Club Treasurers: File Your IRS 990-N e-Postcard
IRS 990 Annual Tax Filing Reminder
Please remember that all Lions clubs, districts and multiple districts with annual gross receipts less than US$50,000 that are not required to file Forms 990 or 990-EZ must file the e-Postcard (also known as the 990-N). Please be advised that this filing relates specifically to the 501(c)(4). If your Lions club, district or multiple-district has a foundation, which is a separate legal entity, the appropriate form will need to be filed as well.
Please review the Annual Tax Filing information below. Thank you!
Please note that Lions Clubs International is not authorized to provide guidance regarding your filing. For specific questions, please contact a local tax professional or the IRS.
Kindest regards, Legal Division, Lions Clubs International
By Lion Steve DogiakosTreasurers: LCI Invoices Exist Only in MyLCI, and Suspension Now Comes at 90 Days
Heads up Club Treasurers (& Presidents)!
From last month’s newsletter article – Lions Clubs International issued semiannual dues invoices to every club on June 30, and they are payable now. If your club’s treasurer hasn’t logged into the MyLCI portal recently, this is the reminder to do it this week. If your club’s treasurer has not created an account on the portal, that is the first step to completing this process. The login is the email address that LCI has on file for each officer. If an email address has not been provided to your club secretary, you will NOT be able to create an account in the Lion Portal.
LCI no longer mails paper invoices. Your invoice exists only in the MyLCI portal. If you’re waiting on something to arrive by mail, it isn’t coming, and the clock on payment is running whether or not anyone has looked.
What to do – Log into MyLCI using your credentials. Your login will be the email address that LCI has on file for you. (If you have changed your email address, let your club secretary know so that it can be updated in LCI.)
- Navigate to your club’s account and click on the “Statements” tab to see
- Submit payment through the portal, or route the invoice to whoever handles your club’s payments if that isn’t the treasurer directly.
- Unpaid dues can affect your club’s standing with LCI and create complications for member transactions, so don’t let this sit unchecked because no envelope showed up.
Your Club’s Photos Could Recruit Montana’s Next Lions. Send Them Now.
Montana Lions are launching a statewide membership campaign this fall built around one message: Make an Impact. Right Here in Montana. The ads will run across the state, and the first thing Montanans will see is not a slogan. It is a photo of Lions serving their community.
Here is the problem: we do not have enough of those photos. We reviewed everything on the District website going back to 2023, and most of what we have is posed group shots and convention pictures. Those photos have their place, but they will not convince a stranger to join. What convinces people is seeing service actually happening.
That is where your club comes in.
What we need
Candid photos of Lions in the middle of service. Think of the moment before anyone says “everybody look at the camera.”
- Vision screenings in progress
- Lions serving food, stocking shelves, or working a food drive
- Highway and park cleanups with trash bags in hand
- Flag programs, playground builds, ramp projects, tree plantings
- Any project where a Lion’s hands are doing the work
Faces and action together are the gold standard. A photo of two Lions laughing while they unload a truck beats a photo of twelve Lions standing in a row every time.
Phone photos are perfectly fine. Send the original file at full resolution, not a screenshot or a copy pulled from Facebook. Horizontal photos work best for ads, but send what you have.
What to skip
Please do not send:
- Posed group photos, lineups, or banner shots
- Check presentations and award ceremonies
- Convention, banquet, and meeting photos
- Screenshots, photos of printed photos, or heavily filtered images
- Blurry or very small files
Nothing is wrong with these photos. They are just not what a membership ad needs.
A note on permissions
Only send photos where the people shown are comfortable appearing in statewide advertising. If a photo includes anyone under 18, confirm you have a parent or guardian’s permission before submitting it.
How to submit
Email your photos to [email protected] with your club name and a one-line description of the project shown.
Send them by September 30th. The campaign schedule is moving, and photos received early have the best chance of appearing in the first wave of ads.
Your club’s service is the best recruiting tool this district has. Let Montana see it.
Heads Up Treasurers (and Presidents)
Club Treasurers: Semiannual Dues Invoices Are Ready for Payment
Lions Clubs International issued semiannual dues invoices to every club on June 30, and they are payable now. If your club’s treasurer hasn’t logged into the MyLCI portal recently, this is the reminder to do it this week.
A note for clubs used to the old process: LCI no longer mails paper invoices. Your invoice exists only in the MyLCI portal. If you’re waiting on something to arrive by mail, it isn’t coming, and the clock on payment is running whether or not anyone has looked.
