Since the 1980s, Broadneck Music Boosters has supported the award-winning music programs at Broadneck High School—the designated performing arts magnet school for their county. The parent-run non-profit raises funds and coordinates resources for extracurricular music activities that fall outside the public school system's curriculum funding.
Problem: Manual Processes and Lost Revenue Strain Volunteer Leadership
As Vice President for Bands, Lisa Davisson manages all administrative aspects of Broadneck's extracurricular music program. Like coordinating transportation and parent volunteers to handling student registrations and communications.
Most of this work happens outside school hours, requiring dedicated time at her computer to keep programs running smoothly.
With their previous platform, Membership Toolkit, Lisa found herself spending entire weekends preparing information and volunteer sign-ups for the upcoming week's events.
"I would spend an entire Saturday preparing information for my parents to be able to support the events that we had for the upcoming week, just sitting at my computer for hours on end," Lisa recalls. "None of the parents knew how much time I was spending making sure we had all our ducks in a row."
The platform's complexity created additional burdens. Training new board members required multiple three-hour sessions, and the system forced Lisa to repeatedly recreate registration forms and volunteer sign-ups. The treasurer also struggled with payment tracking capabilities, leading to significant financial challenges.
"In the past, we have lost thousands of dollars to people who just never paid and who never set up a payment plan with us, and we were never able to track down," Lisa explains.
Between the manual payment follow-ups, cumbersome volunteer coordination, and time-intensive administrative tasks, Lisa was spending 12 to 20 hours per week just managing the platform—valuable time that could have been spent supporting students and programs directly.
Solution: Finding and Implementing a Customizable Management Platform
After two years of challenges with their existing platform, Lisa and the treasurer began researching alternatives. Upon discovering BoosterHub, they were impressed enough by the initial tutorials and demo that they didn't feel the need to evaluate other options.
" BoosterHub was the first program that I looked into, and as soon as I got on meetings with the BoosterHub staff, I felt like I didn't need to look for anything else," Lisa explains.
Though the platform had a higher price point than their previous solution, the team opted for the Pro Plan, recognizing that enhanced accounting features would help prevent the revenue losses they'd experienced.
The implementation began with Lisa utilizing BoosterHub's Academy—a comprehensive training hub with video tutorials and written documentation covering everything from basic setup to advanced features. This self-paced approach allowed her to create a training manual and test the platform through a 30-day trial before committing.
A critical challenge emerged when they discovered that students registering for multiple programs (like marching band and orchestra) were losing their previous registration data.
"When they would go and register for other programs, it kicks you out of the first one and only populates the information you enter into the second registration form," Lisa recalls. "That was going to be a deal breaker for me," she adds, but BoosterHub responded by modifying their platform's code to support simultaneous registration pages across different programs.
This responsiveness to their needs, combined with the platform's intuitive interface, enabled a fundamental shift in operations. Board members could now independently manage their own sections of the website, update the store, and access data without requiring constant support from Lisa.
Results: 75% Time Savings and Zero Revenue Loss After Platform Switch
The impact of switching to BoosterHub was immediately measurable. Lisa's administrative workload dropped dramatically, to just five hours per week—giving her back up to 75% of her time. The automated payment collection system eliminated thousands in lost fees, while the ability to pass transaction costs to users restored another significant revenue stream.
"I feel a real sense of pride in the work that I do, and BoosterHub has made my job so much easier," Lisa shares. The platform's professional-looking interface improves their communications, from newsletters to their website, helping them attract and retain program sponsors.
The streamlined operations have transformed how the organization functions. Board members can now independently manage their responsibilities without extensive training or constant support.
"The newsletter we send out is very professional. Our website looks very professional. They really put a lot of thought into the design, and that just helps us look great when we're communicating to our parents," Lisa notes.
The platform has become so integral to their operations that Lisa considers it mission-critical: "Right now we are depending on BoosterHub to finance our program. Our sponsorships are looking at the website, they're able to advertise on our website for their business as a sponsor. Those kinds of partnerships are crucial."
Continued Success
"I feel capable and confident that parents have all the information they need to help their students. It really makes us look like the important, attractive school program we are." Beyond just managing day-to-day operations, Broadneck Music Boosters now has the tools and time to nurture their award-winning programs and inspire the next generation of musicians.
