Serious Financial Problems for the USCF

Serious financial problems for the USCF
by SusanPolgar on Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:22 pm

Here is the latest public statement by USCF President Bill Goichberg:

"...after seven months we are running $42,341 behind budget. The membership trend has been poor in the past few months, and legal expenses for the rest of the year will be high, so I fear a loss for the year of at least $100,000."

Joel Channing, Paul Truong and I told the board many times since August 2007 about the potential financial problems that could occur if no changes are made but the board majority completely ignored it. Instead of recognizing the problems and finding solutions to help the USCF, political decisions were made by some to keep their political power. If we do not fix the problems, how can we turn around the USCF?

Once again, the USCF members will suffer. Here are some of the mind boggling costly blunders:

- Approximately $15,000 in Internet insurance for a USCF political forum which only about two dozen members use frequently
- Another $15,000 has to be paid soon if not already.
- $10,000 in deductibles for insurance and another $10,000 will kick in after the renewal kicks in.
- At least $10,000 if not a lot more for legal fees and it can run as high a few hundred thousand dollars if the board majority will continue going down the same path. The numbers will come out sooner or later. They cannot hide this.
- More than $50,000 to revamp the USCF website TWICE and it is still not working properly. There were no fair and open biddings for this job and others.
- A number of potential sponsors inquired about sponsorships without getting proper information, numbers or response on a timely manner.

There are more but these are just some of the latest ones. This is what I stated on January 24, 2008:

“Here are the real issues: We cut the budget for college chess and we cannot afford to finance the US Championship or the Olympiad teams like we used to. We cannot even afford to help our top players like Kamsky for a shot at the World Championship. What happened to the money we were supposed to save? Where did it go? Why are we still financially weak?

Fiscal responsibility is a must if this federation wants to get back on track financially. We need to get back to the basics to find out the real problems and fix them immediately. Our members deserve better. Our members are entitled to know what the board is doing with their money and what direction this federation is heading in.”

This is what I stated on January 16, 2008:

“The same destructive political chess games have been played for years. It is the USCF members who lose. Whoever has the majority votes will decide how the political games are being played instead of focusing on what is best for the USCF. This is the long pattern of destructive politics that no one has been able to fix so far.

These problems have hindered the proper growth of chess within the USCF for decades. This is how so much money has been wasted and the financial situation of the USCF has gone down the drain. No one wants to talk about how much money this federation has wasted in the past 12-24 months alone.”

Instead of working together and allowing each board member to use their strengths to help the USCF, the USCF could potential end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for political witch hunts against people who want to end the status quo and transform the this federation into a financially strong, stable and viable organization. This is why the USCF has failed miserably for so many years. The members deserve better!

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar