Looking for a youth sports nonprofit business plan? You're in the right place.
A funder or a sponsor reading a league plan asks practical things. How many children register, and how many play on scholarship? What do fields, officials and uniforms cost for a season? Who pays the difference between what a family pays and what a registration costs? What does the league do about safety screening, and what happens if grants come in short? A blank template won't show what a workable answer looks like.
This article walks through a complete sample plan for a recreational youth league in Richmond, Virginia, section by section, from the registration calendar and the Virginia reporting rules to the five-year financials and a downside case.
What each part gives you:
- The summary: how to put the ask, the registrations and the first three years on one page for a reader with a stack of proposals
- The season calendar: a worked table of sign-ups, teams and registrations, so capacity and revenue come from the same numbers
- Who pays for a registration: a per-child view of fees, sponsors, concessions, giving and grants against what a season costs
- The scholarship share: how many registrations are waived, what that costs in fees, and how restricted grants are matched against the spending they may pay for
- Safety and screening: what Virginia and federal law say about coach reporting, with dated sources, and what is left to counsel
- The reserve and the lumpy months: why opening cash is sized to the first year's deficit, and how grant timing and the fiscal-sponsor period shape the first quarters
- The downside case: an answer to what happens when every income line comes in 20% short, with the steps the board takes
The league is fictional. Anyone setting up a youth league can borrow the sections that fit and change the rest.
In this plan
If you need a youth sports nonprofit business plan template for your own plan, start it in the Toolkit.
Fall Line at a Glance
Fall Line Youth Sports is a Virginia nonprofit that runs recreational leagues for children ages 5 to 14 in Richmond. It opens on January 1, 2027 with winter basketball, adds baseball, softball and soccer in the spring and soccer in the fall, and repeats the cycle each year. Families pay a flat season fee. A family that cannot pay registers for nothing, and the child gets a jersey, a team and a game schedule like everyone else. Executive director Terrence Boyd runs the league with four full-time and five part-time staff by the end of Year 1 and about 340 volunteer coaching slots.
The league needs $412,000 in founding gifts and borrows nothing. The gifts are cash received in January under signed agreements, not pledges. Donors restricted $62,000 of it to equipment and launch costs. The other $350,000 is a board-designated reserve. Of the total, $42,000 buys goals, bases, a storage container and computers, $33,500 pays for legal work, state registration and launch outreach, and $336,500 stays in the bank.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $583,550 | $929,600 | $1,115,900 |
| Surplus (deficit) after start-up costs | ($156,453) | $20,003 | $22,388 |
| Closing cash | $171,278 | $169,441 | $183,729 |
Year 1 produces 1,890 registrations on about 172 teams. Of those, 1,285 pay and 605 are on scholarship, which is 32%. Registrations reach 2,700 in Year 2 and 4,000 by Year 5. Registrations are counted as received; a year-end audit would defer the winter 2028 fees collected in 2027.
Year 1 ends in a deficit of $156,453 after start-up costs. The league pays its core staff from January, while sponsors, fees and grants arrive season by season, and no public money arrives until Year 2. Operating profit is positive in April, August, September and November and negative in the other eight months. Year 2 is the first surplus, and the surpluses stay small after that.
A downside case is part of the forecast. With fees, sponsors and grants all 20% short, the board delays hires, leaves one post unfilled, cuts the director's pay and shrinks the team-driven costs. The league then runs deficits through Year 3, keeps cash above zero at every year end, and returns to surplus in Year 4.
The league has one specific job: a recreational season that costs a Richmond family a set, published amount, and costs nothing for the family that cannot pay it.
The League
Legal name: Fall Line Youth Sports, a Virginia nonstock corporation, applying for federal 501(c)(3) status. Executive director: Terrence Boyd. Office: a leased 1,100 square foot suite in Richmond, plus a steel storage container for goals, bases and balls. Opening: January 1, 2027. The first basketball season starts in late January. Stage: pre-launch. The incorporation papers are drafted, the founding gift agreements are signed, three foundation grants are committed in writing, and an existing 501(c)(3) acts as fiscal sponsor until the IRS rules. The field-use agreements with the first partner sites are in negotiation.
Why "Fall Line"
The James River drops over a ridge of rock at Richmond, the geographic fall line. The league uses the name to say that the city sits at an edge, where some children have a full season of sport waiting for them and others have none.
What the league is for
Give every child in the city between 5 and 14 a team, a schedule and a coach who has been screened, at a price no family has to skip a meal to pay.
Four sign-up windows
| Season | Sports | Sign-ups | Play | Year 1 registrations | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2027 | Basketball, ages 7 to 14 | January | Late January to mid-March | 300 | 27 |
| Spring | Baseball and softball, ages 5 to 14; soccer, ages 5 to 12 | February to April | April and May, Saturdays | 560 | 51 |
| Fall | Soccer, ages 5 to 12 | July to September | September to early November | 700 | 64 |
| Winter 2028 | Basketball, ages 7 to 14 | November and December | January 2028 | 330 | 30 |
Teams average 11 players. A child who plays two sports is counted as two registrations, and the plan expects about 1.3 registrations per child, which puts Year 1 at roughly 1,450 children.
