# Fundraising Ethics for Booster Clubs: Keeping Donor Trust

> How a booster club keeps donor trust: honoring restricted gifts, spending what was promised, honest asks, open financial reporting, and no pressure on families.

- URL: https://boosterclub.org/fundraising/fundraising-ethics/
- Section: Fundraising
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Fundraising ethics, for a booster club, means spending every gift the way the club said it would, telling the truth when asking, reporting openly on where the money went, and never pressuring families or students. The board is responsible as part of its fiduciary duty (the legal duty officers owe to manage the club's money carefully and in the club's interest). The treasurer tracks every restriction; the fundraising chair makes sure every solicitation matches what the board approved.

Trust is the club's real asset. Booster clubs ask the same small community every year, so a single broken promise or unexplained shortfall lowers the response to every future ask, for this board and the next.

## Say What the Money Is For, Then Spend It That Way

Every gift is either unrestricted or restricted.

- **Unrestricted gifts** can be used for any purpose in the approved budget.
- **Restricted gifts** must be used for a purpose the donor specified or the club promised: new uniforms, the spring trip for the whole ensemble, a scoreboard.

A gift becomes restricted when the solicitation names a specific purpose, even if the donor says nothing. "Give to buy new marching uniforms" creates a uniform fund. The club then owes donors one of two things: uniforms, or an honest conversation.

The treasurer records each restriction in the books and reports restricted balances in every [treasurer's report](https://boosterclub.org/finance/treasurer-report/). Restricted money is never borrowed for general expenses, even temporarily.

### Write the Surplus Clause First

Campaigns sometimes raise more than the stated goal, or the need shrinks. The fix is one sentence in the solicitation, written before the campaign starts: "Gifts above the goal, or not needed for this purpose, will support the club's general program needs." With that sentence, a surplus is not a problem. Without it, the surplus is restricted to a purpose that no longer needs it.

### When a Purpose Becomes Impossible

If a trip is canceled or a purchase falls through:

1. Tell the board and record the decision in the minutes.
2. Contact donors of significant restricted gifts, explain what happened, and ask permission to redirect the gift.
3. Offer a refund to any donor who asks for one, with board approval.
4. Document every donor's response.

State law governs restricted charitable gifts, and rules vary. When large restricted balances cannot be redirected with donor permission, the board gets professional advice before moving the money.

## The Donor Bill of Rights

The Donor Bill of Rights, created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and three other nonprofit associations and endorsed by many organizations, is the most widely cited statement of what donors may expect. In summary, donors may expect to:

- Know the organization's mission and how it intends to use donations
- Know who serves on the board
- See the most recent financial statements
- Have gifts used for the purposes for which they were given
- Receive appropriate acknowledgment
- Have information about their gifts handled with respect and confidentiality
- Know whether the person asking is a volunteer, an employee, or a hired solicitor
- Have their names removed from lists the organization intends to share
- Ask questions and get prompt, truthful answers

A booster club that can honor each of these is in good shape.

## Honesty in Every Ask

- **State the need accurately.** "The program will be cut" is said only when the school has said so.
- **Call a fee a fee.** A required payment is not a donation, and a donation is never required. See [Fundraising Rules for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/fundraising/rules/).
- **Do not imply deductibility that does not exist.** Raffle tickets and purchased goods are not deductible gifts.
- **Disclose quid pro quo payments.** For any payment over $75 that is partly a gift, the donor receives a written statement of the deductible amount ([IRS Publication 1771](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf)).
- **Be clear about vendor shares.** For a product sale, "the club receives 40 percent of each sale" is honest; "every dollar supports the team" is not.
- **Follow state disclosure rules.** Several states require charities to include a disclosure statement on written solicitations. Florida, for example, requires a registered charity to print an official statement, with the state's toll-free number and website, on every solicitation, confirmation, receipt, or reminder of a contribution ([section 496.411, Florida Statutes](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0496/Sections/0496.411.html)). See the [state pages](https://boosterclub.org/states/#charitable-registration).

