Booster Club

[bluefeet]

We've had a mostly successful not-for-profit booster club at our gym for more than 20 years. It is still generating decent revenue, but it has seen better days.

Turnover in the gym is probably the biggest hurdle. As one mentioned, a poorly run booster club often creates more problems than it fixes. It takes a strong, focused board to keep marching in the right direction. It's been several years since we've had a clear vision. As newer parents enter & veteran parents leave, it doesn't take long for folks to start feeling disenfranchised.

Our club's primary fund raiser is the operation of a weekly charity bingo. Bingo workers essentially 'profit share'...with a percentage designated for general expenses, gym equipment donations, etc.

As the recently crowned booster president & long time bingo chairperson, I'm ashamed to admit that I know very little in regards to efforts you must undertake to get your organization off the ground from a legal standpoint.

Bingos can be hugely profitable. I've paid very little out of pocket over the years by giving up the Saturday mornings. But in this day and age of other recreational gambling options, I suspect it would be pretty difficult to compete as a new bingo. That said, it would be worth exploring. Visit your states charitable gaming website for rules, lists of other bingos in your area, etc. By filing freedom of information requests, you can also obtain earnings reports for bingos in your area.

We also make a small profit from our meet concessions. But the organization of this is almost always a headache. To be honest, it's provided more so as a service than anything.

As previously mentioned, our newest venture is looking to obtain local sponsorship. Searching the web I found a few great sponsor programs - with the actual sponsor letters, levels of sponsorship, etc. I know first hand of a gym in the area that raises 5 figures+ annually through this effort. I have about 20 hours and a few hundred dollars invested at this point. They'll be going out soon...I'll let you know how it goes.

-Dave

 

[littlegymchampsmom]

Update & more ?'s

All of the team parents got together - along with the gym club owner - and we are trying to get our booster club up and running.... our 1st officail meeting is tonight where we will elect people to positions. The person that has already been "elected" president has the most experience w/booster clubs, but no exp as a president and the majority of the rest of us are completely new to club gymnastics and have never even competed ... I am hoping we are not in for a disastorous year (nervous... LOL) - not really funny. We will only begin to fill out the paperwork, I am sure it takes a long time to get things going from there, but we have to start somewhere... I am so grateful for all of the tips, advice, experiences that have been posted. I don't feel nearly as blind because of you all . A couple of issues have come up that I was wondering about...

1. JBS said the gym owner should be on the board of the booster club, but our gym owner wants to stay out of it. What kinds of issues will this present for us?

2. Our club owner is making all of the team parents sign a one yr sep - sep contract, but we have to commit to this immediately and will not be allowed to train this summer if we do not. After sep no one can leave, but the club will be allowed to let more in.... because of this our coaches have no idea how many hours the girls will train in the fall/winter because they say it depends on how many girls will be on the team - more standing around waiting to be spotted = very little progress and wasted time.

3. along with meet fees/coach expenses (which are being estimated at $1200 per child) we also are being assessed a $250 per yr equip fees which will be due in advance in sep. All gymnasts will be required to pay, even if they are not ready or old enough to compete. They used this estimate from the 7 or 8 girls that competed last year... now we will have around 25 comp and optional girls... with 2 that will not be able to compete due to age and a few more that may not be ready. Does this seem typical/fair? ( I am one of the parents of a gymnast not old enough to compete and both I and the other parents of the child not old enough agree that we should share in the cost of coaching fees - we are a team - , but why should we pay entry fees?)

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

 

[gym law mom]

LGCM---Bless you all as you start up a booster club!. At least it sounds as if you have someone with experience with a 501(c)3 organization. Really the gym part of it isn't quite as important. There is alot of administrative work that is time consuming and to be quite honest a pain in the butt to accomplish to get your organization up and running---papers to be filed for tax exempt status, bank account to be set up etc. Decisions on fund raisers, what kind, what does the money go to, individual accounts vs. general fund etc. You will make mistakes---everyone does. Learn from them, don't try and cover them up and move on.

As to involvement of the gym owner, I think it is important. Ours left the booster club alone for many years(he and wife were busy coaching). Things got very ugly the year before my daughter moved up to team and parents pulled their kids out of the gym or were in the owner's office complaining. At that point he decided to take a more active role in the booster club and now the board has a permanent position for a "gym rep." That could be one thing you might want to consider and let the owner know it doesn't have to be him---could be team director, another coach etc.

We also have to pay the equipment fee. Ours is called "team fee" which is misleading to new parents---they think it covers all the team stuff. Anyway, we pay $200/year and were just billed---you can pay however you want, but it must be paid by Sept 1. The rationale here is(and I didn't say I agree) that the team girls do the most wear/tear on equipment so they should chip in a little each year to go to repairs and replacement. Ours is billed at $200 per gymnast so those with 2 girls on teams really get hit. Girls on pre-team DO NOT pay this. We don't have girls practicing with the comp teams who don't compete. Our set up is a little different. Our kids start in a 3 level pre-team program when they are about 6 or 7. Depending on the child it may take 2-2.5 years to complete and then they go to the L5 team, so they don't have the issue of a girl being too young for L5.

I don't understand what kind of contract the owner is getting you all to commit to. Is it saying that your child will only practice and compete for this gym for 1 yr? Something like that(depending on wording) may not even be legal. I don't see why you would have to sign it since your dd will not be competing. I've never heard of that---give some more info once you get it!