What a family pays and what a scholarship covers
A paying family pays $110 a season on average, after sibling discounts. A family signs up online, at a registration day or by phone with the registrar, and a family on scholarship pays nothing. The scholarship form is one page and asks for a household size and a signature, with no tax documents. The registrar offers it to every family at the same time as the fee, so asking for help is not a separate step. Scholarship players also borrow cleats, gloves and shin guards from the league's gear closet.
Legal footing
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code lists an exempt purpose "to foster national or international amateur sports competition," with the condition that none of the organization's activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment. A league that rents fields and issues uniforms and bases may fall outside that clause. The board therefore files under the Code's charitable and educational purposes, and counsel confirms the wording of the application. The same section bars any part of net earnings from benefiting a private individual, which is why no coach, director or board member is paid out of surplus.
Unless an exemption applies, Virginia requires a charitable organization to file a registration statement before it solicits (Va. Code § 57-49), with a $100 fee for a new organization and an annual fee that rises with the contributions raised the year before, from $30 to $325. Opening day depends on filing, and the legal line in the start-up budget covers it.
Goals through 2028
- 1,890 registrations in 2027 and 2,700 in 2028, with a scholarship share of about one in three.
- A background check and a completed training course for every coach before a first practice.
- Retention: 65% of one year's registrations repeated by the same children the next year.
- A surplus in 2028, and closing cash above $169,000 at every year end.
The Richmond Playing Field
Who plays, nationally
The Aspen Institute's Project Play reports, from the National Survey of Children's Health, that 53.8% of children ages 6 to 17 played sports in 2022. From the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) household survey it reports that 39.8% of children ages 6 to 17 regularly played a team sport in 2023. The same report puts regular sports play among Black youth at 35% in 2023, down from 45% in 2013, and among girls ages 6 to 12 at 34% in 2023. Those are national figures. The plan has no sourced count of Richmond children by income or by sport, so it sizes the league by what its fields, coaches and money can carry, and it measures local demand by its own waiting list.
Where the costs come from
The city of Richmond's parks department publishes its reservation fees, effective July 1, 2024: $30 an hour for a multipurpose field such as soccer, $20 an hour for a softball or baseball field, $65 an hour for a gymnasium with a two-hour minimum, a $25 non-refundable permit fee, and a surcharge of 30% for renters who live outside the city. The page lists no separate youth or nonprofit rate. These rates may change, and the league confirms them each season.
Pay for the people who work at the games is set by the Virginia minimum wage. Va. Code § 40.1-28.10 sets it at $12.77 an hour for 2026, $13.75 from January 1, 2027 and $15.00 from January 1, 2028. The league pays its game-day monitors above that line from the start.
Where else a child can play
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a family picks it | How Fall Line differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| City recreation programs | Public fields and centers, some leagues | Close to home and low cost | Every team has screened coaches, a published schedule and equipment |
| School teams | Coached teams for older students | Free and integrated into the school day | Open to ages 5 to 14, with no tryout |
| Travel and club teams | Training and tournaments | Higher level of competition | Recreational, no cuts, every child plays |
| Suburban county leagues | Large, funded programs | Established fields and sponsors | Located and priced for city families |
| Church and neighborhood leagues | Informal teams | Trust and proximity | A consistent safety policy and insurance across teams |
The table describes categories, and it names no organization because the plan has no dated fact to quote about one.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Fees stay low and scholarships are built into registration | Year 1 runs a deficit and uses the reserve |
| Paid sport directors support volunteer coaches | Grants are 40% of Year 1 revenue |
| Sponsors buy a visible team shirt for $650 | One executive director holds the main relationships |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| School and neighborhood partners that already have fields | Field permits cost more or are given to another group |
| Girls' participation, where national rates remain lower | A coach incident that damages trust |
| Business sponsors who want a local presence | Foundation priorities that move away from youth sport |
Families, Sponsors and Funders
Four groups pay for or rely on the league: families, volunteer coaches, sponsors and funders.
Families
Parents and guardians of children ages 5 to 14, mostly in city neighborhoods where the nearest organized league is a drive away. They want a schedule they can plan around, a coach they can trust and a fee they can manage. About two in three families pay the fee. The other third register under the scholarship.
Coaches
Parents, older siblings, teachers and neighbors who volunteer for a season. They want a short training, a practice plan, a bag of equipment that arrives complete and a sport director who answers the phone. The plan counts on about 340 volunteer slots in Year 1 and about 600 in Year 3.
