[mammahen]

A new High School opened last year and formed an athletic association under a 501c3. In the past year and a half several there have been several instances where the bylaws under which the association was formed have not been followed. This can be shown in writing and is blatantly obvious. The school principal and county officials will not get involved stating a "conflict of interest".
Who oversees these boards? Other than the IRS, is there a way to ensure that the bylaws under which the 501c3 was formed be followed? Can these board members be held personally accountable? Newly elected board members that have asked questions are immediately removed and replaced without cause. This is a very affluent public high school in Fulton County and as we become more integrated parents do not want to see donations be used for custom designed sneakers and limo rides to competitions.

[ebaines]

The answer to "who oversees these boards" is: the board itself, presumably in accordance with its own by-laws (which of course the board can modify at any time). The IRS simply checks tax returns to ensure that the organization is not violating rules around not-for-profit accounting, sources and uses of funds, etc. The only other external check would be if the organization violates its charter as filed with the state, but charters are typically so broadly worded that it's unlikely that's an issue. So the last resourse is a lawsuit - if you have evidence that the board violates its own by-laws (which you haven't mentioned), you could demand refund of any contributions you've made under threat of lawsuit, particularly if they have misrepresented what the funds are to be used for. The fact that you simply disagree with the board's decisions on how to use funds is not grounds for a lawsuit - you need evidence of misrepresentation. And yes, board members can be held personally accountable, but you haven't provided any evidence of physical or financial harm that you have suffered as a result of their decisions.