If your club’s treasurer has not created an account on the portal, that is the first step to completing this process. The login is the email address that LCI has on file for each officer. If an email address has not been provided to your club secretary, you will NOT be able to create an account in the Lion Portal.
What to do
- Log into MyLCI using your credentials.
- Navigate to your club’s account and click on the “Statements” tab to see
- Submit payment through the portal, or route the invoice to whoever handles your club’s payments if that isn’t the treasurer directly.
Unpaid dues can affect your club’s standing with LCI and create complications for member transactions, so don’t let this sit unchecked because no envelope showed up.
Why this matters beyond the invoice itself
LCI dues, along with District dues and any initiation fees, need to be current for your club to process new membership applications without delay. A lapsed invoice now becomes a bigger headache later, right when you’re trying to onboard a new member.
Questions
If your club is unsure about the amount owed or is having trouble accessing the portal, reach out to your zone chairperson or the District 37 Cabinet Treasurer for help.
Club Treasurer Financial Checklist for July
Welcome to the new Lionistic Year!
As we turn the page to another year of service, I’d like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to District Jon Kimble, First Vice District Governor Gary Lewis, Second Vice District Governor Gary Van Dyke and all of our dedicated club officers across District 37 a successful, inspiring, and rewarding year ahead.
Your commitment and leadership make a powerful difference in our communities, and I look forward to working together to support the financial health of our clubs throughout the coming months.
Start the new fiscal year strong by working through this checklist:
- ✅ Review prior year’s ending balances and carry over amounts
- ✅ Confirm all signers on club bank accounts are correct and current
- ✅ Reconcile year-end bank statements to make sure no outstanding transactions
- ✅ Prepare and present a beginning-of-year financial report to your board and club
- ✅ Ensure your club’s annual 990/990-N filing is up to date if the fiscal year ended June 30
- ✅ Verify any bonding/insurance coverage for club officers, if required
- ✅ Check dues invoicing from Lions Clubs International
- ✅ Update your club budget for the year, including anticipated expenses and fundraising plans
- ✅ Confirm your membership roster is accurate to avoid paying dues on dropped members
- ✅ Review club governmental filings with the Montana Secretary of State to ensure good standing with state
- ✅ Familiarize yourself with the Lions Club Treasurer e-book and resources in the Lions Club Treasurer Page
Closing the Books, Opening the Summer: A Treasurer’s Year-End Message
Reflections on Two Years of Service
As June draws to a close, so does my second year serving as your Cabinet Treasurer for Lions District 37, Montana. When I took on this role in July 2024, I made a commitment to be a practical resource for club treasurers across the district, not just a title in the cabinet directory. Whether it was navigating dues questions, walking through LCI financial reporting, or helping clubs reconcile a confusing invoice, it has been my genuine privilege to serve alongside you.
Two years in, I want to say plainly: thank you. Thank you to every club treasurer who answered the phone, replied to an email, or showed up at convention and asked the hard questions. Thank you to our Zone Chairs and Vice District Governors who helped carry messages down to the club level. And thank you to District Governor Corinna, First Vice District Governor Jon Kimble, and Second Vice District Governor Gary Lewis for the trust and support throughout this cabinet year. The financial health of District 37 clubs is a team effort, and I have been proud to be part of that team.
With that said, there is real work to do before anyone closes their laptop for the summer. Let’s get into it.
Know Your Dues Deadlines – They Are Not the Same Date
This is the point I most want club treasurers to internalize, because confusion here is common and the consequences (good standing issues, and membership processing delays) are avoidable.
LCI International Dues: Due July 1
Lions Clubs International invoices your club for the coming year’s per-capita dues at the start of each fiscal year. For the 2026-2027 Lionistic year, those payments are due July 1, 2026. LCI dues are based on your official membership count as reported in Lion Portal. If your club has not reconciled its roster recently, do that first, so you are not paying dues on members who have dropped.
Log into Lion Portal and verify the invoice amount matches your active membership count before submitting payment. Discrepancies are easier to resolve before you pay than after.
District 37 Dues: Due January 1
District per-capita dues for 2026-2027 will be invoiced and due January 1, 2027. I will be in touch with clubs in the fall with specifics. That may feel far away right now, but your summer budget planning should account for it. Know the number, build it in, and do not let it be a surprise mid-year.
If you have any questions about either dues amount or how your club is assessed, reach out to me directly. That is what I am here for.
Year-End Financial Checklist for Club Treasurers
Work through this list before the end of June, or as early in July as possible:
- Reconcile your final bank statement for the fiscal year. Every outstanding check should be accounted for. If something is still outstanding from months ago, it may be time to void and reissue or write it off per your club’s policy.
