The primary way our organization gauges chapter and council activity and tracks the overall financial standing of TU is to collect Annual Activity Report statements from each chapter and council. These statements are filed electronically and are available in Leaders Only Tools Section of the tu.org website.
The Annual Activity Reports are filed for the previous fiscal year and are available for filing for 45 days after the end of the fiscal year. The TU fiscal year runs from April 1 through March 31, so your chapter or council report must be filed from April 1 through May 15 annually, reporting on the activity of the preceding year. Failure to file an Annual Activity Report by May 15 will result in ineligibility for rebates.
The Annual Activity Report may be filed by any officer or director of the chapter or council, but must be reviewed with your full board prior to submission.
Most chapters and councils will file on a cash basis. This means reporting activity based on your bank account or accounts. Accuracy and consistency are important as the numbers reported are reviewed for trends and used to determine reporting requirements. Even if your chapter has had no activity in the last year, submitting a financial statement is required.
Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the policy on financial and property controls and how to document volunteer hours. (Use this monthly spreadsheet template to track board member hours.)
Among other things, on the TU Annual Activity Report, chapters and councils will be asked whether or not you have an officer (who is not authorized to write checks, otherwise withdraw or transfer money from accounts, or use chapter or council credit cards) review the bank and/or credit-card statements every month. Chapters and councils that do not have this reviewer in place will not be eligible to receive their year-end or new member rebates.
For chapters/ councils that average less than $50,000 in gross receipts, filing an annual financial report will satisfy all filing requirements because TU national is paying to have an outside tax firm file all IRS Form 990Ns.
For chapters and councils that average more than $50,000 in gross receipts, filing an annual financial report will not satisfy IRS filing requirements. If this applies to your chapter or council, please consult the federal filing requirements page to ensure you are in compliance.