Little League Inc.'s CEO Steve Keener won't apologize for the money his volunteer-based program brings in each year. The youth sports league has seen a steady increase in revenue since Keener was elected CEO in 1996.
"I'm not going to apologize for generating revenue to support the programming issues of this organization," he told USA Today. "But I would apologize if I felt we were not using it to the best of our ability in a prudent manner and getting the most out of the money to benefit this program."
The league reported revenue near $25 million and assets of more than $85 million in 2012, according to USA Today. Little League Inc. is a non-profit membership organization, and has a tax exemption. The organization incorporates both baseball and softball leagues.
Keener makes $430,000 a year, a salary set by a committee of Little League Inc. board members. The league's 100-person full-time staff made almost $7.5 million in salaries in 2012. About 1.25 million volunteers help to operate the league in 7,500 communities.
Some of those volunteers question where the money goes, since the league doesn't employ that many people.
"That's a lot of money when all the grunt work is volunteer," said Randy Stevens, president of the Little League in Nashville, Tenn. His city's all-star team has qualified for the World Series the last two years. "Now I'm wondering where it's all going."
A majority of the league's revenue goes toward maintaining the national headquarters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and its five regional centers in Connecticut, Georgia, Texas, California and Indiana. Little League Inc. also has a full-time facility in Poland and offices in Hong Kong, Puerto Rico and Canada.
The organization pays for 125 criminal background checks for each local league and provides training programs for coaches. It also pays for the travel, lodging and food of the 16 teams that compete in the Little League World Series. Eight of those teams come from outside of the United States.
"Those are ways we try to direct the funds right back to the local programs," Keener said.
The Little League CEO has drawn the line to provide financial assistance in some areas. It's "unlikely" the league would cover travel expenses for the players families who come to Williamsport to see their kids play in the World Series. He also wouldn't consider a scholarship program for players at this young age.
"Anything we would do for one group of kids, we would do for all of the kids," Keener said. "And it's just not feasible to think that they're all going to head off to college when they're getting out of high school, particularly with the kids from the international region."
