Booster Club

[purpleterah]

KISS means Keep it Simple Stupid. This is one of my favorite acronyms. It is used to discribe when you want something simple and easy especially fundraising.

[gym_mom2one]

Our gym just started a parent organization. We have a non-profit number. We do car washes, bake sales, golf tournaments and work food/concession stands at a local concert stadium. The golf tournament and concerts are good money. We also host a few meets at our gym. That is were the big money is. The parents will run the entire meet so there for the profit is ours... however we do rent the gym from the owners which I think it fair just because they will need to cancel classes for that day and anything else they may do at the gym that weekend.
Good luck but make sure you have a group of willing parents or it will not work...

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gymgramma Why don't you try to find "sponsors" for your daughter to help w/gymnastics expenses? there is a girl at our gym who's mom sends out sponsorship letters to all their family and friends and she raises most of her child's expenses that way - meet fees, camp fee, leos, etc

This child's NCAA eligibility will be destroyed through this private fundraising unless 1) it is paid to a 501(c)(3) organization (not just a nonprofit) and 2) the impartial board votes to give it to this gymnast.

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gym law mom LGCM--- As to involvement of the gym owner, I think it is important. We also have to pay the equipment fee. will not be competing. I've never heard of that---give some more info once you get it!

It is expressly forbidden that the "for profit" owner of a gym is on the board of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in which the for profit gym will benefit in ANY way (the for profit gym will always profit from the booster, btw, due to the principle of inurement). The booster must be impartial and separate.

It is also expressly forbidden that a 501(c)(3) ever give equipment to a gym. It can't donate it, rent it to the gym, or anything. A booster cannot have a capital campaign for the same reason, although the gym itself can do so. The gym can charge individual families an equipment fee as you have discussed on this thread, but that seems very smarmy to me (but not illegal).

The above two rules are written into the IRS code and specifically apply to athletic boosters. There is no way around them. Now, a bunch of gyms do the above, but they better not ever be audited.

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gym_mom2one Our gym just started a parent organization. We have a non-profit number. We do car washes, bake sales, golf tournaments and work food/concession stands at a local concert stadium. The golf tournament and concerts are good money. We also host a few meets at our gym. That is were the big money is. The parents will run the entire meet so there for the profit is ours... however we do rent the gym from the owners which I think it fair just because they will need to cancel classes for that day and anything else they may do at the gym that weekend. Good luck but make sure you have a group of willing parents or it will not work...

I agree that running and owning a meet is probably among the most money a booster can make. For those of you who are board members of a nonprofit or 501(c)(3) or are members in a booster that does not follow the corporate formalities in your state, however, please make sure that your booster buys its own insurance. The USAG recommends between 1MM and 2MM in coverage, depending on what activities the booster will engage in.

When a booster engages in the highest level of risk, such as running a meet where children can be seriously injured due to negligence or gross negligence, it needs to be insured against that risk.

USAG does cover the medical expenses of a child injured in a meet to a certain extent and that coverage is triggered when you officially sanction a meet. That insurance does not, however, fully cover the "owner" of the meet. The owners are not additional insureds on the policy and the insurance does not cover all acts of negligence or all potential damage.

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by |||JBS||| I am now at a competitive gym with a booster club. Although I still believe in what I said before....the gym I am at now has a very successful booster program. The funny part is, many of our parent's choose not to participate in the fundraising activities...they just pay the booster club a monthly fee.

If a nonprofit requires that parents work instead of paying a fee, then the parents who are working instead of paying that fee owe income tax on that "donated" time. The IRS views such a situation as "private inurement" if the children of the workers benefit, which is an income taxable event.

If a nonprofit 1) does NOT require that parents work, 2) parents work because they wish to, and 3) every donated entity of the booster benefits equally (e.g., every child who is a member of an athletic team, not just those of the people who work), then there is no taxable event triggered.

[Ingymmom]

Lemon Lime, that was some really GREAT info - thanks so much for sharing!

[Marge Simpson]

Ok, I'm intrigued. About how much does your booster club net when hosting a meet?

[LemonLime]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marge Simpson Ok, I'm intrigued. About how much does your booster club net when hosting a meet?

Not sure to whom the question is addressed, but the largest meets in this country (top 20) NET approximately $150,000.

A meet with 400 kids probably maxes a gym's capacity to hold its meet at their home location over a 3 day period. Such a meet, 350-400 kids held at the home location, should net a club around $20-$25,000 if managed properly. The vast majority of meets held these days are in this category.

It is difficult to move off-site with less than 600 entrants and still make good money, but if you can get to that level, you'll net around $75,000 if you are careful with your budget and good at donations.

The key to all of this is volunteer time and donations. Spend too much or lack enough key volunteers and you risk losing money. It usually takes 3 years to build up to 400-600 entrants, so consistency is a big factor.

[Marge Simpson]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LemonLime ... Such a meet, 350-400 kids held at the home location, should net a club around $20-$25,000 if managed properly. The vast majority of meets held these days are in this category. .

Thanks LemonLime; now I'm really interested! Is there anyone out there with booster club experience running a smaller meet, say 200 kids, willing to share profit info/tips/horror stories?

Thanks!