Sponsors
Local businesses, from a barbershop to a dental practice, that pay $650 to put their name on a team's shirt. They want visible recognition, a thank-you note from the team and a clear statement of where the money goes.
Funders
Foundation and public program officers ask how many children registered, what share were on scholarship, whether participation held from season to season, and what the league's safety record is. The plan reports all four every quarter. The first public grant application goes in during 2027, and no public money is counted until Year 2.
Filling the Rosters
From first contact to a roster spot
A family finds the league through a school flyer, a friend or a registration day, and signs up online, by phone or in person. The registrar offers the scholarship in the same conversation. The league then assigns the child to a team by neighborhood and age, and the coach calls the family before the first practice.
Where the 1,890 registrations come from
| Source | Share | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Referrals from friends and teammates | 30% | 567 |
| Schools and counselors, rec centers and libraries | 33% | 624 |
| Registration days | 15% | 283 |
| Churches and neighborhood partners | 12% | 227 |
| Social media and the league's website | 10% | 189 |
Marketing spend and what it buys
Year 1 marketing is $40,000: $16,000 of launch spending paid from the founding gifts and $24,000 of operating spend. That is about $21 per registration, and because every Year 1 registration is new, it is also the cost of a new one.
| Item | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Registration site and tablet check-in (launch) | $7,000 | Online sign-up in English and Spanish, with a scholarship box on the first page |
| School and rec-center outreach (launch) | $4,000 | Flyers and counselor visits at the first 25 partner sites |
| First fundraising event (launch) | $5,000 | The April Opening Day event |
| Bilingual school and counselor outreach | $8,000 | The largest single source of registrations, 624 of them |
| Registration days at libraries and rec centers | $5,000 | About 283 sign-ups |
| Sponsor recognition: banners, thank-you events | $5,000 | Keeps sponsors renewing at $650 a team |
| Text and email reminders and platform | $4,000 | Cuts no-shows and keeps families on the next season's list |
| Social media and photography | $2,000 | Shows prospective families and sponsors the league at work |
Returning families and new ones
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registrations | 1,890 | 2,700 | 3,300 | 3,700 | 4,000 |
| Repeat registrations (65% of last year) | 0 | 1,229 | 1,755 | 2,145 | 2,405 |
| New registrations | 1,890 | 1,471 | 1,545 | 1,555 | 1,595 |
| Marketing per new registration | $21 | $20 | $21 | $23 | $23 |
| Teams (11 players each) | 172 | 245 | 300 | 336 | 364 |
Growth slows because fields run out before families do. Each hire follows registrations, and the league limits new teams to the number of field hours it can book.
Sponsors
A team sponsorship is a $650 charge in Year 1, sold to about 70% of teams, which is 122 sponsors and $79,300. The sponsorship and events manager starts in month 6 and takes over most of the selling. The Year 2 target is 172 sponsors at $680.
Who pays for a registration
| Year 1 per registration | Year 3 per registration | |
|---|---|---|
| Family fees | $75 | $77 |
| Sponsors and concessions | $65 | $72 |
| Individual giving and events | $44 | $44 |
| Foundation and public grants | $124 | $145 |
| Revenue per registration (components rounded) | $309 | $338 |
| Cost per registration | $370 | $329 |
A paying family pays $110 on average, but across all registrations, scholarships included, family fees cover about $75 in Year 1. Year 1 costs $370 a registration against $309 of revenue, and the gap is paid from the reserve. Grants carry 40 cents of every dollar in Year 1 and 43 cents in Year 3. A scholarship registration is funded by restricted grants first, as the restricted-grant table in the financial section shows.
Running the Seasons
Fields and gyms
The league books city fields for games and for teams that lack a school or church site, and uses partner sites for practices under written use agreements. Year 1 needs about 1,100 field hours, 380 gym hours and a handful of paid hall rentals, for $58,000. The operations director, who starts in January, holds all permits and checks the schedule against field availability every week.
A Saturday at the fields
Games run in blocks of four fields. Two game-day monitors and a table of volunteers check players in, a paid official is assigned to each game, and a concession stand sells snacks and drinks. About 650 games a year at an average of about $58 a game (one official for field games, two for basketball) comes to $38,000. Concessions bring in $43,900 in Year 1 at a 42% food and supply cost. Local health department rules govern temporary food sales, and counsel and the health department confirm the permit before the stand opens.
Who is paid and who volunteers
| Role | Paid or volunteer | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach, assistant coach | Volunteer | Screened and trained before the first practice |
| Sport directors (soccer, baseball and softball, basketball) | Paid, part time | $20,000 a year each, about 20 hours a week |
| Coach recruiting coordinator | Paid, part time | $22,000 a year, about 20 hours a week |
| Officials | Paid per game | About $58 a game in Year 1 |
| Game-day monitors and scorekeepers | Paid hourly | $16 an hour, above the Virginia minimum |
| Executive director, operations director, registrar | Paid, full time | Salaried |
Equipment and uniforms
Each registration gets a jersey and, in baseball and softball, a hat: $17 per registration in Year 1, or $32,100. Start-up spending of $42,000 buys portable goals, nets, bases, batting helmets, ball bags, first-aid stations, a storage container and the computers. The gear closet loans cleats, gloves and shin guards to scholarship players, at $8,000 in Year 1. Replacement stock starts in Year 2.