- Verify authorized signers on all club bank accounts. Officers change. Make sure the departing officers are removed and incoming officers are added promptly. Banks often require an officer visit in person, so do not wait until October to start this process.
- Prepare a year-end financial report. This should go to your club board and be presented to the full membership. It does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be accurate: beginning balance, total income, total expenses, ending balance. Transparency keeps trust.
- File your IRS Form 990-N (e-Postcard) if your fiscal year ended June 30. If your club’s gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, you are required to file the 990-N annually. It takes about five minutes at IRS.gov and keeps your tax-exempt status intact. Missing it three years in a row means automatic revocation. Do not skip it.
- Check your club’s standing with the Montana Secretary of State. Annual reports for nonprofit corporations are due by April 15, but if yours was missed or filed incorrectly, summer is a good time to catch up. Check your status at biz.sosmt.gov.
- Confirm your LCI dues invoice in Lion Portal and submit payment. Due July 1. Verify the member count first (see above).
- Review your club’s budget for 2026-2027. A budget is not just a document for the board meeting. It is a planning tool that helps your club avoid mid-year shortfalls and make deliberate decisions about fundraising and service spending. If your club does not have a written budget, this is the year to start one.
- Audit your club’s fundraising records from the past year. Were proceeds properly documented and deposited? Was restricted fundraising money used as intended? This is not about distrust; it is about protecting your club and your officers from liability.
- Confirm your club is bonded, if required. Some clubs carry a fidelity bond on officers handling funds. Check your bylaws and consult with your club president if you are unsure.
- Transition your records to the incoming treasurer, if applicable. If your club has a new treasurer taking over, do not just hand them a binder and wish them luck. Sit down with them. Walk through the accounts, the passwords, the filing system, and the schedule of dues and reporting deadlines. The best thing you can do for your club is a smooth handoff.
Looking Ahead to Year Three
I will be returning for a third year as Cabinet Treasurer, and I am looking forward to continuing to build on what we have accomplished together in District 37. Expect updated resources, clearer communications around dues and reporting timelines, and continued availability for clubs that need support.
My door – and my inbox – are open all summer.
If you have questions about anything in this article or about your club’s financial situation, do not hesitate to reach out. You can contact me through the District 37 website or directly at your Zone Chair.
We are all Lions. Let’s get to work.
Don’t Just Take My Word for It: Read Item 2 in the Official Convention Call
Back in February I covered the proposed international dues increase that will be voted on at the 2026 Lions Clubs International Convention in Hong Kong. This post is a short follow-up with one specific ask: go read the official language yourself.
LCI has published the formal call for convention, which lists all proposed amendments to the International Constitution and By-Laws that delegates will consider. The dues proposal appears as Item 2.
What Item 2 proposes
Item 2 is a resolution to amend Article XII, Section 2(a) of the International By-Laws, which governs semi-annual international dues. If adopted by a majority vote of convention delegates, the amendment would increase the semi-annual rate from the current $25.00 to $30.00 over five consecutive fiscal years:
- July 1, 2028: $25 to $26
- July 1, 2029: $26 to $27
- July 1, 2030: $27 to $28
- July 1, 2031: $28 to $29
- July 1, 2032: $29 to $30
That is a $10 total increase to annual dues spread across five years, or $2 per member per year.
Why read the source document
Summaries, including ours, involve editorial choices about what to emphasize. The official call for convention contains the exact proposed language that delegates will vote on, including the specific by-law sections being amended. If your club is going to have an informed conversation about this proposal, or if your club has a delegate attending the convention, reading the primary source is not optional.
What to look for
When you find Item 2, note that the resolution language is structured as a series of sequential “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED” clauses, one for each year’s increase. This is the mechanism that allows the phase-in. The resolution requires a majority vote to adopt, not a supermajority.
For reference, Item 3 in the same document covers a separate proposal to restructure international director representation by region. That item requires a two-thirds vote and is a different conversation entirely.
District 37 dues remain unchanged
As noted previously: this proposal does not automatically change District 37 dues or club dues. District dues are set through our own budget process. If the international increase is approved, individual clubs will decide independently how to handle the impact.
Questions about the convention call or the delegate process can be directed to your Zone Chair or any member of the District Cabinet.
Don’t Buy That Gift Card: A Warning to Montana Lions
If you have received an email recently from someone claiming to be your Club President, Zone Chair, District Governor, or another Lions officer asking you to purchase gift cards on their behalf, stop. Do not buy the cards. Do not reply. It is a scam.
