cyfa announces dissolution

Dear Coaches and Administration Teams

On behalf of the Cherokee Youth Football Association (CYFA), I want to personally thank each of you for your willingness to meet with me during this past offseason to discuss the future of recreational youth football in Cherokee County.

I know your time is valuable, and those conversations required you to step away from your own programs, families, and responsibilities. I sincerely appreciate the time you gave us, the honest conversations we shared, and, most importantly, your continued commitment to the young athletes and families of our community.

After a great deal of discussion, prayerful consideration, and evaluation of the future of our organization, I regret to share that CYFA will no longer offer youth football and cheer programs in Cherokee County following this season.

This has been an incredibly difficult and heartbreaking decision.

For many years, CYFA has had the privilege of giving children the opportunity to participate in football and cheer while learning lessons that extend far beyond the field teamwork, discipline, perseverance, sportsmanship, leadership, and what it means to be part of a community.

None of that would have been possible without the countless coaches, volunteers, parents, families, schools, programs, sponsors, and community partners who invested their time and resources into CYFA. We will always be grateful for the trust and support this community has shown our organization.

While CYFA may no longer be active on the fields, our desire is to remain active in our community and continue serving the kids who call Cherokee County home.

As we begin the process of closing our organization, I have worked diligently with our legal team and financial advisors to develop a plan that allows CYFA’s remaining resources to continue benefiting young people.

CYFA will be making a $10,000 donation directly to your school’s football program.

I hope this gift will be more than simply a donation. We hope it will be an investment in the next generation of young athletes in your programs that will continue serving them long after CYFA has closed its doors. Whether those funds help strengthen an existing program, support a new initiative, purchase needed equipment, or provide additional opportunities for athletes, our hope is that they will ultimately make a difference in the lives of kids.

CYFA will also reserve approximately 44% of our remaining funds $150,000, to establish a community scholarship initiative for Kindergarten through 12th-grade football players and cheerleaders in Cherokee County whose families may otherwise struggle to afford the cost of participation.

Our goal is simple, we do not want finances to be the reason a child cannot participate.

We hope to work directly with each of your programs to identify families with legitimate financial needs and help remove those barriers whenever possible.

Additional remaining funds will be designated to support our varsity cheer programs, continue funding the existing Robert Ingram Scholarship for the next five years, and establish a broader community scholarship for children who may not be directly affiliated with a CCSD football or cheer program. Funds will also necessarily be reserved for the operational, administrative, legal, accounting, state compliance, and other professional expenses required to properly and responsibly dissolve CYFA.

Although this chapter of CYFA is coming to an end, we want our final chapter to reflect the same purpose that has guided this organization for so many years: serving kids, supporting families, and strengthening our community.

There is sadness in knowing that CYFA will no longer look the way it once did. At the same time, I believe we have an opportunity to finish well, to take what this community entrusted to CYFA and make sure it continues to benefit the children and families it was always intended to serve.

Thank you again for your time, your willingness to work alongside us, and, most importantly, the investment you continue to make in the lives of young people. Coaching is about far more than wins and losses. The time, leadership, encouragement, and example you provide can stay with a young person for the rest of their life.

CYFA has been blessed by the support of Cherokee County for many years. As we begin bringing this chapter to a close, it is our sincere hope that we can give back to the community that has given so much to us and continue being a blessing to its children, families, schools, and programs.

I look forward to working with each of you as we put these plans into action and ensure that CYFA’s legacy continues through the young people we all have the privilege of serving.

I wish you, your coaching staffs, your programs, and your athletes continued success—both on and off the field.

With sincere appreciation,

Tim Tippins

President

Cherokee Youth Football Association (CYFA)