 

[littlegymchampsmom]

GLM... I am certain our owner is pushing us all to team for financial (our fees will go from 205 to 305) & a couple of other reasons... I have many red flags about this entire situation, but I want my dd to remain with these coaches so I am trying to work with things as best I can... more on that later. You mentioned something about the legality of a contract and I was wondering how I can find out more about that? I was told this was normal practice... is anyone else required to sign a contract saying they will remain with their gym for a 12 month period? thanks for the blessing - I think we are going to need it...

 

[gym law mom]

I have never heard of a gym asking parents to sign an agreement like that--doesn't mean there aren't other gyms out there that may have done it. Kinda gets in the area of restraint of trade etc. I highly doubt this type of contract would be inforceable in court. I understand this owner has a new program which sounds like its grown quite a bit in 1 year. The way to ruin it, is to start putting alot of new rules, extra fees on parents.

Do kids get upset, frustrated and go to other gyms? Sure. Can a gym owner stop them? No. What is in the contract as a penalty for leaving? Sorry for so many questions, but you have really peaked my interest with this!

Would be interesting to hear what the coaches and owners in this forum have to say about contracts like the one presented to you.

 

[Mac]

The rationale here is (and I didn't say I agree) that the team girls do the most wear/tear on equipment so they should chip in a little each year to go to repairs and replacement.

That would bug me. While they use the equipment more, they also pay more tuition. I would think that equipment maintenance and upgrading is part of the gym overhead and should be factored into the gym's budget by the owner when they set class fees.

Moms and Tots are more likely to use the bathrooms, so do they pay a janitorial surcharge? [kidding]

 

[littlegymchampsmom]

glm - When we first came to this gym I liked the idea we would not be competing for a couple of years. I was originally told that my dd would remain on pre-team for a year and then they would evaluate skills to make the decision if she would train with the Level 5 team. Our year will be dec 2008. After watching the coaches for all of these months I have come to really appreciate them - they are great coaches. The problem is the gym owner - bad customer service, very little communication - and when there is communication it is one-sided.... when they gave the list of girls moving to level 5 my dd was very excited - in fact all of the girls were. I was a little upset because of what we were originally told, but I was assured that for us team would just be a "word" or a "phrase" - just more hours. I don't think my dd is ready for "level 5" even though she does fine for her age she is still very far away from 2 very difficult skills for a young/small girl - now she is okay but I am afraid once everyone else gets the skills, they are not as difficult for the older girls, she will feel the pressure as well and we won't have a choice to stay/go because we would have committed for a year. Team has turned into a great deal more then a "word" with all of these rules/stipulations etc... and even though the gym says they will continue to have a pre-team, they won't let us know anything about it and tell us either we sign a contract or go to rec gym - we have not even seen this contract yet, but have been told it just basically says if we leave, vacation, injury etc we are responsible to pay out to the end of the contract. The owner said that the coaches are requiring this, but then went on to say that if we are not paying then she still has to pay for the coaches... A few of us would like to add our own stipulations to the contract and are trying to work together for protection, but the thing is that not any of us have competed before and don't have the exp. (or a crystal ball) to see what kinds of problems can arise through out the year. In the gym owners defense, one of the parents actually argued about paying their tuition while they vacationed for 2 weeks in august... which I think is just silly. But the rest of the parents seem committed without a contract - I think the gym owner is going about keeping us the wrong way, but I am not sure, short of just packing up and leaving, what I can do about it.

 

[gym law mom]

Wow, that is certainly a nasty situation to be in. We pay a set tuition every month. If you don't pay, your daughter doesn't practice or compete. There is no pro-rating of the monthly tuition for vacations etc. and I can understand that. I have to say I don't know the policy for injuries/illness that would keep a girl completely out of the gym for a few months. Usually if a girl has an injury they come in and do strength and some skills based on the doctor's restrictions.

I would hate to sign anything projecting what my daughter will do from Sept 07 to Sept 08. In the short time we've been involved with team gymnastics, I've seen kids quit because the whole competitive style(practices, meets etc) is just not want they want to do. Under this contract, you could have a very unhappy kid being sent to practice because the parents still have to pay for x number of months. I doubt coaches would welcome that situation. There are so many variables---family moving, parent losing job or other family problem that may force taking the girl out of gym for awhile, injury, burnout or wanting to train elsewhere. I think that is this owner's biggest fear, that kids for whatever reason may decide to switch gyms.

I have to question his statement that the coaches asked for this. From talking with coaches, they want to stay as far away from the business side of things as possible. Yes, they may have said we would like to know exactly how many girls we will have on the L5, L6 teams etc, but this isn't the way to do it.

Seems many parents have the same struggle---good coaching and want to keep their child in the program, but very poor management which makes you want to run for the door. Maybe if enough of the parents could meet and review this "contract" and then set up a meeting with the owner, he may see it is not the way to go. Why not advise he set some rules on paying a monthly fee(no pro rating etc) and then enforce that---he'll keep the kids he has plus will attract some from other programs.

 

[Mac]

I would hate to sign anything projecting what my daughter will do from Sept 07 to Sept 08.

I've been trying to think of a benefit to the gymnast/family of signing such a contract, and can't yet think of one, especially for pre-team and the early levels. It ensures a predictable cash flow for the owner, but doesn't provide the family with any benefits they wouldn't otherwise have.

IIR, a lot of karate places try to commit the student to a predetermined number of classes and use contracts. Friends who've done that tire of it, as would I with this sport.

Now, when the child reaches the higher optional levels, or elite, there certainly is a heightened interest in making sure the child and coaching staff are both committed to the process, but that can be handled in ways other than a contract.

 

[JBS]

Just an update

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.

 

[purpleterah]

definition

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

... 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!