Safety and screening
- Background checks and training. Every coach, assistant and board member completes a background check and a training course before a first practice, at about $25 a person. The plan cites no Virginia statute that requires checks for volunteer coaches of a private league, so counsel confirms the point, and the league requires them by its own policy and its insurer's terms.
- Mandated reporting. Virginia lists athletic coaches, directors and other adults 18 or older who work or volunteer with a public or private sports organization or team among the people who must report a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect (Va. Code § 63.2-1509). The report is due immediately and no later than 24 hours after the reason to suspect arises, to the local department of social services or the state hotline. The statute sets a fine of up to $500 for a first failure to report. As of the version checked, reports go only to the hotline from July 1, 2027. The league trains every adult on the rule at the coach orientation.
- SafeSport. The federal law at 34 U.S.C. § 20341 requires an adult authorized by a national governing body or an amateur sports organization that takes part in interstate or international competition to report suspected abuse within 24 hours. Fall Line's teams play only in Richmond in the first three years, so the plan does not expect the law to apply directly, and counsel confirms. If the league later joins a national body, the body's own rules apply, and counsel reviews them first.
- Two-adult rule. No adult is alone with a child, practices are open to parents, and a coach who cannot attend sends a replacement from the league's trained list.
- Heat, lightning and head injuries. The league adopts a written policy to remove a player suspected of a head injury from play, and to stop practice for lightning or extreme heat. Coaches receive it at orientation.
Coverage
General liability, participant accident medical (about $6 a registration), directors and officers liability, and abuse and molestation cover come to $24,000 in Year 1. The league requires proof of insurance from each partner site, and a broker's quote sets the actual premiums.
Software at the registration desk
A registration platform handles sign-ups, payments, scholarships and rosters, a scheduling tool builds game calendars, and a background-check portal tracks each volunteer's status. Software costs $14,000 in Year 1.
Board, Staff and Coaches
Terrence Boyd, executive director
Terrence spent ten years teaching middle school physical education in Richmond and then nine years running a volunteer neighborhood league in Church Hill, which grew from 4 teams to 30. His own savings are not part of the funding. He leaves teaching to run the league full time.
Who sits on the board
Seven directors: a treasurer who is a CPA, an attorney who advises on youth organizations, a school principal, a longtime coach, two parents of children on the league's scholarship, and a small-business owner. The board approves the budget, reviews the scholarship share each quarter and sets the reserve policy. No staff member sits on the board.
Gaps on the staff list
The league has no full-time development staff until the sponsorship and events manager starts in month 6, has no full-time safety coordinator until month 27, and relies on one executive director to hold funder relationships. The plan covers this by assigning the board treasurer to the grant calendar and the operations director to the safety checklist in the meantime.
If Terrence is out
The operations director acts as executive director for up to three months under a board-approved delegation. Funder contacts are shared with a second board member, and key documents sit in the league's shared drive.
Hiring order
Staff follow registrations. A part-time coach recruiting coordinator starts in January with the three sport directors. The registrar starts in month 2, ahead of spring sign-ups. A bookkeeper joins in month 5, after the first quarter's money has arrived, and the sponsorship manager in month 6. The neighborhood outreach coordinator starts in month 19 when the league adds neighborhoods, the safety and compliance coordinator in month 27 when coaching slots pass 500, and a second senior league coordinator in month 38.
The Money: Five Years of Seasons
The forecast runs five years, monthly for 2027 and annually after that. Registrations come first because every other figure follows from the number of children on a roster, and from how many of them pay.