## Transparency

- Present a treasurer's report at every board and general meeting.
- Publish a short annual summary to members: total raised by source, total spent by category, and restricted balances.
- Complete an annual [financial review](https://boosterclub.org/finance/financial-review/) and report the result to members.
- Make required filings available on request. See [Public Disclosure Requirements](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/public-disclosure/).
- Tell the story of what the money did, with photos the district's media release allows. See [Showing Impact](https://boosterclub.org/marketing/storytelling-and-impact/).

## Protecting Families and Students

- No public list of who gave and who did not.
- No ranking or shaming of students by sales or family giving.
- No student treated differently because of what a family gave or raised. Benefits go to the program as a whole, which is also what federal tax law requires ([IRS on private benefit](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/inurement-private-benefit-charitable-organizations)).
- Asks go to parents, not through students as pressure.
- Need-based help is offered quietly and decided on written criteria.
- Donor information stays private and is never sold or shared with vendors.

## Conflicts of Interest and Vendors

Officers and their families do not profit from the club's fundraising. An officer who owns or works for a vendor, sponsor, or venue discloses the interest and does not vote on that decision. Vendor gifts, commissions, or free goods offered to individual officers are declined or turned over to the club. See [Conflict of Interest Policy for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/governance/conflict-of-interest/).

## Fairness Across Programs

A club that supports several teams or ensembles allocates money by its bylaws and approved budget, not by which group raised it. In athletics, booster spending also counts in the district's Title IX equity review. See [Title IX and Booster Club Fundraising](https://boosterclub.org/fundraising/title-ix/).

## When Something Goes Wrong

Money goes missing, a promise cannot be kept, a receipt was wrong. The club tells the board promptly, documents the facts, fixes what can be fixed, and tells affected donors and members plainly. A club that discloses its own mistake keeps far more trust than one whose mistake is discovered. See [Preventing Embezzlement in Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/finance/embezzlement/).

## Common Mistakes

- **Spending restricted money "temporarily."** Volunteers intend to repay it; when the next fundraiser falls short, the restricted fund is empty.
- **No surplus clause.** The club ends up holding money it promised for a purpose it no longer needs.
- **Overstating the need.** Families remember when "the program will be cut" did not happen.
- **Posting a list of families who have not paid.** It shames families and implies a required payment.
- **Accepting vendor perks personally.** It looks like a kickback, whatever the intent.

## Checklist

- [ ] Adopt a written gift acceptance and restricted gift policy (board)
- [ ] Add a surplus clause to every campaign solicitation before it goes out (fundraising chair)
- [ ] Record every restriction in the books when a gift arrives (treasurer)
- [ ] Report restricted balances at every board meeting (treasurer)
- [ ] Review each solicitation for accurate need statements, deductibility language, and disclosures
- [ ] Collect annual conflict of interest disclosures from officers (secretary)
- [ ] Complete the annual financial review and report results to members
- [ ] Publish an annual summary of money raised and spent
- [ ] Contact donors before redirecting any restricted gift
- [ ] Keep donor information private and never share lists

## Related Pages

- [Fiduciary Duties of Booster Club Officers](https://boosterclub.org/governance/fiduciary-duty/) for the legal duties behind these practices
- [Accepting Donations as a Booster Club](https://boosterclub.org/fundraising/donations/) for designated and restricted gifts
- [Conflict of Interest Policy for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/governance/conflict-of-interest/) for vendor and sponsor conflicts
- [Public Disclosure Requirements for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/public-disclosure/) for what the club must share
- [Showing Impact: Telling the Booster Club's Story](https://boosterclub.org/marketing/storytelling-and-impact/) for reporting results to donors

---

*This page is general information for volunteer-run booster clubs. It is not legal,
tax, or accounting advice, and BoosterClub.org is not a law firm, accounting firm, or
government agency. Rules change and vary by state and district. Confirm current
requirements with the IRS, the relevant state agency, the school district, and a
qualified professional before acting. If a fact on this page is out of date, we want
to know.*

## Sources

1. Florida Legislature: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0496/Sections/0496.411.html
2. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf
3. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/inurement-private-benefit-charitable-organizations