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...]
posted on February 27, 2014 by
LinkedIn for Booster Clubs?
LinkedIn is a professional networking site. For some, it’s just a place to post a detailed resume. For others, it’s a forum for discussion, especially related to job searching, business practices, and industry news. For booster clubs, LinkedIn offers a number of opportunities. It’s a good space to recruit for volunteers, and has a few lively discussion groups focused on booster clubs themselves. (We’ve been following discussions on AMP, the Association of Music Parents, as well as the Sports … [Read more...]
posted on February 20, 2014 by
Facebook for Booster Clubs
In many ways, Facebook is a lot like Google: an agglomeration of distinct social media services offered under the same big name. Facebook rebranded tools like websites, forums, blogs, and Twitter, incorporating them into one massive site. The end result is some slightly confusing vocabulary. The Internet, With a Different Name Both Pages and Groups can be used as a platform to share basic information, documents, and photos. They also act as web forums; a place for supporters to … [Read more...]
posted on February 12, 2014 by
Twitter for Booster Clubs
You probably know that Twitter is a public texting service that distributes 140-character posts to subscribers*. Twitter has facilitated national protests and broken the 4th wall for Justin Bieber's fans (see the hilarious video at the end of this post). But you don’t have to be a revolutionary or a belieber to benefit from Twitter's speed and openness. Booster clubs whose members own smartphones can take advantage of Twitter’s lightning updates. Booster clubs might gravitate to Twitter for the … [Read more...]
posted on February 6, 2014 by
Social Media Strategy for Booster Clubs
With booster club board members in mind, we recently began reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of social media platforms. As we researched tips and tricks for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others, we realize that there is some social media strategy that applies to all of them. Our response is this post on audience, account maintenance, administrators, and the age-old question of what to post. However, before we jump into the great things you can do with social media in booster … [Read more...]
posted on February 4, 2014 by
Should Your Booster Club use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc?
So you want to use Social Media for your booster club... You connect through social media networks in your personal life, so why not use those tools for your booster club? Creating an account on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media feed is very easy. Yet maintaining those feeds efficiently for a small nonprofit presents a number of challenges. On the surface, it seems like the hardest part is choosing which platform (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest) is most suitable for the … [Read more...]
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 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...]
