AVA
CHECKPOINT
 
Official Voice of the American Volkssport Association
1001 Pat Booker Road, Suite 101
Universal City, Texas 78148-4147
Phone (210) 659-2112; Fax (210) 659-1212

  Volume 15, Number 3   March 2007  
         

TAW Deadline   The deadline for the April, 2007 issue of The American Wanderer is February 25. All articles and photographs should be submitted directly to: The American Wanderer, Laurel Parrott, Editor, and 3526 Humboldt Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55412, email TAW@bhi.com  Be sure to include "TAW" in the subject line of the email. NOTE: This is a new email address.
 
IRS Q&A by Bob Wright  Have a question or comments? Send them to Bob at rcwright_va@adelphia.net  Disclaimer: Bob is not a tax professional and voluntarily spends his time to research, compile and write this column giving general guidance and advice. AVA clubs should always check with a professional when faced with an accounting or tax-related decision.
How do the new Pension Act of 2006 reporting requirements affect our club?
There are several requirements that affect your club or state association.
1. As reported in an enclosure accompanying the November 2006 Checkpoint, the AVA's tax advisor noted that beginning in 2007 charitable contributions in cash must be documented by more than a personal log. Though not necessary for checks under $250, consider sending a thank you acknowledgement for all contributions, cash and check, to show your appreciation.
2. If your club or state association has $1,000 or more in annual unrelated business gross income and files Form 990-T, you must now make those forms available for public inspection. IRS Pub 557, Chapter 2, addresses public inspections. (Since this applies to few members under the AVA's IRC 501(c)(3) group exemption, I'll spare you the details here.)
3. Beginning in 2008, exempt organizations with gross receipts under $25,000 must file an annual notice. Though no additional information is available at this time, note that this is not about filing a tax return.
You still must submit AVA Form 102C3F to AVA HQ by November 15 annually. This covers the IRS' reporting requirements for most of you under the AVA's IRC 501(c)(3) group exemption (gross receipts normally under $25,000).
To read about this directly from the IRS, insert the following into your web browser: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=161145,00.html
Note: The AVA's auditor continues to closely monitor the IRS for pertinent information to pass along to us.
Sources: EO Update 2007-1, IR-2006-192, IRS Pub 557, Enclosure to November 2006 AVA Checkpoint
 
Your Club's Vote at 2007 Convention  To ensure that your club has a vote at the upcoming AVA Convention, ALL club functions must be brought current. No report, stamp, or financial matter may be delinquent if your club wishes to vote.
All items must be in the National Headquarters no later than Monday, May 14 by close of business (5pm Central Standard Time). Anything not here will cause your club to lose their vote. If you have any doubts on whether something has been submitted, please call (210-659-2112) or email (avahq@ava.org) to check on it prior to this date.
 
AVA Financial Statements  The AVA Financial Statements are available from your Regional Director or the AVA HQs. Email us at avahq@ava.org if you are interested in receiving a copy. For specific questions feel free to contact the AVA Treasurer at Treasurer@ava.org or the AVA Financial Director, Candace Purcell at candy@ava.org
 
YRE Event Stamps  Many of you have had the same YRE stamp for several years. As time passes, they tend to get pretty messy from the ink accumulation. Remember, that you can and should clean these periodically. The handles can be washed with warm water and soap. If the rubber slugs are really bad, you can soak them in a mild bleach and water solution to remove the gunk. Make your customers happy, provide them with a clean stamp for their books.
If you have a particularly bad handle that you think needs to be replaced, contact Jose at the AVA HQs for assistance (jose@ava.org) Now through April 30 we will replace it without charging the "damaged stamp fee". Once you receive the replacement, we ask that you return the damaged one so that we can see if it can be salvaged. This applies to Year Round Events ONLY. Remember, these stamp handles have to be ordered from Germany and are expensive. Your assistance in keeping them in good condition is appreciated.
 
FuelBelt The sponsorship relationship with FuelBelt has ended. Please remove all reference to them from your brochures, web pages, etc.
 
Your Assistance, Please  AVA is in the process of installing an e-commerce site for on-line orders. So that Volkssports Associate members will receive their discount the first time they log on, we need their email address. We have many entered into our system but have no way of knowing if they are current since many were updated a year or more ago. Please pass the word to your members that they can go to the AVA web page and there is a link to a page where they can send us the information we need. Thanks for your help!
 
Publicity Contest 
Your entries in this contest are due to Joan Lampart by March 30, 2007.
The following areas of publicity will be judged and awarded at the Biennial Convention in Sacramento, CA, in June, 2007. Submissions should be sent to Joan Lampart, 2124 Barley Dr, Quakertown, PA 18951 or emailed to jmlampart@aol.com no later than March 30, 2007.
Rules are as follows:
Club Newsletter - Any issue from January, 2005 to November, 2006 - Should include information on Club, State, Region and AVA.
2005-2006 Event Brochure - Unique - must cover all AVA guidelines in AVA Form 405.
Photos - 8 x 10 black and white or color - Subject: What Volkssporting is all about (people, places, things, - all qualify). Photos should be titled. Send actual photo to Joan Lampart at the above address.
Website - Clubs interested in participating should send the URL to Joan. Websites should be fact filled, easy to navigate and current.
Club Logo - Do you have a club logo that you feel is different and/or unique? If so, please submit.
2005-2006 Community Relations Program - What did you do? Was it successful?
2005-2006 Single Event Publicity Effort - What did you do? How did you get it done and was it successful?
2005-2006 Annual Publicity Program - What did you do to publicize your Club, State, Region and/or the AVA? (Can be to publicize either, does not have to incorporate all).
 
Upcoming Publicity Opportunities  The AVA is trying to compile a list of opportunities for publicizing the AVA such as the AARP Conventions. If you know of anything in your area that might be a good candidate, please email Jackie at jackie@ava.org or Curt Myron at treasurer@ava.org with the details. This list will be used by AVA to prioritize and budget for possible participation.
 
Need Motivation?  Visit www.idita-walk.com for an incentive to get up and get walking! This program could easily be combined with YREs.
 
April Seasonal Stamps  These stamps will be mailed by the end of February. Please be on the lookout for them and let us know sometime around mid-March if you haven't received them. Help us avoid the last minute cost of overnight shipments. Thanks!
 
AVA Staff  We are here to help you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or if you need assistance. 210-659-2112 or via email:
Jacklyn Wilson, jackie@ava.org
Candace Purcell, candy@ava.org
Linda Rebman, linda@ava.org
Kevin Davis, kevin@ava.org
Eric Moench, eric@ava.org
Jose Martinez, jose@ava.org
If you are not sure who you need to speak with, email us at avahq@ava.org and your email will be forwarded to the correct person.
 
Thank You! Those of you who use Goodsearch when searching the web have contributed $36.34 to the AVA so far. Keep using it and let's watch our money grow. If you haven't tried it, go to www.goodsearch.com and select the AVA as your charity every time you do a search. We receive one cent for each search.

Enclosure