Travel ball program advice

Are you a non-profit or a for profit business?  If non-profit everything should be shared with them.  The programs I have been involved in in the past would provide the parents the financials once a year.

If you are a privately held for profit business, its none of their business.  Unless your a publicly traded company you do not need to disclose that information.

I did the finances for a non-profit team for many years.  At the beginning of the year parent's meeting would hand out our budget for the coming season which listed all major expenditures: coaches salaries, tournament fees, uniforms, umpires, insurance, facility/field rental fees, etc.  Thought it was best to be upfront where the parent's money was going and think it actually worked to our advantage.  Got many thanks from parents for keeping them informed on how money was being spent.

I've been involved in a non-profit for years. I always tell them where money goes. I also show them that the amount they pay NEVER covers our expenses, and that is why we still have to fundraise via snackstand, raffles, etc. 

Right now we have some parents complaining that our winter program costs them too much because some of them have conflicts because of basketball. No matter how many times I explain the financial side they still like to complain. If some of these parents knew how much other programs cost their heads would explode (my sons have played for our program as well as costlier clubs in the state). 

The bottom line is are the players getting a value from the fees being charged? If they are then you have no apologies to make. Good luck. 

You could just line list the expense items without stating costs.  This would at least answer their question and allow them to sort of do the math. 

Not perfect but it might at least get them to realize some of the expenses they weren't aware of and that you may not be making the killing that they think you are.

When my son played travel in HS, the team he played for the last two years was a for profit academy type team.  Here's how they did it.  They had a team parent who put together the budget for all things baseball related.  That included tournament fees, baseballs, umpire fees, uniforms etc...  They put a total amount and split it between how many kids were on the team.  Then the program charged $500 per month coaching fees.  This included coaches salaries and everything related to running the program.  I'm guessing it included mortgage payments on the property purchased for the program, administrative staff, electrical bills, water bills, field maintenance, insurance and the multitude of other things it costs to run a business.  They did not break it down from there, just let us know that it would cost $500 per month plus expenses for the team for that season.  Hope that helps.

FYI, just reread the entire thing and saw that you are a for profit business...

IMO, if its a for profit business there is no need to show them the financials.  Do they ask to see the financials at their local barber to make sure they are paying what they want to pay?  Unless its a publicly traded company there is no need to share this info with them.  Its a free economy and if they are not happy with the fees they can shop around for something that better fits their financial situation.  

That said, is the program up front with them that its a for profit business?  Or have they been lead to believe they are playing for a non-profit business?  If this is a case you have another setup of issues.

bballman posted:

When my son played travel in HS, the team he played for the last two years was a for profit academy type team.  Here's how they did it.  They had a team parent who put together the budget for all things baseball related.  That included tournament fees, baseballs, umpire fees, uniforms etc...  They put a total amount and split it between how many kids were on the team.  Then the program charged $500 per month coaching fees.  This included coaches salaries and everything related to running the program.  I'm guessing it included mortgage payments on the property purchased for the program, administrative staff, electrical bills, water bills, field maintenance, insurance and the multitude of other things it costs to run a business.  They did not break it down from there, just let us know that it would cost $500 per month plus expenses for the team for that season.  Hope that helps.

We just finished up our travel ball experience and son's program handled it this way as well. 

Legally we are a non-profit in our state.  We have nothing to hide as no one that runs the program gets paid a dime.  We also never fully cover the costs either.  It just struck me as odd that parents would need to know what their coach is being paid.  (If they do the math, he might be getting $10 an hour.)  Which isn't enough to deal with parents but that's another story.

I coached, managed and did the finances for a travel team from 9U to 14U.  I submitted a budget to the parents before the season started that included all of our expenses and any carry over balance from the previous season.  I sent a spreadsheet every month that detailed our actual expenses.    I gave the parents the option of looking at the finances rather than waiting for them to request it.  Do you know how many financial questions (where is the money going?) I had in 6 years of travel baseball.....zero.  I did this because I wanted there to be no questions in anybody's head where the money was going.

Every year, we (the coaches) clearly stated our team goals, how we were going to get there and how much it cost.   A few times we did this in a season kickoff meeting (face to face) or held a conference call. 

If this level of transparency is not for you then I would designate a group of parents as a steering or advisory committee that oversees where the money goes.  I think this can be applied for non-profits and for-profit teams.  People want to know they are receiving a value for their money.  Profit is not a dirty word, but receiving no value for your money is a not a good situation.   Organizations have a right to keep their finances private, but I believe they also have a duty to explain to their customers where their money is going. 

As always, JMO.

Same as fenwaysouth I coached, managed, planned, and did finances for my son's 10U through 15U teams. We always had an opening meeting where we disclosed finances line by line to justify the expenses being asked for from the parents. This was done both when the team was considered "not for profit" and when the team obtained a 5013c status. We always felt it was best to be upfront and above board. 

I ran a team from through 16u. My girlfriend (CPA w/MA in Taxation) did the books. All costs were listed by line item. Rather than detail each tournament a line was tournament registration. If someone really wanted to break it down the info was available at each tournament site.

Included were lines for Team administration - $0 and Coaching - $0 just to remind the parents it's a volunteer effort. The spreadsheet was available on request. Only one mother asked the third year when costs shot up.

We were a registered NFP through AAU.

I believe the most concern arises when a player moves from "dad coached" ball with 0 administrative and coach fees to an "academy" type program where there is (expected) better coaching, practices on big fields, and possibly work outs.  The cost difference is huge and parents aren't used the the budget addition.

I have seen many parents shy away from travel ball after 12u/14u because of the additional costs.  Transparent or not, they just don't want to pay it, and when they do pay it, they want to know where the money goes.

Travel ball is a free market.  You shouldn't be worried about your competitors knowing how much you charge, you should be announcing what you charge and why you are worth it.  If I disagree then why would you want my kid anyway, I'm only going to be a headache to you.  Bottom line, if you don't tell me where my money went I will assume you pocketed it and my son won't be there next year.