How to share out proceeds of fundraising?

[Bajanswife]

Last night at a committee meeting we were discussing how we are going to manage the funds that we are collecting to finance meet trips for the gymnasts. We are forced to travel to every meet (airfares and accomodation) so as you can imagine it gets expensive.

One member raised the point that it didn't seem fair that some of the team parents did lots of work for the fundraising and others did nothing, yet all of the team gymnasts had so far benefitted equally. We wondered if there was a fairer way to allocate funds, though a point system maybe?

We have 3 terms of our school/gym year, and we could do fundraising and allocation by term if that were easier. We would also have to allocate meet by meet, because not every gymnast attends every meet. And we'd have to be able to give "credit" for team parents who contribute more than others to the fundraising. We wondered if we could make a team roster mandatory for parents, where they'd have to sign up for something at the beginning of each term.

I'd love some ideas of how this is handled in other gyms!

 

[Gymdad2]

Bajanswife,

The first thing you need to do is check the tax code in Barbados. Before I go any further, let me state that I am not a lawyer and I cannot give anybody legal advice, especially not in Babados. Just like OP on this board tell others to see a doctor for medical advice, I would urge you to contact a lawyer for legal advice.

In the US many organizations such as booster clubs register with the IRS (internal revenue service) as non-profit charities. The advantages of this status is that the club does not have to pay any Federal tax on the money they raise and also that the persons or organization donating to the club may use their donation as a tax deduction on their taxes. However, as I read them, the US tax laws state that any funds raised by a non-profit must be shared equally with all members of that organization so any plan to disburse these funds in any other way would be contrary to the law's requirements. I hope this helps.

 

[shelovestoflip]

At our gym, any fundraising is applied to your account. We pay all meet fees up front at the beginning of the season to the Parent Group and they then pay the fees for the gym, including coaches fees. If in the end we owe a bit extra we pay. Otherwise, any balance is carried over to next season.
We sell wreaths during the holidays and whatever you sell is credited to your account.

We also host an invitational and those proceeds are used to support the entire team.

Hope this helps.

 

[my4buffaloes]

At our gym, you only get money put into your booster acct (each person has an individual acct) if you participate in the fundraiser. From what I can tell, the procedes from each fundraiser are divided evenly - so at the car wash we worked at, all the people that worked at that car wash divided the money equally. The people that didn't work the car wash didn't get anything in there acct. Right now there is a fundraiser that we are not participating in. We won't get any money in our acct, it is set up that for each item sold you get a set amount of that money. If someone sells ten they get x dollars times 10. If I sell none, I get nothing. Does that make sense?

 

[AGM78910]

Our booster club keeps track of hours worked at meets and fundraisers. If a member decides not to participate they are assessed a fee of $150 per event. If they don't pay or participate their child does not compete.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Bajanswife,

The first thing you need to do is check the tax code in Barbados. Before I go any further, let me state that I am not a lawyer and I cannot give anybody legal advice, especially not in Babados. Just like OP on this board tell others to see a doctor for medical advice, I would urge you to contact a lawyer for legal advice.

In the US many organizations such as booster clubs register with the IRS (internal revenue service) as non-profit charities. The advantages of this status is that the club does not have to pay any Federal tax on the money they raise and also that the persons or organization donating to the club may use their donation as a tax deduction on their taxes. However, as I read them, the US tax laws state that any funds raised by a non-profit must be shared equally with all members of that organization so any plan to disburse these funds in any other way would be contrary to the law's requirements. I hope this helps.

Hmmm...get legal advice on this part...is there a way to require membership of the boosters club so that you must participate in X number of fundraisers, and if you don't want to do that, you could "opt out" and sign a statement saying that? That way, all the expectations are clear from the very beginning.

 

[AGM78910]

Azgymmiemom, our booster club bylaws are written that way. Either show up for your session and work the required hours or pay $150. Or your kid does not compete. There is a sign in and sign out sheet at all events. We do 2 meets a year, and 3 optional fundraisers. The money goes to pay travel expenses and coaches fees to attend the meets. Because it is not fair for parents who don't work at the meets and fundraisers to benefit from them. We have the full backing of the coaches and gym owners.

 

[Bajanswife]

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Gymdad2, I suspect our tax laws aren't that complicated, but I will check it out.

 

[mpkbt]

You guys that have mandatory fees and do not distribute to each and every gymnast regardless of their parents effort in fundraiser better either stop posting that you do or change your policies. You could be liable for all taxes earned and ruin your kids chance of a college scholarship. It can and will happen. Read IRS policies carefully and do some research. A club that my dd was at was turned in by another club because they posted their policy on their web site. FYI

 

[Galadriel]

We just try and get as many people to help fundraise as possible and yes, the same ones normally do the most work! But it goes into one account to be shared equally to help reduce costs for new leotards, travel fees etc.
There is a sponsored walk every year that everyone is coerced into doing, but not everyone does it.
As far as volunteering - to help at meets etc then we have a poster on the notice board that you have to fill in your name next to a job, and you get hassle if you dont do it! (no fine though)