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 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 December 31, 2013 by
Everything Booster Clubs Need to Know About the Fiscal Year
What is a fiscal year, in a nutshell? A fiscal year defines the start and end dates for an organization’s accounting. Annual and quarterly reports to donors, as well as tax filings, all flow from the fiscal year. So do budgeting and revenue goals. While the majority of U.S. companies’ fiscal year perfectly overlaps the calendar year (Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st), deviating from those dates is more common than you’d think. For example, check out the fiscal years for these organizations: Feb. 1st … [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 5, 2013 by
Should Your Booster Club Buy Insurance?
It was a booster club’s worst nightmare: A referee at a charity volleyball game injured her ankle when the stand she was sitting on collapsed. The booster club turned to the school district for help, only to be told that the district’s insurance would not cover the referee’s worker’s compensation claim, and that they considered the club financially responsible. The ensuing legal wrangling led to the dissolution of the booster club under threats of a lawsuit. "I'm just a mom, you know," Karen … [Read more...]
posted on October 29, 2013 by
Making Traditions (Whether You Mean To Or Not)
We are the makers of memories! What are your best memories from high school? What stories do you retell when you go to a reunion or get together with your old classmates? Arguably, most booster clubs aim to make great memories, so I think it’s crucial that we try to put a finger on what made our own experiences stick with us over time. Sometimes experiences are memorable because of random events--spontaneous downpours, chance encounters, or the serendipity that sparks both romantic and … [Read more...]
posted on October 24, 2013 by
5 Ways to Manage Booster Club Grants
Just as there are different kinds of booster clubs and ways to raise funds, there are many ways for booster clubs to distribute grant funds they raise among different groups. I’ve observed numerous clubs take different roads in managing budgets to meet their individual needs. Understanding the five most common modes of funding allocation can help board members choose the system that will best benefit the club, school, and students. 1. Monthly: Booster clubs evaluate requests for funding and … [Read more...]
