Parents Meet schedule/fees/booster club questions. Help!

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Long story short. Gym is VERY new. It's been open only about a year. This year our team is very small. Only 7 girls. We also have a newly formed booster club (6 moms total) who have been fundraising like crazy. We have raised a significant amount of money since September. Next season we will have several girls moving up to compete at L3. As a mom, who had NO clue what competitive gym involved or the money it would take, I feel like before you are invited to be part of the team, you should be able to get a clear view of what your year is going to look like. I realize that a lot of this falls on the head coach and that we as a club don't really have any control over a meet schedule, but if the coach is willing I would like to be able to hand each parent a meet schedule with x amount of dollars in entry fees listed, plus estimated coaches expenses, booster club by-laws, scheduled fundraisers, etc.

We are still sort of evolving as a booster club. We know we can't exclude a child as far as funds go. It has to benefit everyone. I'm also fairly sure we can't require anyone to fundraise, but how do your gyms set up booster club participation. Is it mandatory, strongly encouraged, or completely voluntary?

How does your gym work?
 
Our booster club is voluntary. We work Bingo at a local bingo place. If you work, you get all meet fees, USAG fees, coaches' fees, travel fees, and uniform fees paid. Basically everything but tuition and grips LOL! They also send the kids to camp each year, fully paid.

The booster club does things each year to benefit everyone. This year, the girls got new bags and the boys are getting a new pommel. They bring in judges and clinicians. Most of the benefits go to the members though.
 
Our booster club is voluntary. We work Bingo at a local bingo place. If you work, you get all meet fees, USAG fees, coaches' fees, travel fees, and uniform fees paid. Basically everything but tuition and grips LOL! They also send the kids to camp each year, fully paid.

i'm jealous! we have fundraisers, but nothing that pays out like that!! i want a local bingo place like that!
 
Our team has minimum required fundraising and if you don't hit the minimum, you have to write a check to the team. That is spelled out in the contract you sign when you join the team.
 
Long story short. Gym is VERY new. It's been open only about a year. This year our team is very small. Only 7 girls. We also have a newly formed booster club (6 moms total) who have been fundraising like crazy. We have raised a significant amount of money since September. Next season we will have several girls moving up to compete at L3. As a mom, who had NO clue what competitive gym involved or the money it would take, I feel like before you are invited to be part of the team, you should be able to get a clear view of what your year is going to look like. I realize that a lot of this falls on the head coach and that we as a club don't really have any control over a meet schedule, but if the coach is willing I would like to be able to hand each parent a meet schedule with x amount of dollars in entry fees listed, plus estimated coaches expenses, booster club by-laws, scheduled fundraisers, etc.

We are still sort of evolving as a booster club. We know we can't exclude a child as far as funds go. It has to benefit everyone. I'm also fairly sure we can't require anyone to fundraise, but how do your gyms set up booster club participation. Is it mandatory, strongly encouraged, or completely voluntary?

How does your gym work?

Ok call me crazy...but if your gym only has 7 team members, that haven't even hit level 3, what do you need a booster club for? What kind of "meet schedule" would a level 2 or 3 have that would necessitate a ton of fundraising?
 
Our gym does not have a booster club. My DD is still in the compulsory levels, and we only compete in the fall. In May, they pass out a meet schedule for the coming season, along with how much everything is going to cost. One thing I really appreciate is that they break it down into payments. We pay for our uniforms by May 15, meets 1 and 2 by June 1, meets 3 and 4 by June 15, etc. They figure coaches fees in there as well. The coaches fees are spread out among all the team gymnasts. Although there aren't that many coach expenses related to meets at the compulsory levels, since most of our meets are local, I know I will greatly appreciate that if/when my DD gets to the optional levels and has to travel. The coaches fees do go up with each level, but it keeps one or two level 10's from having to cover 100% of the fees for out of town meets, like regionals or nationals, that they may be the only ones going to. I really do love how they break it all down, instead of just giving us a due date in August for a few hundred dollars. Of course, parents can pay it all at once if that is what they prefer.
 