Founding gifts and the reserve
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Portable goals, nets, bases, batting helmets, ball bags and first-aid stations | $24,000 |
| Steel storage container, scoreboard timers and line-marking machines | $11,000 |
| Laptops, tablet check-in kit and phones | $7,000 |
| Legal: incorporation, IRS exemption application, field-use agreements | $14,000 |
| Charitable registration, business license and insurance set-up | $3,500 |
| Launch: registration site, school and rec-center outreach, first fundraising event | $16,000 |
| Operating reserve (Year 1 deficit and reimbursement lag) | $336,500 |
| Total uses | $412,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Founding gifts restricted to equipment and launch (donor restrictions) | $62,000 |
| Founding gifts for the operating reserve (board-designated) | $350,000 |
| Total sources | $412,000 |
Fall Line opens on $412,000 of founding gifts and no debt. The gifts are cash received in January under signed gift agreements from eleven donors, nine individuals and families and two local businesses, and none is a pledge. Donors restricted $62,000 to equipment and the launch. The other $350,000 is a reserve the board has designated for operating shortfalls. Until the IRS rules on the exemption application, an existing 501(c)(3) acts as fiscal sponsor and receives the gifts and the first grants on the league's behalf; the determination can take several months. The balance sheet keeps the template's business labels, so here is how they map. The paid-in capital row holds the league's opening net assets: $62,000 carrying donor restrictions, which are lifted as the equipment is bought and launch bills are paid, and $350,000 free of restrictions. The retained earnings row is the running total of each year's change in net assets. Borrowings is zero because the league owes no one. Audited statements would split net assets and each year's revenue into the two classes; this forecast shows one total and labels each grant line. The $336,500 reserve is sized to the Year 1 cash shortfall and the lag before reimbursements arrive. Year 1 closing cash is about 89 days of cash costs.
Figures behind the forecast
- A registration is one child in one season. Year 1 has 1,890 registrations: 300 for winter basketball starting in January, 560 in spring, 700 in fall, and 330 for winter 2028 taken in November and December. Registrations then run at 2,700, 3,300, 3,700 and 4,000 for Years 2 to 5. The plan counts about 1.3 seasons per child, so Year 1 reaches roughly 1,450 children.
- Teams average 11 players, so Year 1 forms about 172 teams. Each team has a volunteer head coach and a volunteer assistant, which is about 340 volunteer coaching slots. By Year 5 the league fields about 364 teams.
- Of the 1,890 Year 1 registrations, 1,285 pay (68%) and 605 are on scholarship (32%). The average fee a paying family pays is $110 a season after sibling discounts, so the waived registrations carry about $66,600 of fees the league does not collect. The paying share falls to 65% by Year 5 and the average fee rises about 3% a year to $125. Fees are counted when received; audited accounts would defer the roughly $23,500 of winter 2028 fees and $12,600 of winter 2028 sponsorships taken in November and December 2027 into Year 2.
- Team sponsorships sell at $650 a team in Year 1, to about 70% of teams: 122 sponsorships, or $79,300. The price rises to $740 by Year 5, with the share of sponsored teams unchanged.
- Concessions bring in $43,900 in Year 1, about $23 per registration, from Saturday games in spring and fall and a table at winter games. Food and supply cost is 42% of sales. Sales per registration rise to $28 by Year 5.
- Individual giving combines monthly donors, an Opening Day fundraiser in April, a fall fun run in October and a year-end appeal. Event costs and card fees take 12% of it.
- Year 1 grants are three foundation grants committed in writing before opening and paid through the fiscal sponsor: two restricted payments of $50,000 in April and August for scholarships and fields, and unrestricted program support of $40,000, $50,000 and $45,000 in May, September and November. No public money is counted in Year 1. Applications to a city or state youth-services or parks agency go in during 2027 and the first reimbursement arrives in Year 2, with $75,000 that year and $125,000 to $154,000 after.
- Restricted grants are never larger than the spending they can pay for. Scholarship fee waivers, field and gym rentals, the gear closet and jerseys come to about $164,650 in Year 1 against $100,000 of restricted grants, and to $293,800 in Year 3 against $275,000. The sales section carries the full table.
- Field and gym rentals cost $58,000 in Year 1. The plan books city fields for games and for teams without a school or church site, and uses partner sites for practices under written use agreements. That works out to about 1,100 field hours, 380 gym hours and a few paid hall rentals. Richmond's published rates (effective July 1, 2024) are $30 an hour for soccer fields, $20 for baseball and softball fields and $65 an hour for a gym with a two-hour minimum, plus a $25 permit fee. The city may change them.
- Officials are paid per game: about 650 games in Year 1 at an average of about $58 a game, one official for field games and two for basketball, comes to $38,000. Game-day monitors and scorekeepers work about 1,000 hours at $16 an hour, above the Virginia minimum wage of $13.75 that applies from January 1, 2027 and the $15.00 rate from January 1, 2028. Coaches are volunteers and receive no stipend.
- Insurance of $24,000 covers general liability, participant accident cover at about $6 a registration, directors and officers liability, and abuse and molestation cover. A broker's quote would set the real premiums. Background checks and coach training cost about $25 a person for roughly 340 coaching slots and 7 board members, which is $8,800 in Year 1 and $15,200 in Year 3.
- Receivables average a blended 30 days across all revenue. Fees are paid at sign-up and sponsors within a month, while foundation payments take longer and public reimbursements run to 60 days or more. Bills are paid in 30. Direct costs are 5.6% of Year 1 revenue: card fees, concession food and fundraising costs. Concession stock held on the balance sheet is about 15% of annual direct costs.
