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 October 15, 2013 by
Booster News: Tax Alert!
While some booster club board members are focusing on recruitment, funding requests, and fundraisers, treasurers should take a minute right now to think about tax filings. Nonprofits are required to file a tax return, even if they don’t owe any taxes. Small organizations with under $50,000 in gross receipts have to file, too. However, they can use a 990-N “postcard,” which is more simple than regular nonprofit filing. Either way, it’s time to start gathering receipts and training new volunteers … [Read more...]
posted on October 14, 2013 by
How to Write Booster Club Bylaws Like a Founding Father
If you’re drafting a set of bylaws for the first time, don’t worry. Anyone who’s taken a high school civics class or worked for an institution intuitively understands bylaws. Like the U.S. constitution or an employee handbook, bylaws enumerate rights and responsibilities. The process of writing bylaws is like a structured conversation about what those responsibilities should be and how the club should conduct business. How to structure bylaws and what to include will vary depending on the club. … [Read more...]
posted on September 24, 2013 by
11 Life Lessons of Theater
If “All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players,” then there’s no better place to prepare for life than in the theater. I made this list of 11 theater lessons as a reminder of how much performance art can help the development of our young people. This post, like my 31 Life Lessons of Sports post, is designed to help booster club leaders articulate the value of extracurriculars. Sometimes we forget why we toil to support programs. Even when we do, it’s hard to articulate … [Read more...]
posted on September 20, 2013 by
31 Life Lessons of Sports
This summer I went to my college reunion and noted that 100% of the classmates I spoke with had participated in one or more extracurricular activities in high school. Every single person I spoke to credited those experiences with playing a role in their success, whether they were a magazine editor, an economist, or a stay-at-home home dad. Most of Boosterland’s readers will have a few reasons why they think extracurriculars are crucial for development. I’d like to compile them here as food for … [Read more...]
posted on September 3, 2013 by
What is the Ideal Committee Size?
C-O-M-M-I-T-T-E-E, double “M,” double “T,” double “E,”--even the word itself seems to have superfluous elements. Nine letters for a word that seems like it could get away with five or six. yet, “comite” doesn’t sound right, and “komity,” doesn’t look right. Luckily there’s an authoritative source--the dictionary--to prescribe the spelling of committee. There’s no authoritative source, however, which prescribes size of a committee. So we’re doing a study of our own. Boosterland needs your help … [Read more...]
posted on August 26, 2013 by
Booster Club Officers
Chairperson? Officer? Here are booster club board member responsibilities. In this post, I take a look at the most basic and most specialized booster club officer positions. Maybe you are starting a booster club and you’re asking yourself “how many officers do I need?” Maybe you are joining a booster club, and you’re asking yourself “what do all of those titles mean?” Think of the booster club officer positions less as people and more as collections of responsibilities and skill-sets. They need … [Read more...]
posted on July 23, 2013 by
4.5 Types of Booster Clubs
When it comes to booster clubs, size matters. I don’t mean the amount of people it serves, or volunteers it has, but rather the size and type of “turf” that it covers. Is the booster club responsible for an entire district? An entire school? The answer tells me right away many of its strengths and challenges. That's because booster clubs usually find themselves covering one of the following 4.5 scopes of turf. (Yes, there is one that’s only half different than the other 4.) And there are a few … [Read more...]
posted on July 16, 2013 by
How to Start a Booster Club
This is my step-by-step guide to starting a booster club. It’s intended to be a checklist, not an exhaustive manual. You can click links for more detailed advice on how to accomplish each step. I also put them in what I believe to be the correct order of tasks for starting a booster club. For example, you don’t want to register with the IRS with one mission statement, and then realize that the school doesn’t approve of its governance structure, or waste time trying to get a business bank account … [Read more...]
posted on July 15, 2013 by
3 Ways to Get 501(c)(3) Status and Become a Nonprofit Booster Club
Thinking about starting a booster club? Not sure how to certify it as a nonprofit organization? As you may know, becoming a nonprofit makes your club tax-free* and allows donors to make tax-deductible donations. But if you’re starting a new club or resurrecting an old one, it can be a daunting task. Don’t worry! Others have come before you, and done what you’re about to do. There are at least three ways to become a nonprofit, or more specifically, an IRS-designated 501(c)(3). I’m not a lawyer, … [Read more...]
