# How to Start and Run a Booster Club: The Complete Guide

> Free step-by-step guide to starting and running a school booster club: 501(c)(3) status, bylaws, meetings, finance, taxes, raffles, and state filing rules.

- URL: https://boosterclub.org/
- Updated: 2026-10-08

A booster club is a parent-run nonprofit that raises money and organizes volunteers for
a school program: a band, a football team, a drama department, a robotics club. Most are
small, most are run by people who have never run a nonprofit before, and most hand the
books to a new board every year or two. This guide exists so that each new board does
not have to rediscover the rules.

Everything here is free. Each section is written for a volunteer officer who has
inherited a role and needs to know what to do, in what order, and what happens if it is
not done. Every page ends with a checklist that can be printed and worked through.

## Where to Start

**A new club** that does not yet exist as a legal entity should begin with
[Starting a Booster Club](https://boosterclub.org/start/). It walks through incorporation, the Employer
Identification Number, the 501(c)(3) application, state registration, and the first
bank account, in the order they must happen.

**An existing club** with a new board should begin with
[Booster Club Governance](https://boosterclub.org/governance/), then the [officer transition](https://boosterclub.org/governance/officer-transition/)
page, then the [compliance calendar](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/compliance-calendar/). Those three pages
answer the question every incoming president asks: what did the last board leave
undone?

**A treasurer** should begin with [Booster Club Finances](https://boosterclub.org/finance/) and the
[treasurer duties](https://boosterclub.org/finance/treasurer/) page, then the
[internal controls](https://boosterclub.org/finance/internal-controls/) page. Nearly every booster club
failure traces to a control that was skipped.

## The Guide

### Setting Up

- [Starting a Booster Club](https://boosterclub.org/start/): incorporation, EIN, 501(c)(3), state
  registration, bank account, and a first-year checklist.
- [Bylaws](https://boosterclub.org/bylaws/): what bylaws must contain, article-by-article sample language,
  membership and officer provisions, how to amend them.
- [State Filing Requirements](https://boosterclub.org/states/): one page for each state and the District of
  Columbia covering incorporation, state tax exemption, sales tax, charitable
  registration, and raffle law.

### Running the Club

- [Governance](https://boosterclub.org/governance/): board positions and duties, fiduciary duty, conflict of
  interest, officer transition, records, insurance, working with the school.
- [Meetings and Robert's Rules](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/): a practical small-board version of
  parliamentary procedure, agendas, motions, voting, minutes, and elections.
- [Finance](https://boosterclub.org/finance/): budgets, banking, internal controls, cash handling,
  reimbursements, the treasurer's report, and the annual financial review.

### Staying Legal

- [Taxes and Compliance](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/): which Form 990 to file, losing and regaining
  exempt status, donor receipts, private benefit, unrelated business income, paying
  people, sales tax.
- [Raffles and Gaming](https://boosterclub.org/raffles/): where raffles are legal, federal withholding and
  reporting rules, how to run one, 50/50 drawings, online raffles, and alternatives.

### Raising Money and Reaching Parents

- [Fundraising](https://boosterclub.org/fundraising/): the rules a 501(c)(3) must follow, the fundraising
  calendar, district policies, sponsorships, donations, online fundraising, events,
  grants, volunteers, and Title IX.
- [Fundraising Ideas](https://boosterclub.org/fundraising-ideas/): specific fundraisers with what each one
  takes to run and what it returns.
- [Marketing the Booster Club](https://boosterclub.org/marketing/): membership drives, back-to-school,
  email templates, social media, flyers, the sponsor pitch, and a communications
  calendar.

## How This Guide Is Organized

Every topic page follows the same pattern: what the rule is, why it exists, how to
comply, the mistakes clubs commonly make, a checklist, and links to related pages.
Pages that state a fee, deadline, threshold, or form cite the government source they
were checked against and show the date they were last updated.

State pages share one structure so that an officer who moves, or who compares notes
with a club in another state, can find the same information in the same place.

## What BoosterClub.org Is Not

BoosterClub.org is an information resource. It is not a law firm, an accounting firm,
or a government agency, and it is not affiliated with the IRS, any state, or any
school district. Each booster club is its own legal entity. It holds its own
501(c)(3) determination, keeps its own books, and is responsible for its own filings.
Nothing on this site changes that, and nothing here substitutes for advice from a
qualified professional who knows the club's situation.

## Checklist

A quick orientation for any officer new to the role.

- [ ] Locate the club's articles of incorporation, bylaws, and IRS determination letter
- [ ] Confirm the club's EIN and look it up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
- [ ] Confirm the last three years of Form 990 filings were made
- [ ] Confirm the state annual report and charitable registration are current (see the
      club's [state page](https://boosterclub.org/states/#calendar))
- [ ] Confirm who the bank signers are and that no former officer still has access
- [ ] Read the [compliance calendar](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/compliance-calendar/) and put every date on
      the board's calendar
- [ ] Read the [officer transition](https://boosterclub.org/governance/officer-transition/) page and schedule
      a handoff meeting with the outgoing board

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*This site 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 site is out of date, we want
to know.*