- On-costs of 27% sit on top of salaries for payroll taxes, health cover, leave and workers' compensation, and 15% on the five part-time posts. The wages listed in the personnel table are the starting rates, and a separate line carries 3% annual raises from Year 2. The three part-time sport directors work about 20 hours a week each (a half-time post) and the coach recruiting coordinator about the same.
- Professional fees of $20,000 in Year 1 cover legal work, payroll and bookkeeping oversight. They rise to $30,000 in Year 3, when revenue crosses $1 million and the board commissions an independent audit or review.
- The league holds 501(c)(3) status once the IRS grants it, so the model charges no income tax. Whether Virginia or local taxes reach a purchase or a sale, concessions included, is for counsel to confirm, and the model includes none. The league has no debt, and each surplus is kept as net assets.
Where each season's money comes from
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration fees (paying families, net of sibling discounts) | $141,350 | $204,400 | $254,800 | $295,500 | $325,000 |
| Team sponsorships | $79,300 | $117,000 | $147,000 | $169,200 | $188,700 |
| Concessions | $43,900 | $70,200 | $89,100 | $101,800 | $112,000 |
| Individual giving and events | $84,000 | $118,000 | $145,000 | $165,000 | $178,000 |
| Foundation grants restricted to scholarships and fields | $100,000 | $120,000 | $150,000 | $165,000 | $175,000 |
| Foundation and corporate program support (no restrictions) | $135,000 | $225,000 | $205,000 | $215,000 | $213,000 |
| Public grants and contracts (restricted, reimbursed) | $0 | $75,000 | $125,000 | $150,000 | $154,000 |
| Total revenue | $583,550 | $929,600 | $1,115,900 | $1,261,500 | $1,345,700 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 59% | 20% | 13% | 7% |
Grants are 40% of Year 1 revenue: 17% restricted foundation grants and 23% unrestricted program support, with no public money until Year 2. Registration fees are 24%, sponsorships 14%, giving 14% and concessions 8%. Fees, sponsorships and concessions, the money that comes from the community that plays, are about 45% of revenue in Year 1 and about 46% in Year 5. Year 2 growth of 59% reflects a full year of every season and the start of public grants; growth then slows to 7% by Year 5, because a seasonal league reaches the limit of its fields before it reaches the limit of its families.
Restricted grants are matched against the spending they can pay for:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarship fee waivers | $66,550 | $100,700 | $131,300 | $152,200 | $175,000 |
| Field and gym rentals | $58,000 | $79,000 | $94,000 | $104,000 | $112,000 |
| Gear closet and jerseys | $40,100 | $56,900 | $68,500 | $76,000 | $81,500 |
| Spending restricted grants can pay for | $164,650 | $236,600 | $293,800 | $332,200 | $368,500 |
| Restricted foundation and public grants | $100,000 | $195,000 | $275,000 | $315,000 | $329,000 |
| Share of eligible spending covered | 61% | 82% | 94% | 95% | 89% |
The unrestricted program support pays for what restricted money cannot: the core staff, the office and insurance.
Month by month through 2027
| Month | Registration fees (paying families, net of sibling discounts) | Team sponsorships | Concessions | Individual giving and events | Foundation grants restricted to scholarships and fields | Foundation and corporate program support (no restrictions) | Public grants and contracts (restricted, reimbursed) | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $22,440 | $13,000 | $1,800 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $40,240 | ($17,502) |
| Feb 2027 | $12,980 | $15,600 | $2,400 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $33,980 | ($23,409) |
| Mar 2027 | $23,650 | $7,800 | $2,000 | $3,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $36,950 | ($20,606) |
| Apr 2027 | $5,280 | $0 | $7,000 | $14,000 | $50,000 | $0 | $0 | $76,280 | $16,506 |
| May 2027 | $0 | $0 | $8,200 | $3,500 | $0 | $40,000 | $0 | $51,700 | ($6,688) |
| Jun 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | ($52,642) |
| Jul 2027 | $9,900 | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $12,900 | ($43,300) |
| Aug 2027 | $30,800 | $18,200 | $0 | $3,500 | $50,000 | $0 | $0 | $102,500 | $41,248 |
| Sep 2027 | $11,660 | $11,050 | $6,000 | $4,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $0 | $82,710 | $22,574 |
| Oct 2027 | $0 | $0 | $12,500 | $12,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $24,500 | ($32,354) |
| Nov 2027 | $8,800 | $7,150 | $4,000 | $9,000 | $0 | $45,000 | $0 | $73,950 | $14,308 |
| Dec 2027 | $15,840 | $6,500 | $0 | $22,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $44,840 | ($13,161) |
Money arrives in lumps tied to the calendar. Registration fees land mostly in January to March, in August and September, and in November and December. Restricted foundation payments arrive in April and August, and program support in May, September and November. Operating profit (EBITDA) is positive in April, August, September and November and negative in the other eight months. The deepest gaps are June at about $53,000 and July at about $43,000, because no season is in sign-up and no grant lands. On the monthly view cash bottoms out in July at about $189,000, or about $128,000 once 30 days of unpaid invoices are set against it.
