Booster Club Board Positions and Duties: Officer Job Descriptions

How Officer Positions Are Set

The bylaws name the officers, their terms, how they are elected, and how vacancies are filled. See Officer Provisions in Booster Club Bylaws. State nonprofit corporation law may also require certain offices or limit which offices one person can hold at once; this varies by state (see the club’s state page).

School districts often add their own rules. Common examples:

• California’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT, a state agency that advises school districts) states that district employees may not serve on the executive board of a booster club at the site where they work, including as treasurer, bookkeeper, fundraising chair, check signer, or the person who collects money.
• Some districts bar all employees from any financial role (treasurer, fundraising chair, or check signer), recommend that bylaws limit the president and treasurer to two consecutive one-year terms, or limit officers to one member per family at a time.
• Some districts recommend that an officer other than the treasurer, who is not a signer, receive and review the bank statements.

Officers, directors, and chairs. Officers are elected under the bylaws and usually make up the board. Committee chairs are usually appointed by the president with board approval. Some bylaws make chairs voting board members; others make them non-voting. The bylaws decide.

President

Purpose. Leads the board, presides at meetings, keeps the club on its calendar, and serves as the main contact with the school.

Duties.

1. Preside at board and membership meetings and prepare agendas with the secretary. See Booster Club Meeting Agenda.
2. Appoint committee chairs and special committees as the bylaws allow, and follow up on their work.
3. Serve as the primary contact with the principal, athletic or activities director, and program director or coach.
4. Submit the district’s annual paperwork (approval application, officer roster, insurance certificate, budget) on time.
5. Confirm, without necessarily doing them, that the Form 990-series return, state filings, and insurance renewals are complete.
6. Sign contracts the board has approved, signing as an officer of the club and never in a personal capacity.
7. Act as a check signer if the bylaws provide, and never sign a check payable to the president.
8. Lead the officer transition at the end of the term.

IRS role. The president is usually the “principal officer” whose name and address appear on Form 990-N. For tax-exempt organizations, the IRS “responsible party” for the club’s employer identification number (EINEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms) is generally the same person as the principal officer, and a change must be reported on Form 8822-B within 60 days. See Officer Transition.

Limits. The president may not spend outside the budget, sign contracts, or commit the club to anything without the authority the bylaws or the board grant.

Time. Typically 5 to 10 hours a month, more in peak season.

Vice President

Purpose. Backs up the president, oversees assigned committees, and in many clubs serves as president-elect.

Duties.

1. Preside when the president is absent.
2. Fill a presidential vacancy if the bylaws provide for it.
3. Oversee assigned committees (often fundraising, volunteers, or events) and report on them at board meetings.
4. Coordinate volunteer recruitment for major events.
5. Learn the president’s procedure book and attend school meetings with the president.

Larger clubs sometimes elect several vice presidents with defined portfolios (vice president of fundraising, vice president of membership). Each portfolio should have its own written description.

Time. Typically 3 to 6 hours a month.

Secretary

Purpose. Keeps the club’s official record.

Duties.

1. Take minutes at every board and membership meeting and circulate the draft promptly. See How to Take Booster Club Meeting Minutes.
2. Keep the approved minutes, bylaws, standing rules, adopted policies, and signed conflict of interest statements in the club’s permanent file.
3. Send meeting notices within the time the bylaws require.
4. Track attendance and confirm a quorum before business begins.
5. Maintain the membership roster if there is no membership chair.
6. Handle official correspondence and keep copies.
7. Keep the club’s records retention schedule and the index of the permanent file. See Records and Document Retention.

Form 990 asks whether every meeting of the board and its authorized committees was documented contemporaneously, which the instructions define as by the later of the next meeting or 60 days after the meeting. Minutes approved at the next meeting meet that standard.

Independence. Because the secretary is usually not a signer, the secretary is a good choice to receive and review the monthly bank statement.

Time. Typically 3 to 5 hours a month.

Treasurer

Purpose. Custodian of the club’s funds. The treasurer receives and disburses money as the budget or the board authorizes.

Duties.

1. Deposit all receipts promptly, using count sheets signed by two people.
2. Pay approved bills only with an invoice or receipt attached, with a second signer or approver.
3. Keep the books and reconcile every bank account monthly.
4. Present a written treasurer’s report at every board meeting. See The Monthly Treasurer’s Report.
5. Draft the annual budget with the budget committee.
6. File or confirm filing of the Form 990-series return, state reports, Forms 1099, and sales tax returns.
7. Send donor acknowledgment letters where required.
8. Deliver the books to the financial review committee after year end.
9. Hand off complete records to the next treasurer.

Limits. The treasurer never signs a check payable to the treasurer or a family member, is never the only signer, and does not perform the monthly review of the treasurer’s own bank statements. See Internal Controls for Booster Clubs and Booster Club Treasurer Duties.

Time. Typically 5 to 15 hours a month, heaviest around large fundraisers and at year end.

Some clubs add an assistant treasurer who counts deposits, enters transactions, and trains to take over the role.

Common Committee Chairs and Appointed Roles

Writing the Club’s Own Job Descriptions

1. List every recurring task from last year’s calendar, minutes, and email.
2. Assign each task to exactly one position.
3. Write down each position’s authority: what it may approve, sign, or spend, and the dollar limit.
4. Estimate monthly hours so candidates know what they are agreeing to.
5. Have the board adopt the descriptions as standing rulesStanding rulesA club’s administrative rules, adopted by an ordinary vote and changed the same way: dues amounts, reimbursement deadlines, meeting times, and other details that shift from year to year.All terms or board policy.
6. Store them in the permanent file and in each procedure book.
7. Review them every spring, before the nominating committee recruits.