What a Booster Club Website Needs: Pages, Content, Checklist

Separate From the School’s Site

The club’s website is the club’s own, not a page on the school’s site. Plano ISD’s booster guidance, for example, says booster organizations should create and maintain websites and social media accounts separate from those of the school or program, with the club’s board responsible for the content, and allows the school website to link to the booster site. That arrangement is common and worth asking for: a link from the school’s athletics or fine arts page is the single best source of visitors.

The site states on every page that the club is independent. Many district policies require booster announcements to make clear that the booster organization, not the school, is the sponsor (Gooding School District’s Policy 4200 in Idaho is one example). A footer line handles it:

[Club Name] is an independent, volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
It is not part of [School Name] or [District Name]. EIN [XX-XXXXXXX].
Contact: [club email]

The Six Pages Every Club Site Needs

Optional pages that earn their place: Sponsors (recognition and the sponsor sheet), Impact (the year-end report), Documents (budget, minutes, policies), and Spirit Wear.

What Goes on Each Page

Home

The home page carries one primary ask that changes with the calendar: join in August, volunteer before each event, and the impact report in June. It shows the next two or three dates. It does not carry a wall of text.

[Club Name]
Supporting every student in [School Name] [Program].

[Primary button: Join for [School Year]]   [Secondary: Volunteer]   [Secondary: Give]

Coming up
[Date]  [Event name], [time], [place]
[Date]  General meeting, [time], [place or video link]

Last year, families and sponsors raised $[amount] for [three concrete things].
See the full report: [link to Impact page]

About

The About page lists board members by name and title with a single club email address, never personal emails or phone numbers. It explains what the club pays for in concrete terms (“transportation to four competitions, two new tubas, and the spring clinician”), when and where general meetings happen, and links to the bylaws.

Join

The Join page shows each membership level, its price, and its benefits in a table, followed by a payment link. It explains what membership means under the club’s bylaws, including voting rights. If the bylaws tie voting to dues, the page explains how a family that cannot pay can still become a member. See Membership Rules in Booster Club Bylaws for why this matters, and How to Run a Booster Club Membership Drive for tier design and the tax disclosures membership levels may require.

Give

The Give page answers every question a careful donor asks before giving:

1. The club’s exact legal name and EIN (Employer Identification NumberEINEmployer 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, the federal tax ID).
2. A copy of the IRS determination letter showing 501(c)(3) status, as a PDF.
3. A link to the club’s listing in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, which donors can use to confirm the status independently.
4. How to give online, by check (with the mailing address and the payee name), and through employer matching programs.
5. What the club does with donations, and whether donors can designate a gift for a specific purpose. If the club accepts designated gifts, it must spend them as promised. See Fundraising Ethics and Donor Trust.
6. A statement that donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and that the club sends written acknowledgments for gifts of $250 or more. See Donation Receipts and Acknowledgment Letters.

The Give page never invites donations to an individual student’s account or offers credit toward a specific student’s fees. Gifts earmarked for one child create private benefit, which can endanger the club’s exemption. The reasons are on Private Benefit, Inurement, and Individual Fundraising Accounts.

Calendar

One calendar, maintained by one person, embedded or linked on the home page. Dates in emails and flyers match the calendar. When a date changes, the calendar changes first.

Volunteer

A list of current needs with a sign-up link for each, written as specific tasks with a time commitment (“Concession stand, Friday 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., two people”) rather than a general plea for help. If the district requires background checks for volunteers who work with students, the page says so and links to the district process. See Recruiting and Managing Booster Club Volunteers.

Posting the 501(c)(3) Letter and Tax Returns

Federal law requires a tax-exempt organization to make its exemption application and its annual information returns available for public inspection, with returns available for three years beginning on the return’s due date. An organization that makes these documents “widely available” by posting them on a website does not have to mail copies to individuals who request them, provided the posted file exactly reproduces the original and anyone can view, download, and print it without a fee (a PDF meets this). The organization must still tell a requester where the documents are posted (immediately for in-person requests, within 7 days for written requests) and must still allow in-person inspection.

For a booster club, posting the determination letterDetermination letterThe IRS letter recognizing the club’s federal tax exemption under 501(c)(3). The club keeps it permanently and shows it to banks, donors, grantors, and the school district.All terms, the exemption application (Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ), and the most recent three years of Form 990 or 990-EZ on the Give or Documents page is good practice that builds donor trust and simplifies these requests. Clubs that file the Form 990-N e-PostcardForm 990-NThe e-Postcard: the annual electronic notice a tax-exempt club files with the IRS when its gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It is due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends.All terms have less to post, but the determination letter still belongs on the site. The full rules are on Public Disclosure Requirements for Booster Clubs.

The site does not post documents that contain personal information, such as bank account numbers, the full Schedule B donor list, or anyone’s Social Security number.

Ownership and Logins

The website and its domain name belong to the club. The most common way a club loses its website is that the domain was registered in a former officer’s personal name and expired after that officer left.

1. Register the domain in the club’s legal name, using a club-owned email address as the account contact.
2. Turn on auto-renew and pay from the club’s account, not a personal card.
3. Give at least two board members administrator access. Never share one login among several people.
4. Record the registrar, hosting account, renewal date, and administrators in the procedure book.
5. Review administrators at every officer transition and remove anyone who has left the board.

See Booster Club Officer Transition for the full handoff procedure.

Website builders designed for school groups and small nonprofits combine membership sign-up, donations, and calendars on one site. Any platform works if the club owns the account and the domain.

Keeping It Current

A site that shows last year’s calendar tells parents the club is inactive. The communications chair sets a recurring monthly reminder to:

• Update the home page ask and the next three dates.
• Remove past events.
• Post approved minutes (if the bylaws or board practice call for it).
• Confirm board names and the contact email are current.
• Test the donation and membership links.