Paid positions and start dates
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive director | $72,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| League operations director (fields, schedules, officials) | $60,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Soccer director (part time, paid) | $20,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Baseball and softball director (part time, paid) | $20,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Basketball director (part time, paid) | $20,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Coach recruiting coordinator (part time) | $22,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Registrar and family-aid coordinator | $46,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bookkeeper | $30,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Sponsorship and events manager | $56,000 | Month 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Neighborhood outreach coordinator | $50,000 | Month 19 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Safety and compliance coordinator | $52,000 | Month 27 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Second senior league coordinator | $54,000 | Month 38 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $379,978 | $457,730 | $544,513 | $618,385 | $624,100 |
Six people start in January: the executive director, the league operations director, three part-time sport directors (soccer, baseball and softball, and basketball) and a part-time coach recruiting coordinator. The registrar and family-aid coordinator joins in month 2, in time for spring sign-ups. A part-time bookkeeper starts in month 5 and the sponsorship and events manager in month 6. A neighborhood outreach coordinator follows in month 19, a safety and compliance coordinator in month 27 and a second senior league coordinator in month 38. That is four full-time and five part-time people at the end of Year 1, and seven full-time and five part-time at the end of Year 4. Volunteers coach every team. The sport directors and the recruiting coordinator find, screen and support them: about 340 slots in Year 1 across four people, and about 730 slots by Year 5.
Result for each year
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $583,550 | $929,600 | $1,115,900 | $1,261,500 | $1,345,700 |
| Card fees on registrations, concession food cost and event costs | ($32,900) | ($52,410) | ($62,913) | ($71,122) | ($75,869) |
| Gross profit | $550,650 | $877,190 | $1,052,987 | $1,190,378 | $1,269,831 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($379,978) | ($457,730) | ($544,513) | ($618,385) | ($624,100) |
| Rent | ($30,000) | ($31,000) | ($32,000) | ($33,000) | ($34,000) |
| Utilities | ($4,800) | ($5,000) | ($5,200) | ($5,400) | ($5,600) |
| Marketing | ($24,000) | ($30,000) | ($33,000) | ($35,000) | ($36,500) |
| Insurance | ($24,000) | ($31,000) | ($36,000) | ($39,500) | ($42,000) |
| Professional fees | ($20,000) | ($23,000) | ($30,000) | ($32,000) | ($33,500) |
| Software subscriptions | ($14,000) | ($17,000) | ($19,500) | ($21,000) | ($22,000) |
| Field and gym rentals, permit fees | ($58,000) | ($79,000) | ($94,000) | ($104,000) | ($112,000) |
| Referees and umpires | ($38,000) | ($52,000) | ($62,000) | ($69,000) | ($75,000) |
| Jerseys, hats and season equipment | ($32,100) | ($45,900) | ($55,500) | ($62,000) | ($66,500) |
| Gear closet for scholarship players (cleats, gloves, shin guards) | ($8,000) | ($11,000) | ($13,000) | ($14,000) | ($15,000) |
| Game-day monitors and scorekeepers (on payroll service) | ($16,000) | ($23,000) | ($28,000) | ($31,500) | ($34,000) |
| Background checks and coach training | ($8,800) | ($12,400) | ($15,200) | ($16,900) | ($18,400) |
| Awards, picture day and season-end events | ($6,000) | ($8,500) | ($10,000) | ($11,000) | ($12,000) |
| Replacement goals, nets, bases and first-aid stock | $0 | ($6,000) | ($8,000) | ($9,500) | ($11,000) |
| Allowance for unpaid sponsor pledges | ($2,000) | ($3,000) | ($3,600) | ($4,000) | ($4,300) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($13,732) | ($33,161) | ($57,341) | ($78,330) |
| EBITDA | ($115,028) | $27,928 | $30,313 | $26,852 | $45,601 |
| Depreciation | ($7,925) | ($7,925) | ($7,925) | ($7,925) | ($6,175) |
| Interest | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($122,953) | $20,003 | $22,388 | $18,927 | $39,426 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, registration, launch outreach) | ($33,500) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($156,453) | $20,003 | $22,388 | $18,927 | $39,426 |
Year 1 closes with a $122,953 deficit ahead of start-up costs and $156,453 once they are counted. Year 2 is the first surplus, $20,003, and surpluses of $22,388, $18,927 and $39,426 follow. The margins are thin by design. Payroll is 65% of Year 1 revenue and 52% of Year 5 revenue, and the Year 4 margin shrinks to 1.5% when the second senior coordinator starts in month 38 and the accumulated pay raises reach $57,341. Depreciation of $7,925 a year does not use cash.
