Are donations to a booster club tax deductible? In the past, donations to a booster club with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation entitled you to a write-off on your tax return equal to 80% of the monetary value, even if goods or services were received.

Fundraising is a critical part of booster clubs, and it can be a challenge for many organizations. It can be hard to get parents and students involved, and not every fundraiser may be as successful as you want it to be. An easy way to change up your normal fundraiser routine is to switch to an online format. Generally, online fundraisers are less work for volunteers and are a quick way to raise funds.

For decades, athletic booster clubs (ABCs) have worked to raise funds for athletic teams and fine arts groups across the nation. Traditionally, one athletic booster club will serve all athletes at a school, regardless of the sport. However, in recent years, a new trend has begun to emerge. Several schools have broken away from the centralized ABC fundraising model and now form separate booster clubs for each activity or athletic endeavor. While having a centralized booster club for an entire campus certainly has advantages, the more modern approach also has its appeal. Let’s examine the pros and cons of the classic approach and highlight why the new school model is gaining traction on campuses nationwide

A thriving booster club relies on effective fundraising. Furthermore, your club must use the correct tools to manage your booster club accounting and finances to have a strong backbone and a long future.

One critical part of your booster club’s success is maximizing your audience for fundraising. A great way to do this is by leveraging club alumni. Alumni are a defined audience already familiar with what you are doing and passionate about your activity. You should make a point to not only communicate with them but seek their support and even lean on them for booster club fundraiser ideas. Here are a few ways you can make the most of your alumni network:

When running a booster club, it can be difficult to set up a regular channel of communication between members. People often get busy, and connectivity can fall by the wayside. To ensure that your booster club community remains engaged, follow these three tips:

Booster clubs are filled with dedicated parents who want the best for their kids, but few have fundraising training or experience. Many booster club fundraising ideas may seem like they’ll work, but it's critical to pick a project that your group is passionate about.

Booster clubs are wonderful organizations, often supported by dedicated parents. However, most members do not have fundraising experience. It’s not easy to come up with fun and engaging booster club fundraising ideas. Even if an idea seems like a good one in theory, it can be difficult and expensive to organize. Some fundraising partners and platforms charge as much as 40% of the proceeds. In addition, busy parents often don’t have the time required to organize a large event, or even attend one. For these reasons, it’s critical that you think carefully about the best ways to maximize engagement and boost attendance. Here are a few ideas for booster club fundraising.

In today’s digital world, you use computers and software for everything from shopping to communicating to working. Have you ever considered software for your booster club? Booster club software can simplify your life, free up more time for fundraising, and make your organization run more efficiently.

Managing a booster club and ensuring its success can be a difficult task. However, the reward that comes from seeing beneficiaries of the club flourish is hard to beat.

Starting a website for booster clubs is a great idea, but not all websites are equal. If you take the steps to create a website, you should also make sure that a member of the club has time to dedicate to it. A lot of booster clubs put up a website but fail to update it, which can ultimately hurt your organization. Here are a few booster club website best practices.

In an October 2022 press release, Yahoo! Finance recognized BoosterHub as the #1 booster club software in this emerging industry. Since it launched, BoosterHub has experienced championship-level growth. In just nine months, BoosterHub surpassed the $1 million gross merchandise volume threshold. BoosterHub’s overnight success speaks to the fact that the dynamic platform fills a long-standing void in the school booster club space. As of the press release, BoosterHub has more than 5,000 members and facilitated over 45,000 transactions. Our platform has an incredibly low single-digit churn rate, which is undoubtedly due to the fact that our customers are extremely satisfied with the product.

Whether your booster club is part of an affluent community in a major metropolitan area or operates in a smaller, tight-knit neighborhood, raising more revenue is undoubtedly one of your top goals this coming year. The question is “how?” You are probably already using the usual tactics like operating concession stands during games and encouraging student athletes to reach out to loved ones. These tried-and-true strategies can certainly help bring in some revenue. However, they are most effective when raising funds for larger teams, not smaller clubs. Fortunately, there are a few ways to give your revenue a boost and help young athletes get funding for the sports they love. If you want to raise more money for your booster club, follow these suggestions.

Whether you are just starting a booster club or have been managing one for some time, you should know the difference between non-profit status and 501(c)(3) status. Both have different qualification requirements and benefits that booster club members should be aware of.

