Archives for March 2014

How Extracurriculars Shaped My Life

For many children who grow up in impoverished or at-risk communities, school offers few spaces for healing the pain of racism and sexism. Many students, myself included, spent years of our lives in varying levels of pain inside the education system, but received little assistance in recovering from issues that affected us inside and outside our schools. In this context, extracurricular and after school programs are extremely important spaces for students to heal. I want to tell you my … [Read more...]

Fire Up Supporters With a New Mascot

Big head bobbing and kilt a-flutter, Hank the Highlander made his debut in January at a New Jersey high school, the first mascot to grace the court in Governor Livingston High history. The much-anticipated mascot was purchased by the Highlander Booster Club after much careful research, some creative brainstorming, and some good old fashioned democracy. Booster Club executive board members, parents, teachers, students, and school administrators worked together to design the costume, and students … [Read more...]

YouTube for Booster Clubs

YouTube makes sharing video easy. Creating a YouTube account for your club, you can help showcase the work of participants, benefactors, and volunteers. Filming, editing, and posting videos takes time and energy but there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit -- simple videos that booster clubs can make. What’s great about YouTube is what’s great about online video in general. Ditto for what’s not  so great. PROs Easy to digest. Videos grab attention in a way that an 800 word blog post with … [Read more...]

Club Recruiting: We want you!

It’s that time again: as we head toward summer, volunteer recruiting will top the agendas of most booster clubs. If your school doesn’t already have a club of its own, it’s the perfect time to start one! Rounding up officers can be a challenge, but there’ s no shortage of resources out there for fledgling clubs. Get the word out by contacting your local newspapers, broadcasting and radio stations. A brief, straightforward announcement like this one from the Shelter Island Booster Club packs a … [Read more...]

Innovation in Fundraising: Overhead, Risk, and Pancakes

Booster clubs I speak with tell me that they have to raise more money than ever before. More than ever, school districts depend on booster clubs to fill the ever-growing gap between after-school budgets and actual student need. How can booster clubs radically increase revenues? Does reducing overhead mean more money for programs? When does fundraising clash with a club’s mission? Experts address these questions in very different ways. In this post I borrow points from Dan Pallotta’s TED talk … [Read more...]

Sunscreen for Supporters: Encouraging generosity with voluntary donations

When it comes to fresh fundraisers, pay-what-you-will donation drives can be an exciting twist on classic events. Voluntary donation fundraising can be a great way to update old and tired fundraisers, or utilize new opportunities. We’ve discussed the science behind the model’s success — donors feel proud to choose donating of their own accord, as opposed to purchasing goods in exchange for their support, and tend to be more generous in their giving. Booster clubs have applied this thinking to … [Read more...]