The recent news story regarding the Lake Tahoe Humane Society casts an unfortunate shadow on all the not for profits in our community. For those of us who work in the sector, it is saddening to think that people may now question a donation to our charity, particularly when local not for profits pride themselves on getting the maximum amount of benefit for the community out of every dollar. However, here at the Club we are proud to have a number of checks and balances in place and welcome the opportunity to share that information with our donors.

  1. Only two members of staff have credit cards.  Both cards are limited and all purchases have to be backed up with a receipt.  We can not get cash back using the cards.
  2. Only three of our Executive Board Members are able to sign checks.
  3. Staff are unable to make electronic transfers with either the Club checking or savings accounts.
  4. We keep limited amounts of petty cash on site.
  5. All petty cash uses requires a receipt and justification of the purchase.
  6. We have an independent bookkeeper who tracks revenue and expenditure and reconciles the bank accounts each month; she compiles the reports viewed by the Board.
  7. The Board receives a financial statement every month and a written or verbal overview.
  8. All invoices and receipts have a general ledger account attached to them, and each GL area has a budget attached.
  9. The Executive Director has to approve all expenses prior to purchase.
  10. We have a full professional audit each year and file a 1090 with the State. The full audit requires a review of our accounting procedures to ensure we are complying with best practice.
  11. All donations are recorded in our donor database and a thank you letter sent.
  12. We provide reports, including copies of receipts, to all grants and Foundations.

Some of our members do handle cash for the Club. Primarily when helping out at fundraisers or snack bar. We believe that putting trust in our members and enabling them to take on responsibilities is important to their personal growth and self-confidence. But of course we careful choose who is invited to assist.

Finally we work hard to make sure that our staff understand the importance of every penny to the Club and its operations, (as much to ensure that all purchases are necessary and wise) and we have a dedicated Board who ensure that the Club is being run responsibly.

We want the youth of our community to achieve their full potential, and to do that we are committed to raising money, and spending it, to further their success.