Setting up a Venmo account for a booster club can seem like the perfect way to simplify your club accounting. It’s digital, it’s easy, and almost everyone knows how to use it. Apps like Venmo can be an attractive alternative to cash and are more traceable and less susceptible to fraud or mismanagement. However, using a personal Venmo account to conduct booster club business may have unintended consequences. Read on to learn more about the implications of using Venmo or other cash apps.

Booster clubs can be fun, and they’re a great way to support your students and make new friends. However, like any organization, sometimes the daily operations or coordination of events can be frustrating. Today, we’re looking at common booster club frustrations and how to solve them.

When running a booster club, it can be difficult to manage all facets of the organization. It’s almost like running a small business. The president of the club is responsible for managing events, organizing fundraisers, and ensuring that the organization operates efficiently and effectively. So what are the most frequent mistakes that booster club presidents make? If you manage a booster club, these are the things to avoid!

When managing a booster club, one of your top goals is generating as much revenue as possible for the athletic team or fine arts group you are supporting. One way you can maximize your revenue is by taking advantage of any price breaks and tax exemptions offered in your state. This brings us to the topic at hand: booster clubs and sales tax. Sales tax is a fee imposed by state governments on transactions involving services or goods. Because these fees are primarily imposed at the state and not the federal level, tax percentages vary from state to state. So does your booster club have to collect sales tax? Let’s explore.

A concession stand is one of the most effective ways for your booster club to raise money for sports teams. However, if you have never run a concession stand before, you undoubtedly have tons of questions about it. Running a successful concession stand is not quite as simple as it may appear. In order to do so, you need to familiarize yourself with food service requirements, explore state tax laws, and much more. The good news is that there are great resources to jumpstart your efforts. In addition to creating this beginner’s guide, the team at BoosterHub frequently tackles important concession-related topics. In this post, we take a deep dive into food service licensing requirements for concession stands. Whether you are already running a successful concession stand or have recently taken over these responsibilities for your booster club, this playbook will help you comply with state and local guidelines.

BoosterHub’s all-in-one platform transforms GHS Lady Eagles Volleyball Club’s membership management, fundraising, and communications to help them elevate their game and achieve their goals.

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.

While booster clubs are almost always made up of honest individuals who are genuinely trying to help support kids and their schools, unfortunately there are exceptions. A well-run organization, no matter what size, should have fraud and theft preventative measures in place. Here are a few ways you can help prevent fraud and theft in your booster club:

To execute a fundraising event, you first need to determine your goals and how you’ll get there. Will you sell things or hold a raffle or silent auction?

Concession stands are one of the most popular booster club fundraising events and often the easiest to execute. Your members are already watching their children, so you have a ready customer base at every meet, game, or competition. Knowing how to start your booster club concession stand, including proper hygiene, money collection, and the right food and beverage items, can make your fundraising successful.

When it comes to athletic fundraiser ideas, concession stands remain one of the most effective ways to raise money. The margins on concessions are generally good, and with smart operations, your club can raise the money necessary to fund your athletic program. If you recently took over the concession stand, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The key is to get organized and work to maximize efficiency rather than just getting by. Here are a few tips to make your concession stand successful:

There is no secret formula that guarantees success when forming booster clubs and electing officers. However, strong leadership and administration have a significant impact on whether your booster club achieves its goals and objectives.

Congratulations on your recent election to Booster Club Secretary! While each club may assign responsibilities differently, for the most part, booster club secretary duties are fairly consistent across the board and ideal for someone with precise attention to detail and good organizational skills.

With limited resources, booster club fundraising can be a real challenge for some organizations. Organizing a fundraiser takes time, volunteers, and money. Oftentimes, the easiest way for clubs to organize an event is through a platform that comes along with fees. Some platforms charge as much as 25-40% in fees. If your club is paying this much, it may not be worth all of the effort that you put into the fundraiser in the first place. Paying these high fees is not your only option. There are lots of ways that you can raise money without giving away a significant amount of your proceeds.

When running a booster club, it’s important to ensure that booster club parents, members, and volunteers are all engaged in the organization's success. A booster club that isn’t properly organized can easily fall flat, leading to disappointed children, teenagers, and parents. ‍If you find that your booster club isn’t meeting goals and members lack interest, take these steps to get your group back on track.