Cash through the seasons
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($198,722) | ($1,837) | $14,288 | $14,328 | $38,359 |
| Field equipment and storage | ($42,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $412,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net change in cash | $171,278 | ($1,837) | $14,288 | $14,328 | $38,359 |
| Closing cash | $171,278 | $169,441 | $183,729 | $198,057 | $236,416 |
The bank balance never drops below $169,000 at a year end. Measured against cash costs, that is about 89 days at the end of Year 1, 69 days in Year 2, 62 days in Year 3, 59 days in Year 4 and 66 days in Year 5. The board's working floor is 60 days, so Year 4 sits a day short and the board would top it up from unrestricted program support. A nonprofit pays no distributions, so the model has none and each surplus stays in the league.
Balance sheet and net assets at year end
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $171,278 | $169,441 | $183,729 | $198,057 | $236,416 |
| Accounts receivable | $47,963 | $76,405 | $91,718 | $103,685 | $110,605 |
| Concession stock and event supplies | $4,935 | $7,861 | $9,437 | $10,668 | $11,380 |
| Field equipment and storage (net) | $34,075 | $26,150 | $18,225 | $10,300 | $4,125 |
| Total assets | $258,251 | $279,858 | $303,109 | $322,710 | $362,527 |
| Accounts payable | $2,704 | $4,308 | $5,171 | $5,846 | $6,236 |
| Borrowings | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Paid-in capital | $412,000 | $412,000 | $412,000 | $412,000 | $412,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($156,453) | ($136,450) | ($114,062) | ($95,135) | ($55,709) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $258,251 | $279,858 | $303,109 | $322,710 | $362,527 |
Margins and break-even
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -19.7% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -21.1% | 2.2% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 2.9% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 65% | 51% | 52% | 54% | 52% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $89,777 | $123,947 | $131,282 | $132,789 | $141,653 |
| Average monthly revenue | $48,629 | $77,467 | $92,992 | $105,125 | $112,142 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $58,788 | $75,000 | $90,315 | $102,754 | $108,115 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | – | – | – | – | – |
In Year 1 monthly revenue averages $48,629 while operating costs call for $58,788, which is why the year is a deficit. From Year 2 revenue sits $2,400 to $4,000 a month above the requirement. That is a thin margin of safety, between 2% and 4%, and a single $50,000 foundation grant lost in Year 3 would turn the surplus into a deficit. There is no debt, so no coverage ratio applies.
A 20% drop in every income line
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $466,840 | $743,680 | $892,720 | $1,009,200 | $1,076,560 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($165,410) | ($48,912) | ($3,515) | $7,258 | $27,467 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($198,910) | ($48,912) | ($3,515) | $7,258 | $27,467 |
| Closing cash | $138,860 | $74,061 | $65,651 | $70,815 | $98,663 |
This case cuts every income line by 20% in every year: fees, sponsors, concessions, giving and all grants. The scholarship share is left at 32%, so the fee loss is the same 20%. The board answers in six steps: the bookkeeper is brought on two months late, each post due after month 12 slips by six months (the safety and compliance coordinator moves from month 27 to month 33, delayed and not dropped), the second senior coordinator is dropped, the neighborhood outreach post is not filled, and the executive director takes a 20% pay cut. The three part-time sport directors take a 20% cut in hours. Marketing is cut by 20%, and the team-driven lines (fields and gyms, officials, jerseys, the gear closet, monitors, awards and background checks) are cut by 15% because fewer registrations mean fewer teams. On those terms the league runs deficits for three years, narrowing from $165,410 before start-up costs in Year 1 to $3,515 in Year 3, and reaches a $7,258 surplus in Year 4 and $27,467 in Year 5. Closing cash stays positive at every year end, at no less than $65,651, which is about four weeks of costs, and the reserve is what makes that possible. Equity ends Year 1 at $213,090. Monthly detail exists only for Year 1, so a lower point inside Years 2 to 4 is possible; the board freezes discretionary spending and seeks emergency gifts if cash falls below 45 days of costs. If scholarship take-up rose to 45% of Year 1 registrations, fee income would be about $27,000 lower, and the board would cap new scholarships at the level that restricted grants and program support can fund and keep a waiting list beyond it. Without the response, the same shortfall would leave the league out of cash during Year 2.
Sources
- Aspen Institute, Project Play, State of Play 2024: national youth sports participation (National Survey of Children's Health 2022; SFIA 2023).
- Code of Virginia, § 63.2-1509, mandated reporters.
- 34 U.S.C. § 20341, child abuse reporting requirements for covered individuals.
- Code of Virginia, § 40.1-28.10, minimum wage.
- Code of Virginia, § 57-49, charitable organization registration.
- 26 U.S.C. § 501, exempt purposes under 501(c)(3).
- City of Richmond, parks and recreation reservations and fees, prices effective July 1, 2024.
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