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How to Start a Booster Club: A 6-Step Beginner’s Guide

Starting a booster club is a great way of raising funds for scholastic sports and supporting student-athletes. However, launching your own booster club can be daunting, especially if you are new to the world of sports fundraising.

Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that you can follow to make the process manageable and even fun. When forming a booster club, you’ll need to:

Determine Your Mission

First off, you’ll need to define your mission and vision for the booster club. This means deciding if you want to be an athletic booster club or a sports-specific booster club. An athletic booster club (ABC) raises funds and supports all of a school’s sports teams. Conversely, a sports-specific club supports and raises funds for a specific team.

You’ll also need to identify your goals (i.e., raising money, organizing volunteers, staffing concessions). Most booster clubs do a little bit of everything. However, it’s important that you relay your purpose to the school, parents, and supporters so they know what your club is all about.

Incorporate Your Club

Next, you need to incorporate your club. You’ll also need to pursue a 501(c)(3) status, which will provide a federal tax exemption. You won’t have to pay federal taxes on the funds you raise for charitable purposes. This includes donations, profits from ticket sales, and revenue from concessions.

Engage Parent Booster to Handle Your 501(c)(3)

Incorporating your club and obtaining 501(c)(3) status can be a hassle. Fortunately, Parent Booster can guide you through these processes. They help with incorporating your club, getting a federal tax ID number, and registering with your state.

Build Infrastructure

Once your club is incorporated and registered, it’s time to start building your digital footprint. Create a “.org” website and social media pages so that you can engage with parents, athletes, alumni, and donors. Make sure you invest in a great booster club management software. With management software, your club can manage funds, track volunteer assignments, and more.

Determine Roles

If you want your new organization to thrive, you need a great playbook. That means determining roles and writing formal descriptions for each. Some common titles within a booster club include president, vice president, and treasurer, to name a few. Have a structured nomination process and put a great leadership team in place.

Launch!

Now, you are ready to launch your booster club and start accepting donations. Take advantage of social media and communicate with parents and alumni regularly. Most importantly, make sure your club is active in the community.

Ready to Start A Booster Club?

The hardest part about starting a booster club is taking the first step. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity — just do it! Get together with some like-minded alumni and parents, organize a plan together, and begin knocking out the steps outlined above. Before you know it, you’ll be scoring big for your school and providing student-athletes with much-needed funding.

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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: