Parents New Booster Club Formation question - HELP!

[ThreeGirlsForMe]

We are trying to start a Booster club at our gym to help defray some of the costs of competitive gymnastics. The problem is the owner of the gym wants to add this clause to our by-laws that we are drafting.

XYZ GYMNASTICS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DISSOLVE THE "Booster Club" WITH WRITTEN NOTICE AT THEIR DISCRETION AND ALL MONIES AT THAT POINT WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO CURRENT MEMBER ACCOUNTS.

I don't feel comfortable with this. I am not sure that it is even legal. If we form a non-profit 503c organization, does the gym owner have the ability to simply decide one day that he/she wishes it not to exist and force it to be dissolved? Have any of you run into this in the past and how have you handled it?

We are doing a lot of work to put this together and want to be considerate of the gym and have tried to keep things seperate. We have included a statement like "Booster club and XYZ Gymnastics (“XYZâ€￾) are separate entities with different purposes. Any questions or concerns about the facility, coaching, fees or competitive meets should be directed to XYZ's main office. Any questions regarding "Booster club" should be directed to the President of the Booster club.


Thanks!

 

[bookworm]

As long as the gym agreed to distribute the monies to the booster club members, I think it would be "legal" (as opposed to saying the monies would revert to the gym) but if this was the gym's attitude (that they wanted to have an out before it's even started ..kind of like a prenup...) then why bother? It will always be hanging over you and if this is how it is starting , I don't foresee happy times going forward.

We've been in gyms with and without booster clubs and I would NEVER join a booster club again...I'd get a second job before I'd put myself through that again....too much hassle and drama for a couple of hundred bucks in return.

 

[gym law mom]

The gym which is a for profit organization should have nothing to do with a booster club's finances.

 

[GymBee97]

Just spent the last year doing the 501 C and I am very familure with all this.
The Gym has nothing to do with the Boosters at all!!

As a 501 C3 you will also be incorporated as a seperate company so the gym really can't tell you that the boosters can't exist. They can only tell you you can't operate from the gym or have access to their records to get the contact info for the team parents.

You might as well get the benifit of my research and hard work I will send you info on what we have.

 

[ThreeGirlsForMe]

Thanks to everyone and for the offers of help, I so appreciate it. You have confirmed what I thought, now I just need to work it out and review any samples that people can send me. Again, thanks to all for your input and help!