Parents Parent Association (Booster Club) Question

[pinklemonadeliz]

I have a couple of questions for those parents who are involved in their gyms Parent Club. I am the president of our club and since my kiddo is a first year L4, I have no idea how this whole thing works. Our parent club was just getting started when I took over so there wasn't really anyone to show me the ropes.

#1 - If your head coach comes to you and asks that a certain number of coaches attend any given meet, do you, as a club, make sure that you find a way to pay for it? or do you tell them that you can only afford a certain number of coaches? It is the first thing in our mission statement that the #1 priority is to provide necessary coaching and to assist the coaches in any way possible to make sure they can do their jobs effectively.

#2 - Is it unethical for me, as the president, to have a conversation with the head coach about sending him to meets? No decisions can be made without a vote by the entire board and it seemed to me as though it made more sense for one of us to have the conversation and then bring it to the board when the coach had time in between classes rather than make him wait for a board meeting to be called and have to take time away from his coaching. I was informed by other (new) members of the board that if he wanted to chat, I should have called a board meeting - this does not make sense to me so I wanted to hear how other clubs are run and if board members are allowed to listen to concerns from both parents and coaches without calling a board of directors meeting to hear them.

#3 - Also, how do you handle the parents who never participate in fundraising activities? Do their children get to share in the funds that are raised?

Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
- Liz

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I have a couple of questions for those parents who are involved in their gyms Parent Club. I am the president of our club and since my kiddo is a first year L4, I have no idea how this whole thing works. Our parent club was just getting started when I took over so there wasn't really anyone to show me the ropes.

#1 - If your head coach comes to you and asks that a certain number of coaches attend any given meet, do you, as a club, make sure that you find a way to pay for it? YES or do you tell them that you can only afford a certain number of coaches? NO It is the first thing in our mission statement that the #1 priority is to provide necessary coaching and to assist the coaches in any way possible to make sure they can do their jobs effectively. THAT'S RIGHT
#2 - Is it unethical for me, as the president, to have a conversation with the head coach about sending him to meets? NO No decisions can be made without a vote by the entire board and it seemed to me as though it made more sense for one of us to have the conversation and then bring it to the board when the coach had time in between classes rather than make him wait for a board meeting to be called and have to take time away from his coaching. I was informed by other (new) members of the board that if he wanted to chat, I should have called a board meeting YES - this does not make sense to me so I wanted to hear how other clubs are run and if board members are allowed to listen to concerns from both parents and coaches without calling a board of directors meeting to hear them. YES
#3 - Also, how do you handle the parents who never participate in fundraising activities? Do their children get to share in the funds that are raised? YOU CHARGE THEM A FEE EQUIVALENT TO AN AVERAGE THAT'S BEEN RAISED.
Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
- Liz

...............................................

 

[2gymmies]

For us, the owner/HC tells us how many coaches to budget to attend meets and we structure booster club payments to make sure we have plenty of money to pay for whatever is needed. It is better to charge too much in fees and refund some back at the end of the season.

We require fundraising participation in order to receive any money back - no participation no rebate! It is set up that some fundraising benefits the organization, some benefits the gym (thru new equipment, etc.) and some benefits the individual gymnast.

We send all decisions through the board. Often times by email, so it is documented.

 

[flipper's fan]

The gym decides how many/ which coaches to send but we have guidelines like- about one coach per 5 gymnasts at the same level/session. It would put us out of business if the gym wanted to send three coaches to a session where only one girl was competing, especially if travel costs are involved. It's in the gym's best interest to work together so we can all benefit.

We talk about everything as a board, but each board member can have a conversation with a coach or parent and bring it back to the group.

For fundraising, there are IRS rules governing that if you are a non profit. There are rules against inurement. You'll have to look into whether they apply to what you are doing in your situation.

 

[Gymdad2]

I have posted this reminder before, and sorry to be a wet blanket, but if your booster club is registered with the IRS and a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization, then you are required by law to share all funds equally among the members of your club - you cannot disburse funds based on participation. Just to be sure, check with your tax accountant or attorney before filing your club's income tax return.

 

[pinklemonadeliz]

Thanks everyone for your input!

Another question: Does the gym owner/manager sit on your board? & How about the Head Coach?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well, yes. most do in some capacity as it makes the flow of information quicker. but if it is a 501 3c an owner does not get a vote. if it's not a non profit, most owners still stay out of any voting. it's a conflict. and can cause a conflict with members.

and if the non profit is registered with the owner/gym, that owner can break voting ties. refer to roberts rules.

 

[pinklemonadeliz]

Dunno - We are in process of becoming a 501 3c - our paperwork just went in to the IRS this week. In this case, the member would be the gym manager instead of owner. We are a corporation entity seperate from the gym except the physcial address. We have tried to keep an odd number of board members so we will never have a tie situation - so far this has worked. If we add the gym manager, we would also add one other position (a fundraising coordinator) to maintain the odd # (we have 2 co-presidents). It's my feeling that the manager would provide a level-headed voice since she has no vested interest when it comes to spending money on coaches and other expenses that don't have to do directly with the gym.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

sounds like a plan!

 

[gymgal]

I think booster clubs set up their own rules based on their individual needs so you probable are going to get several different answers.

Our booster club does not pay the gym directly for any fees. Families are responsible for all team related fees. Fundraising money goes into individual gymnasts accounts and the parent requests reimbursement for team fees. For fundraising, our members only get funds for events in which they participate (we are not non-profit). Some events are group based - all participants get equal amounts. Most are individual - the participants get funds based on how much they have brought in (sales mostly).

Sounds like you need to sit down with the board and the owner to get a better idea of how this booster club is going to run. The beginning years are rough. I admire you for taking on such an endeavor.

 

[cher062]

I think every booster club runs differently as to what they do and don't provide. For our booster club the funds raised pay for if our L9 and L10's make it to Nationals (we only have a few girls at that level)it will pay for them and the coach. Other than that it doesn't pay for any other meet or coaches. The rest of the funds earned go to things like defering costs of comp leo, warm up suites, gym bags, grips for the girls etc. It also provdes several "fun nights" for the girls like after practice a halloween pizza party (not on haloween but near it). end of the year banquet with Yearbooks of all the levels. all the food, DVD's for all of the years events.

Also at away meets it can pay for things like a day at the amusement park or a fun dinner for those attending. It can also pay for some remebrance items from some of the cool meets.

Our meet fees include the coaches fees so those going to the meet pay for their coaches. This seems to actually keep the fees down and only send the coaching that really is necessary instead of the "well 2 coaches can do it but we wish we had 4 coaches" from happening.

 

[Quadqueen]

Wow, this all sounds so complex to me...?!! I think I'm glad we don't have a booster club at dd's gym!!

 

[cher062]

Not really complex at all no different than any other parent organization. most of the spending is decided at the begining of the year then someone takes on the role of organizing what ever to make that happen. If no one steps up then we don't do it.

 

[eme777]

#3 - Also, how do you handle the parents who never participate in fundraising activities? Do their children get to share in the funds that are raised?

I guess there is a way to make the parents sign a contract, in the beginning, that states what the fundraising requirements are & the parents can choose to fulfill the requirements or reimburse their share of any funds that have been disbursed. This is best done with the help of an accountant and lawyer if you want to go this route. It may be worth it if your booster club does large amounts of fundraising.

Also, I'd definitely include board on any decisions. It may come across as looking shady if one person is making decisions, even if it's all innocent and harmless. It's just best to get off on the right foot with all the parents.

Best of luck to you!

 

[pinklemonadeliz]

I guess there is a way to make the parents sign a contract, in the beginning, that states what the fundraising requirements are & the parents can choose to fulfill the requirements or reimburse their share of any funds that have been disbursed. This is best done with the help of an accountant and lawyer if you want to go this route. It may be worth it if your booster club does large amounts of fundraising.

Also, I'd definitely include board on any decisions. It may come across as looking shady if one person is making decisions, even if it's all innocent and harmless. It's just best to get off on the right foot with all the parents.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks!

What we did was draw up a "Parent Participation Policy" - it states that each family must put in 10 hours of volunteer time or there is a $1,000 "opt-out" fee. We haven't gotten to the pay-up time yet but time will tell how well it works.

