Booster Club Management

[gymmama43]

I am very new to this, and I do admit upfront that I'm not sure how the Booster Club stuff is supposed to work.

Right before my ds started (over a year ago) there was a huge upset at our gym where numerous parents and gymnasts left the club. Apparently the officers were upset about something (I've heard tons of conflicting stories) and all left abruptly. When they left suddenly, other parents were forced to take over.

Now, one whole year later, I believe our club is in total disarray. I say that because...

1. Our officers do not conduct regular meetings. We meet haphazardly once every couple months or so. Often with very little notice and definitely not on the same day or time.
2. Many of us newbies have asked for copies of the by-laws numerous times and have never received them. They always say they will get them to us but don't. The coach says he will "fix" them and get them to us. Why on Earth the coach has anything to do with them I don't know.
3. They follow no rules of any kind for conducting the meetings. No one makes motions, no one seconds motions, and we NEVER vote on anything. The president tells us what the coach believes we should do, and we do it.
4. The coach almost RUNS the meetings (even when he isn't at them). He tells us what fundraisers to do, how to spend the money, and how assessments will be laid out when we come up short at the end of the year. (This seems wrong to me. Why is a COACH telling the booster club how to spend their money and settle their shortfalls?)
5. Our treasurer has never once provided us with a printed financial statement. They just tell us things like "we have about $___ right now".
6. The treasurer has lost numerous checks.
7. Several parents admit they have not turned in all fundraiser money or paid for t-shirts, warmups, etc. and we all believe that the treasurer is so disorganized that she doesn't even REALIZE it.
8. Several parents have admitted that they still have not paid all their competition fees and the season has been OVER for a month now. They were due in full by mid-January. Because we are $3000 short, we all got assessed. I fail to understand how those of us who are paid in full still must pay the exact same assessment as those who owe lots of money to the club.
9. The coach tells us he doesn't want us to require people to participate in fundraising; so most do, but some don't (including some of the same parents who admitted they haven't paid all their fees). However, we are all assessed the same fees when we come up short at the end of the year.
10. The coach tells us which fundraisers are earmarked for buying gym equipment. He doesn't ASK. He tells us. And no one says a word. They just do as they're told. I guess I'm confused, because I thought booster club money belonged to the parents and that the coach could ask for things but not demand them.

And I'm just getting started! My hubby has coached for numerous years and he explained to me that no coach runs the booster club and they certainly don't make demands.

We accomplish nothing in our meetings because everyone is talking over one another and there is no structure.

I'd love to hold votes, but quite frankly, most people don't show up, so how does this work in other gyms? Are they required to be there for voting, or do they just not get a say if they are absent?

Are the votes silent or transparent? Because I believe that most of our parents would be more forthcoming with silent votes, but are terrified of ticking off the coach with a transparent vote.

The current officers simply do WHATEVER the coach wants. A few of us are wondering how gymnasts' competition fees were paid when they still haven't been paid by the parents. Obviously, the coach must have taken the fees from the Boosters, right?

I just want to get a feel for whether this seems right, and possibly get suggestions on how to fix this mess without offending the coach.

Unfortunately, we have no options for leaving the gym since the next closest gym is a two hour drive.

Any thoughts/advice/etc. is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[gymgal]

Looks like you're in line to be the next president of the booster club! seriously, if you want to change it to work better than get to the top...

Several things depend on how your BC is set up. If it's a legal non-profit (I forget the number), then you can't force anyone to participate in the fundraisers and you are required to split the money equally (that would mean the losses too). Since you don't have your by-laws, it's hard to know whether the entire BC votes on issues, or just the "board".

Ours is set up as an executive board made up of pres, treasurer, secretary, and reps from each team level. These people vote on most issues for the BC, except for issues dealing with changing the bylaws, which must pass a vote through the whole BC membership at a scheduled meeting (well, whoever shows up, which is not many). The exec board meets monthly and the general bc meets quarterly (theoretically). The reps are responsible for passing along any important info from the exec meetings.

As for fundraising, the actual gym has no say in what we set up or what we spend it on, outside of events having to do with us needing the gym space or the coaches.

In my opinion, having a coach in such a position on the BC is a conflict of interest.

 

[wallinbl]

If the booster club is a nonprofit, you cannot require fundraising participation. The booster club cannot buy equipment. The coach cannot have power over what it does. Neither can the owner. The booster club is not a tax shelter for gym expenses.

Your bylaws will define what constitutes a quorum and how you can go about changing rules/bylaws. Your bylaws should be one file with the state, as well as the names of the officers.

The booster club can pay meet fees, but they must do so for all kids, or base it on skill/level, but cannot be based on contributions or how much fundraising. This may be where you're getting dinged for others not paying. Since they can't base their payouts on contributions, they have shaky grounds for saying that what they paid the gym was for the gymnasts who paid them.