Committee Budgeting and Spending Outline

1. Committee structure, roles, responsibilities and authorities are determined by the Board of Directors and incorporated into the USATF by-laws.
2. Each budget cycle (beginning in August), the USATF Finance Department will initiate the budget process for the following calendar year. Professional Staff will prepare all organizational (including committee) budgets based on Strategic Plan objectives and Board directives, and in consultation with committee chairs and others as necessary.
3. Committee activities are considered in each of the following categories
   1. Meetings: The following information should be considered:
      1. Number of people
      2.  Number of times
      3. Preferred Location(s)
      4. Preferred Date   
      5. Business purpose for the meeting, its location and date
      6.  An explanation for why the meeting cannot be held via conference call
   2. Meet Oversight shall be included in the respective meet operations budgets. Ultimately, meet oversight responsibilities are assigned at the discretion of the CEO.
   3. Programmatic Activities: The following information should be considered for all programmatic activities:
      1. A thorough description
      2. The business purpose and connection to the Strategic Plan
      3. Estimated cost, including details of underlying calculations
      4. All programmatic activities should be prioritized
      5. New proposed programmatic activities should be identified as such
4. Staff will develop an organizational budget to propose to the Budget and Finance Committee (early October). Activities of USATF’s various committees will be aggregated and budgeted for presentation as a single line item in the budget.
5. The Budget and Finance Committee will meet (late October) to review the proposed budget, request additional information as needed, propose adjustments (if any), and approve a budget for presentation to the Board of Directors.
6.  The budget approved by the Budget and Finance Committee is submitted for Board approval (November).
7.  The finance department, in cooperation with the Budget and Finance Committee, informs all staff and volunteers of their approved activities (December).
8. In order for a committee to spend budgeted funds, book travel, or otherwise utilize USATF’s resources, they must first (before the cost is incurred) confirm that the item is included in an approved budget and coordinate with their staff liaison. In addition, all spending must be made in compliance with established USATF policies and is ultimately at the discretion of the CEO or as designated by the CEO to the COO.
9. USATF finance department staff will determine proper accounting and expense designation in accordance with the USATF budget and accounting standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will committees be required to prepare an annual budget spreadsheet and submit it to the Finance Department?
A: The staff liaison to each committee will reach out to the committee chairs for consultation. Staff will then work with the Finance Department to include each committee’s activities in the overall organizational budget.

Q: Will committees receive a detailed budget spreadsheet and/or a total amount approved for their individual activities?
A: Committees will be informed through their staff liaison as to what general activities have been approved. For example, a committee might be approved for x in-person committee meetings, up to x conference calls and travel, room and board costs for x people to attend the annual meeting.

Q: Will committees continue to receive ledgers to track spending?
A: Committee review of ledgers will no longer be necessary, given that committee activities will be tracked on an organization-wide basis and all spending will have been approved in advance by the relevant staff liaison.

Q: What if a committee member seeks reimbursement for a cost that has not been approved in advance?
A: Unless the expenditure was clearly included in an approved budget or there are extenuating circumstances and the staff liaison could not be reached, the reimbursement will be denied.

Q: What if a committee wants to engage in an activity that was not included in the approved budget?
A: The committee, staff liaison, and CFO or COO will discuss the need within the context of overall programmatic objectives and the Strategic Plan to determine the best course of action.