Ok call me crazy...but if your gym only has 7 team members, that haven't even hit level 3, what do you need a booster club for? What kind of "meet schedule" would a level 2 or 3 have that would necessitate a ton of fundraising?
No we have 7 girls competing this year. 4 L4s, 2L5s and 1L6. Next year we will have girls joining the team at L3. Sorry for the confusion. We've raised enough money this year to pay for new warmups, pay for certain meets + coaches expenses etc. We live in a rural area, so we travel a very long ways to even get to a meet, typically 4+ hours. Our coaches expenses are high because of that. Usually we have a minimum of a 4 hour drive. Hopefully that makes more sense.
 
We aren't team yet... but well on our way. In our gym you either participate in boosters and parents donate 25 hours a year in time (to run bingo) or you buy out of boosters which is like 3K.
 
srsjbs and other boosters,

Is your booster club registered with the IRS as a 901-3c non-profit organization? If not, then your organization needs to pay income tax on any of the money you raise. If you are 901-3c, then there is no tax, but there are very specific rules you need to follow regarding the uses and distribution of funds you raise. The IRS has a very informative website. Go to www.irs.gov and search.

Good luck.
 
srsjbs and other boosters,

Is your booster club registered with the IRS as a 901-3c non-profit organization? If not, then your organization needs to pay income tax on any of the money you raise. If you are 901-3c, then there is no tax, but there are very specific rules you need to follow regarding the uses and distribution of funds you raise. The IRS has a very informative website. Go to www.irs.gov and search.

Good luck.

We're a 501 c3 nonprofit corporation - registered with the IRS and listed on their website as a public charity. Not familiar with the one you mentioned. Not sure if that was a typo or not.
 
We're a 501 c3 nonprofit corporation - registered with the IRS and listed on their website as a public charity. Not familiar with the one you mentioned. Not sure if that was a typo or not.


501-C3 has very specific rules and limitations. You can not technically "require" participation in fundraising, nor can they "buy out" of fundraising. We use our fundraisers to pay for the coaches travel expenses and the team entry fees for the meets, that way it is benefiting the group as a whole, but typically the upper levels do benefit the most as coaches fees are usually the most for the optional level meets.
 
kayjaybe,

Ooops - yes that was my error. It is 501. Sorry about that. gymtigermom hit on 2 of the major points about how the rules apply. In my years of experience with a non-profit booster club, I know how hard it is to try to get an equal amount of effort on the part of all members, but the rule is that all funds my be shared equally without reference to the level of participation of the individual members and while many clubs do not follow this rule and they might be subject to penalties if they were to be audited.
 
kayjaybe,

Ooops - yes that was my error. It is 501. Sorry about that. gymtigermom hit on 2 of the major points about how the rules apply. In my years of experience with a non-profit booster club, I know how hard it is to try to get an equal amount of effort on the part of all members, but the rule is that all funds my be shared equally without reference to the level of participation of the individual members and while many clubs do not follow this rule and they might be subject to penalties if they were to be audited.

I thought I had read this before...perhaps by you, Gymdad, on another post.

At my daughter's gym, by default of having a team gymnast, we are all part of the parent's organization. We don't do any fundraising other than our annual invitational we host. Parents are 'required' to volunteer x number of slots over this weekend. If they don't volunteer, they write a check for x amount. The majority of families do volunteer, however.

The money raised at the meet pays for the end of season party, judges for the mock meet, partial (about 75%) funding of the new team leo every 3 years (after that, you're on your own and sorry to say my daughter has never gotten 3 years out of that leo, lol!), they pay for special summer events and they cover coach travel for meets.

So, families only pay meet fees and we are allowed to pay in 3 installments at the beginning of the season.

I often wish, in theory, we did some individual fundraising, like candles or something. But I think no one wants to take on that responsibility (myself included!)

Good luck!
 
srsjbs and other boosters,

Is your booster club registered with the IRS as a 901-3c non-profit organization? If not, then your organization needs to pay income tax on any of the money you raise. If you are 901-3c, then there is no tax, but there are very specific rules you need to follow regarding the uses and distribution of funds you raise. The IRS has a very informative website. Go to www.irs.gov and search.

Good luck.

We are in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. It is a lengthy one! We are also registered as a nonprofit organization in our state. Thank you very much for the information!
 

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