League Constitutions

Little League provides a “fill in the blank” constitution that we advise all leagues to use. This document goes over the decisions you, and in particular your membership, will have to make.

Article III: Membership

Section 2: Definition of Regular Members

This is one of the more complex parts of this document. It’s important to identify who the “regular members” of the league are, because it’s these people who will determine who the board of directors is. Regular members are not players, and they are not all parents of players. Regular members are all the volunteer adults who aid in running your league. LL requires this to include "all Managers, Coaches, Volunteer Umpires, Board Members, Officers of the Board or any other person who is recognized by the Board as a volunteer “. This is broad enough that there is no need to list other positions, but we suggest writing in “Everyone who has submitted a volunteer form and been approved” so it’s clear how you are recognizing volunteers.

Article IV: Dues for Regular Members (Not Players)

Little League allows you to set dues for members, and in particular give a number of days after which unpaid dues means revoking of membership. There are not the same as player registration fees. None of our leagues charge dues, so this doesn’t matter. We recommend just putting in 30 days, but it won’t matter.

Article V: General Membership Meeting

Once a year you will have a general membership meeting for everyone outlined in Article III. The purpose of this meeting is to make any changes to the constitution (rarely), pick the size of this year’s board (annually) and vote in a new board of directors for the next year. Remember, the outgoing board does not elect the new board - the general membership does. We recommend the following for options in this article:

• Section 2: Notice of Meeting -- 10 days

• Section 3: Quorum of Meeting -- 20%

• Section 6: Date of Meeting -- Third Wednesday in September

• Section 6(b): Minimum Board Size -- 7

• Section 6(c): New Board Start Date -- Oct 1

• Section 7: Special membership meeting must be scheduled within this number of days -- 30

Note Section 6(b) only sets the minimum. The membership can pick any size at least that big for that year’s board. While we recommend a minimum of 7, that is too small for most league’s boards.

Having the membership call a special membership meeting is highly unusual and a sign something is wrong, so you want to react quickly when it happens. That said, putting together a membership meeting is hard so you want to give yourself the maximum amount of time. If you have it and don’t get a quorum, you’ll have to reschedule it.

Article VI: Board of Directors

Normally the President calls the board meetings. This section allows board members to call for special meetings without requiring the President to agree to call one. Some leagues require the majority of the board to do this, and some have as few as 3. We recommend 30% of the directors.

We recommend requiring a majority (50% + 1) of the board to form a quorum, and 7 days notice to hold a board meeting.

Article VII: Duties and Powers of the Board

The standard LL constitution has a list of board positions. Some of these positions are required by Little League and some are not. If you are not going to have some positions, or are going to add some positions, you should indicate these on this document. This is your promise to the membership about what roles the board will have and this is important for them to know when voting in a board. You may create new positions during the year, but it’s good form to have the long standing positions here.

Article IX: Other Committees and Board Positions

Check off the committees you expect to have, and add any additional committees to plan to have. Like board positions you are not bound by these, but it’s a good communication tool to your membership. Certainly committees you have every year should be here.

Article XI: Financial and Accounting

You need to indicate what bank you use and what your fiscal year is. We strongly recommend October 1 - September 30.

Other Things To Consider

You may add additional articles or sections as required by your league, but you need not do so. Some leagues have had ongoing concerns raised by membership and have added language to solve those problems. The following example are worth considering and have been approved by Little League.

One league has replaced Article XI.5 (Financial Transparency) with a more specific clause around gifts given and received. This seems like a good idea, but certainly isn’t required.

Gifts Received. The league solicits and accepts gifts and sponsorship that are consistent with its mission. Donations will generally be accepted from individuals, partnerships, corporations, foundations, government agencies, or other entities, without limitations. In the course of its regular fundraising activities, the league will accept donations of money, personal property, and in-kind services related to the operations of the league. Certain types of gifts must be reviewed by the league board and potentially legal counsel prior to acceptance due to the special liabilities they may pose to the league. Examples of gifts which will be subject to review include gifts of real property and gifts of securities. Donations made to the league will be handled by our Sponsorship Director in accordance with the league’s sponsorship program. Any donations made under anonymity will be respected and not disclosed publicly.

Gifts Given. The league will require board approval for any gifts made externally or for any expense relief per League Board rules. However, the league can provide baseball equipment and league branded clothing to key volunteers who demonstrate a consistent track record of contribution and where said equipment and clothing helps perform the volunteer duties in service to the league. The limits are as follows:

• Board Members - not to exceed $200 in any fiscal league year

• Division Directors - not to exceed $100 in any fiscal league year

• All Other - not to exceed $50 in any fiscal league year

For clarity purposes, our postseason coaching staffs for All Stars, Superbowl, and Hawks are excluded from this as they are provided with the necessary hats, shirts, and other gear in accordance with Little League International rules.

Another league has added language to Article V.4 allowing voting at the annual membership meeting to be done online.

Article V, Section 6(e)

In lieu of the election of the Board of Directors for the upcoming year at an Annual Meeting of Membership, the Board of Directors for the upcoming year may be elected by means of an online vote of the Regular Members using a website (such as, but not limited to electionrunner.com) reasonably determined by the Board to provide for a secure, accurate and fair means of conducting such elections in which all Regular Members have the right to vote. If the election is so conducted, then the Annual Meeting need not be held unless requested by a majority of the Regular Members.

We recommend considering this option, but not the last sentence. We feel an annual meeting can be held over Zoom even if online elections are held, and requiring a majority of the members to request one is asking a lot.