We definitely do not make any decisions without a vote from the board but sometimes it makes everyone's life easier if one of us can talk directly with a coach, etc when the coach has a minute free and then we would bring the issue to the board for discussion rather than having to pull the coach away from their jobs and call a full meeting right then and there. It's also very important now that we are becoming non-profit that we document every decision via vote at official meetings so no decisions are made without a board vote, just discussions and then bringing it to the board.

Thanks for everyone's input!!!!

 

[cathiann]

Our head coach is the gym owner and he does sit on the board, but is not a voting member. He is simply there to advise us. Sometimes we follow his advice and sometimes we don't!

As far as paying for coaches to go to meets--we have a discussion with him. If he wants to send 3 coaches for 2 girls, we talk about whether that's financially feasible. Sometimes if the board decides we simply can't pay for it, he will charge the parents of the gymnasts involved directly. (doesn't happen much anymore since we typically have plenty of money right now).

Regarding non-participating members getting some of the money--talk to your financial adviser and see what they say. We recently changed our rules--supposedly it's legal and was okay-ed for our accountant. It's highly annoying when people don't participate, but want something out of it!

 

[bluesocks]

Thanks!

What we did was draw up a "Parent Participation Policy" - it states that each family must put in 10 hours of volunteer time or there is a $1,000 "opt-out" fee. We haven't gotten to the pay-up time yet but time will tell how well it works.

Thanks for everyone's input!!!!

I think this is rather excessive, and would absolutely protest agreeing to this. What kind of volunteer expectations do you have? I am guessing our gyms are very different. I can't even imagine this...

For my daughter's swim team, we had something similar which was a $200 check or volunteering. BUT swim meets are completely run by volunteers from the timers to the starter to the people who places kids in heats, etc. You couldn't have a swim meet without volunteers (this is summer club). It just isn't the same with gymnastics. I don't get it.

I am a working, single mom. I absolutely contribute to my dd's team. But, I certainly would not expect to account for my time / contributions to someone else or be charged $1000 (right, one thousand dollars????). NO WAY would I be signing such an agreement.

YMMV!

Blue

 

[cathiann]

I think this is rather excessive, and would absolutely protest agreeing to this. What kind of volunteer expectations do you have? I am guessing our gyms are very different. I can't even imagine this...

For my daughter's swim team, we had something similar which was a $200 check or volunteering. BUT swim meets are completely run by volunteers from the timers to the starter to the people who places kids in heats, etc. You couldn't have a swim meet without volunteers (this is summer club). It just isn't the same with gymnastics. I don't get it.

I am a working, single mom. I absolutely contribute to my dd's team. But, I certainly would not expect to account for my time / contributions to someone else or be charged $1000 (right, one thousand dollars????). NO WAY would I be signing such an agreement.

YMMV!

Blue

But keep in mind--at least with our booster club and team, the parent is getting meet fees paid for that would cost them over $1,000, so they could pay the thousand dollars and still save a few hundred--without doing anything!

And are you protesting that 10 hrs? That seems pretty minimal to me--it's like getting paid $100 an hour! I don't make that much at work ;-)

 

[bluesocks]

Like I said, I think our gyms must be very different. We have about 50 kids on team. So, that would be over 500 hours of volunteer time. What are they doing? Helping out at meets? Selling things? We only host one meet a year. Maybe your team hosts a lot more?

At our gym, parents are billed the meet fees and what not which is about $1,000. The money from the booster club is applied evenly across the gymnasts and amounts to about $200 per gymnast per year. So, as I read what was written, if I chose not to participate, I would be paying my $800 (meet fees minus booster club money) PLUS $1,000. Still appalled!

 

[Quadqueen]

Not really complex at all no different than any other parent organization. most of the spending is decided at the begining of the year then someone takes on the role of organizing what ever to make that happen. If no one steps up then we don't do it.

maybe complex is the wrong word...it just sounds like a hassle! We just pay for what we owe...if we go to a meet, we pay the fee. If we need a new team leo, we pay for it. I guess our team is relatively small, maybe 35 kids, but I'm just wondering if all this beaucracy is necessary?