This type of fraud is called a gift card scam, and it is one of the most common email cons targeting civic and nonprofit organizations right now. The playbook is simple: a scammer finds the name of a real officer or leader from a public website or directory, creates a fake email address that looks similar to the real one, and sends urgent requests to members asking them to buy gift cards and share the redemption codes. By the time anyone realizes what happened, the money is gone and unrecoverable.
No District 37 or Club officer will ever ask you to buy gift cards by email. Full stop.
Not for a service project. Not for a surprise gift. Not as a favor. Not urgently and not quietly. If you receive this kind of request, it did not come from a legitimate Lions officer, regardless of what name appears in the “From” field.
How to spot a spoofed or fake email
The name displayed in your inbox is not the same as the actual email address sending the message. Scammers rely on the fact that most people read the display name and never look closer. Here is what to check:
- Look at the actual sending address, not just the name. Click or tap on the sender’s name to expand the full address.
- Check the domain carefully. Official District 37 communications come from addresses ending in @montanalions.org or @d37.online or a member’s verified club or personal address that you already have on file. An address that looks almost right, like d37-0nline.com (using a zero instead of the letter O), is a red flag.
- Be suspicious of urgency. Scam messages almost always create artificial pressure: “I’m in a meeting, can you just handle this quickly?” Legitimate leaders can wait.
- When in doubt, call. Use a phone number you already have, not one provided in the suspicious email. A 30-second call will confirm whether the request is real.
What to do if you receive one of these emails
Do not respond to the suspicious email. Do not forward it, click any links in it, or follow any of its instructions. Contact the officer whose name was used (by phone or a known-good email address) to let them know their name is being impersonated. You can also report the message as phishing through your email provider.
If you already purchased gift cards in response to one of these requests, report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and contact your local law enforcement. It is also worth calling the gift card issuer directly, as there is occasionally a narrow window to stop redemption.
Stay sharp out there
Montana Lions do real work in real communities. Scammers know that, and they count on the goodwill of service-minded people to make these schemes work. The best defense is a habit of checking twice before acting, especially when email involves money.
If you have questions about whether a communication from District 37 is legitimate, reach out through the official district website at d37.online or contact your Zone Chair directly.
The Measure of a Lion
After my recent article about club visibility and membership, I heard from a member in my club who asked a question I suspect more people are thinking but not saying:
“Are we appropriate members if we contribute so little?” She went on to describe a full life. Working full time. Parenting. Living outside of town. Wanting to help when she could, but feeling like the club’s expectations exceeded her current capacity. She had joined because she believed in community service. She still did. But she was quietly wondering whether that was enough.
IT IS!
And it is worth saying directly, because Lions culture does not always communicate it well.
Committees and titles are infrastructure, not the mission.
Clubs need officers. They need committee chairs. Someone has to sign the paperwork, plan the projects, and show up to zone and District meetings. That work is real and it matters, but it is not the point. It is the scaffolding.
The point is service. It is the food bank volunteer who shows up on a Saturday morning. The person who quietly sponsors a kid’s camp registration. The member who helps a neighbor move, organizes a school fundraiser, or gives time to a local church event. These things are Lions work whether or not they appear on a club calendar.
A member who holds no title and chairs no committee but lives a life oriented toward service is doing exactly what this organization exists to promote. A member who holds every title and attends every meeting but treats service as a quarterly checkbox is a different story.
Capacity is not a permanent condition. The member who can give two hours a month right now may be the one running a committee in five years. The parent who is stretched thin today has kids who will grow up watching what their family values. The person who joins because they believe in service and stays because the culture is welcoming becomes, over time, one of the people a club is built on. Pushing people out, or letting them quietly drift because they feel like they are not doing enough, is how clubs lose exactly the people they should be keeping.
Service is not a means to membership. It is the point. There is a version of Lions participation that treats service as the activity you do to justify calling yourself a member. Show up, log the hours, attend the banquet, repeat. Membership is the destination and service is the ticket. That is backwards.
Service is not what you do to be a Lion. It is what being a Lion means. The member who is stretched thin but still shows up for a neighbor, still coaches the team, still gives time to the school or the church or the food pantry, is not falling short of something. They are doing the thing itself. The rest is paperwork.
When capacity is limited, that is not a reason to question whether you belong. It is a reason to do the service that fits your life right now and trust that the life you are living, oriented toward community, is exactly the culture this organization exists to build.
The question worth asking in your club: Are you measuring membership by titles held and meetings attended, or by whether people are living the values? Both have a place. But if the first list is driving the conversation and the second list is an afterthought, some of your best members may be quietly deciding they do not belong.
They do. Make sure they know it.