BoosterHub

There’s no doubt about it — running a booster club takes a lot of effort from dedicated volunteers. When booster club parents become disengaged, it can bring the organization to a screeching halt.

It can be a lot to ask of parents to take time out of their busy days to volunteer, and sometimes there will simply be lulls where volunteers are in short supply. If your current practices aren’t working to increase engagement, you may have to change up your strategy and think outside of the box.

Here are a few ways you can encourage booster club engagement and get your volunteer numbers up.

Communicate

One of the most common reasons parents don’t volunteer for booster club events is simple: they don’t know about them! Emails and newsletters often get lost in the shuffle, so you may have to take a more active role in spreading the word to booster club volunteers.

Send individual texts, or even call volunteers to ask if they’ve heard about the volunteering opportunity. Sometimes all it takes is an extra reminder to get booster club members to sign up.

If you have just a couple of engaged parents, you can even assign them the role of contacting individual volunteers. You may also want to try a phone tree approach where parents are responsible for passing along the message of the volunteer opportunity.

The screen layout of the BoosterHub app itself is specifically designed to boost engagement: the Volunteer button is right next to where members are looking when they check the Calendar for events and when they answer chat and email messages.

Make It Fun!

Taking time out of busy schedules can already be difficult for some club members. Don’t make it worse by planning boring, time-consuming, or laborious fundraisers. Try to get creative with your events and make them something that people will look forward to. A few fun ideas include:

A dance marathon
A kids’ camp
A cooking class
A restaurant night
A school carnival
A reverse raffle
A BBQ night
A pumpkin patch

Events that incorporate kids can be particularly effective for increasing volunteer engagement. If parents can find an activity that their kids want to enjoy and the parents can volunteer for the club at the same time, that’s a win-win for everyone.

Aside from events, it can be a challenge to get parents to volunteer for the organizational element of the booster club. Try to make meetings and planning sessions a bit more tolerable by providing modest catering or some drinks, and make sure to plan the sessions at convenient times.

Crowdsource

Another effective way to get club members more involved is to crowdsource planning or fundraiser ideas. One person does not always have to be the decision-maker and planner. If you are having difficulty getting members to show up to meetings at a specific time, send a group calendar poll to see what time works better.

You can also crowdsource ideas for fundraisers so that the parents and members feel like they are more involved and have something at stake. Even the simple act of voting for an idea in a poll tends to get volunteers more active.

Getting booster club members more engaged is not always easy, but persistence pays, and with a few creative ideas, you can make your club a success.

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Ways to Fundraise for a Booster Club

Fundraising is perhaps one of the most important functions of your booster club. However, it can be tough to build momentum, especially if you are new to fundraising as a whole. You can also get stuck in a rut and feel like you are running the same two or three events on repeat. That’s when it’s important to mix things up to keep club members and donors engaged, ensuring a steady stream of support for your student-athletes. With that in mind, here are a few ways to raise more money for the student-athletes you support:

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Non-Profit Donation Receipt

Whenever someone donates to your club, you must ensure that you send them a clear receipt so they can take advantage of their tax deduction. These receipts are your club’s way of saying, “Thanks for being on the team,” and they’re essential for keeping records organized. Providing a timely and well-documented receipt also makes your club appear professional and organized. In turn, you’ll be able to more easily build trust with donors and encourage them to give again in the future. After all, donors need to be confident that you’re acknowledging and managing their contributions properly. On that note, here are a few tips to help you create compliant receipts:

Booster Club Best Practices

Booster Club Rules

You certainly wouldn’t sign up for a sports league without knowing the rules of the game, so why would you attempt to run a booster club without a clear set of guidelines? In a booster club, the rules take the form of bylaws, which are policies and procedures that are vital in keeping everyone on the same page, helping to avoid misunderstandings, and ensuring that each member understands their part in supporting the club’s mission. In some cases, these bylaws will spell out who can and can’t be members, as well as who is eligible to serve on the board. Some states even have standardized playbooks that you need to follow. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) in Texas, for instance, has a playbook of its own, covering specific bylaws for booster clubs that support school programs. In any case, here are some tips for ensuring everyone in your booster club plays by the rules so you can have a productive year: