will generate. The fourth category, endowments, generates a more predictable rate of income, since most of the endowment terms specify that the principal (as opposed to the interest) may only be used under very specific conditions. Overall, however, the ACF is financially solvent, and the leadership does not anticipate any serious shortfalls in terms of the organization’s regular expenses.

 

Membership Fees

 

As of this date, a full membership costs $40/year for members in the United States, $45 for those in Canada, and $50 for overseas members.  Members outside the US may join at the $40 rate with an emailed bulletin (which has the same contents as the printed bulletin), as the extra fees are only to cover the extra international shipping costs. The ACF also offers junior memberships (for players under age 18) and associate memberships (for players who wish to try out tournament play) for $15/year, as detailed on http://www.usacheckers.com/jointheacf.php. Finally, a player may invest in a Life Membership for $515, which exempts him or her from annual membership dues and entitles him or her to a free copies of annotated games from our National Tournaments.

 

At the time of this writing, the ACF has 237 paid members. Of those, 117 are Life Members, meaning that the remaining 120 supply membership dues. At this time precise information on dues payments for 2012 is not available. However, based on current membership levels and player distribution, we anticipate $4,985.00 in 2013 membership income:

 

Overseas: 16 @ $50 = $800

Canada: 5 @ $45 = $225

US: 99 @ $40 = $3,960

 Book and Equipment Sales

 

The ACF maintains a modest inventory of checkers books and equipment (official boards and pieces) for sale in its online store (http://www.usacheckers.com/store/) and at tournaments. Proceeds from these sales go toward the ACF’s operating expenses, including bulletin printing and match/tournament donations. The specific income varies by sales volume, and the current store account balance is approximately $5,500.