The key to successful booster club fundraisers is encouraging participation and having fun. One of the easiest ways to do this is with a 50/50 game at fundraisers. 50/50 games incentivize supporters to donate by offering a prize and also help the organization meet its fundraising goals. While it seems like a harmless activity, 50/50 games are often considered gambling, which can come along with a whole host of rules for your event. Your booster club responsibilities include ensuring that all activities are permitted under the laws of your state, so it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rules around gambling.

While booster clubs enjoy some tax benefits, that doesn’t mean they are immune from filing paperwork with the IRS. Between fundraising, managing day-to-day operations, and keeping track of expenses, it can be easy to forget about other booster club and tax requirements. Here’s what to do if you forgot to file and how you can avoid it in the future:

The simple answer is: if you have it, it should be updated. Don't just open a Twitter account because everyone has one. Pick the media your fans and families use the most, and then keep it updated.

Managing the financial aspects of a booster club can be time-consuming, tedious, and open to mistakes. Many booster clubs still follow old-school accounting methods, including collecting cash payments and performing regular deposits. If you identify with these approaches, it may be time to consider moving to a cashless operation. Consider these benefits of booster club accounting software:

Avoid common booster club mistakes with preparation and organization. Using booster club accounting software and an application that allows communication, fundraising, and financials to all be handled from one place can streamline your club’s operations.

There are few things more fun than a night of games and gambling. A booster club casino night fundraiser can be a fun way to get people involved and raise a little (or a lot of) money. Even if your booster club has no intention of setting up a roulette table, you might still need to take a few additional steps to legally prepare for this event. If you want to host a casino night, your booster club must meet certain criteria to host one of these events.

The primary booster clubs officials' roles are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. This group is known as the Executive Board. Some clubs have additional VPs for Social, Fundraising, and Communications. Your organization may also have committee chairs for specific events, with ad hoc responsibilities over the course of the year.

Most booster clubs are run by dedicated parents who want to support their children and their local organizations. However, any organization that handles money is susceptible to theft and fraud. Booster club theft and fraud is more common than you might think, so you should consider implementing safeguards to keep your funds safe and secure. Below are a few measures you can take to ensure your booster club is protected.

Almost everyone uses apps on a daily basis to navigate, communicate, transact, and more. In many ways, apps can make life easier and more convenient. Booster club software, along with a mobile app, can do the same for your organization. An app can simplify day-to-day management, improve communication, and make your life easier, all in one location.

If you are looking to improve your booster club’s performance and get more out of your volunteer hours, booster club software is a great solution. BoosterHub is the only software and mobile app designed specifically for booster clubs. While some other apps offer services that booster clubs can use, they are not specialized and don’t consider booster clubs' specific needs.

A booster club is a volunteer group of parents and other generous individuals who are devoted to supporting specific activities in schools and throughout communities.

Booster clubs depend heavily on coordination and engagement from members. The best-run booster clubs are usually the ones with the best communication mechanisms. If members are in the dark about what’s going on, you are unlikely to get support when you need it. Try these tips for effective communication in your club:

A booster club that qualifies for IRS 501(c)(3) status must file its tax return by the 15th day of the fifth month after the end of the organization’s tax year. For booster clubs that operate on a calendar year-end, the due date is May 15th. However, the booster club may choose another fiscal year-end, which can result in a different due date.

Volunteering for a booster club is a great way to help your local schools, neighborhood kids, and the community. However, booster clubs must abide by certain rules, and when those rules are broken, someone has to be held accountable. Booster club members generally are not responsible for mishaps that occur in the club. However, when you volunteer to be President or any officer in a club, your office comes with certain liabilities.

When you’re operating a booster club, having a wide audience is key to success. If you have a small mailing list, you’ll be sending communications and invites to the same group of parents repeatedly. That can make it really hard to get engagement over time. There are lots of groups who may be interested in the club aside from parents. In addition, not every communication needs to be about fundraising. You can simply send a newsletter with club updates or encourage supporters to attend an event. At a minimum, you should consider adding sponsors, club sports, local businesses, and alumni to your booster club mailing list.

Booster clubs depend on the participation of club members. Running the club can be a lot of work, between concessions, fundraisers, and other events. While some events are well attended and volunteers are easy to come by, it can be difficult to get regular engagement throughout the year. If you are having trouble with booster club participation, consider the following ideas to try to improve your engagement.