Harness the holidays for your booster club this year by publicizing “Giving Tuesday.” Unlike shopping focused Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is all about charity in the local community. It’s a great opportunity to raise awareness about your booster club’s needs, and make a year’s-end ask of your supporters. How can your club associate itself with Giving Tuesday (December 3rd) and raise funds effectively? There’s still time to issue a press-release (or simply make a phone call) … [Read more...]
posted on November 26, 2013 by
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Booster News: Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3rd) Could Raise Funds for Your Booster Club
posted on November 25, 2013 by
6 Life Lessons of Music, Singing and Band
Music touches us, literally, cascading vibrations from our instruments and massaging meaning into the neuroreceptors of our brains. Music also touches us figuratively, bringing us together and helping us bond. Anyone who’s learned to play an instrument or sung in a choir understands this intuitively. Yet how can booster club leaders illuminate this value in the community and rally their support? One answer: put on lots and lots of concerts with large audiences. In an age when digital consumers … [Read more...]
posted on November 19, 2013 by
How To Raise Funds Inside Your Community: Partnering with local businesses for mutual gain
Local business can be a great fundraising source for booster clubs, and most are happy to help. Parents, friends, and fans of student clubs and teams are potential customers, and partnering with booster clubs can be beneficial for both parties — booster clubs can raise funds through established, profitable businesses, and business owners can expand their local client base. But many of these establishments are approached by numerous teams, clubs, and charities for donations, and end up having to … [Read more...]
posted on November 18, 2013 by
How To Raise Funds Outside Your Community
When it comes to fundraising, there’s no business too big or too small to approach for help. Some of the big-name businesses may seem out of reach for booster clubs, but you’d be surprised to know how many have programs in place for just such donation. From airlines to retail stores, many of the places you already shop are glad to lend their support and name to charitable causes. Some businesses offer contests and large sums in charitable grants, while others offer up gift cards and products as … [Read more...]
posted on November 14, 2013 by
12 Food Fundraisers
The key to a good food fundraiser is offering something that you can’t get at your average restaurant or store. Booster clubs can add value to food in many ways, but the main avenues are quality and atmosphere. Which gourmet foods are only found in fancy restaurants? Which meals fit in community events? These food fundraisers can help you leverage the existing strengths of your club into a successful event, so keep your circumstances in mind. Do you have many vegetarian supporters in your area? … [Read more...]
posted on November 12, 2013 by
How to Cut A Budget Beforehand
Austerity Budgets What would your club do if a major revenue stream dried up, or if schools drastically cut your extracurricular funding? We see governments do this all the time: shutdown, sequestration, and austerity plans. Nonprofits and charities have had to face serious austerity budgets as well. After the economy collapsed in 2008, many charities had to decide which programs, staff, and other sectors to cut. Many weren't prepared. Booster clubs are very different than most … [Read more...]
posted on November 4, 2013 by
A New Kind of Bake Sale: Ditching prices for donations to encourage and reward generosity
If you’ve ever participated in an extracurricular program or know someone who has, chances are you’ve been to a bake sale. A classic, bake sales have been a staple fundraiser for teams, clubs, and groups of all kinds for many years. While they’re a reliable go-to event, they can come off as stale. And while some bake sales are very successful, many cost more in ingredients and effort than they’re worth. However, one elementary school shook up the traditional bake sale model, with amazing … [Read more...]
posted on October 22, 2013 by
What Booster Officers Need to Know About Title IX
As schools continue to face shrinking budgets, funding for extracurricular activities is often first on the chopping block. Administrators increasingly rely on the hard work of booster clubs to keep these programs open to the students who benefit from them so very much. But while generous, donations from booster clubs can cause problems for school officials who struggle to remain in compliance with Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions, especially … [Read more...]
posted on September 23, 2013 by
You Do Not Have It Covered: 20 Tasks for Volunteers
Sometimes a volunteer catches you flat footed. “You guys need anything? Can I help out?” There’s certainly a lot that you, a booster club leader, need to do. You could use some help. To-do lists are so tightly spooled in your head it feels like they’re going to start fluttering out. Yet it feels like more effort to train this volunteer than to do things yourself. You’re tempted to tell them that you have it covered, or that there’s nothing small enough for them to take on. Don’t give in. Do … [Read more...]
posted on September 10, 2013 by
Booster News: Booster Club Loses Nonprofit Status
Booster clubs can lose non-profit status with the IRS. A recent Forbes article brought this to our attention again, highlighting an IRS ruling from late August. “Capital Gymnastics operated in a manner that allowed substantial private inurement,” said the ruling. “[Capital Gymnastics] promoted private, non-public interests.” How did Capital Gymnastics ruin it’s 501(c)(3) status? Using a point system. Parents who didn’t want to fundraise paid, while other parents did collective fundraising … [Read more...]
