# Running Booster Club Meetings and Using Robert's Rules

> How a booster club runs board and membership meetings under Robert's Rules of Order, including the small-board rules, agendas, quorum, motions, and minutes.

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

A booster club makes its decisions in meetings, and the rules for those meetings come from state law, the club's bylaws, and a parliamentary authority, almost always Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR). This section explains the practical version of those rules for a volunteer board of about a dozen people or fewer, plus the general membership meetings where parents elect officers and approve the budget.

The president runs the meeting, the secretary records it, and every board member shares responsibility for following the rules. A check written on the strength of a vote taken without a quorum, or on an email thread the bylaws never authorized, is a check the board never legally approved, and the officers who signed it carry the risk.

## Why a Booster Club Needs Rules of Order

Most booster club meetings run on goodwill. Rules of order matter on the night goodwill runs out: a tight budget, two teams competing for the same money, or a coach's spouse on the board. A parliamentary authority does four things for a club:

1. **Lets the majority decide.** A motion that gets more than half the votes cast is adopted, and the debate is over.
2. **Protects the minority.** Every member gets the right to speak, to propose an amendment, and to have a vote counted.
3. **Protects absent members.** Notice rules keep a small group from surprising everyone else with a major decision.
4. **Creates a record.** Minutes show what the club decided and when, which is what the bank, the school district, the IRS, and next year's board will rely on.

## Where the Rules Come From

Several layers of rules govern a booster club meeting. A higher layer always overrides a lower one.

| Layer | What it controls | Example |
|---|---|---|
| State nonprofit corporation law (if incorporated) | Minimum quorums, director action without a meeting, member voting rights, proxies | California lets a board act without a meeting only if every director consents in writing |
| Articles of incorporation | Anything the state requires to be there | Whether the club has voting members |
| Bylaws | Officers, meeting schedule, quorum, who votes, whether electronic meetings are allowed | "A quorum of the board is four directors" |
| Special rules of order and standing rules | Procedures the club adopts for itself | A three-minute limit on each speaker |
| Parliamentary authority (RONR) | Everything not covered above | How to amend a motion |

RONR governs a club only if the bylaws adopt it. The sample bylaws in RONR use this language: "The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Society may adopt." The current edition is the 12th, published in September 2020. State rules vary; see the club's [state page](https://boosterclub.org/states/).

## The Small-Board Version of Robert's Rules

Most of RONR is written for large assemblies. For a board meeting with no more than about a dozen members present, RONR section 49:21 relaxes the rules:

- Members raise a hand and stay seated instead of standing to speak.
- Motions do not need a second.
- There is no limit on how many times a member speaks on a question.
- Informal discussion is allowed with no motion pending.
- When a proposal is perfectly clear to everyone, the board can vote without a formal motion.
- The president, as chair, may speak in debate and vote on every question.

A club that adopts RONR already has these rules. Details are on [Robert's Rules of Order for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/roberts-rules-basics/).

## Two Kinds of Meetings

Board meetings are where the officers and directors manage the club month to month. General membership meetings are where the voting members elect officers, adopt the budget, and amend the bylaws. The small-board rules apply only to the board. A general membership meeting follows the regular rules, even when attendance is light.

## Pages in This Section

- [Robert's Rules of Order for Booster Clubs](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/roberts-rules-basics/) the practical minimum a volunteer board needs to know
- [Booster Club Meeting Agenda](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/agenda/) the standard order of business and a fill-in template
- [Quorum for Booster Club Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/quorum/) how many must be present, and what happens when too few show up
- [How Motions Work in a Booster Club Meeting](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/motions/) making, amending, postponing, and tabling, with a motions chart
- [Voting in Booster Club Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/voting/) majority vs two-thirds, ties, abstentions, proxies, and email votes
- [How to Take Booster Club Meeting Minutes](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/minutes/) what goes in, what stays out, a template, and approval
- [Running Booster Club Elections](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/elections/) nominating committees, ballots, ties, and installing officers
- [Board Meetings vs General Membership Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/board-vs-general-meetings/) who decides what, and who may attend
- [Virtual and Hybrid Booster Club Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/virtual-meetings/) what the bylaws must say and how to run one
- [Handling Difficult Booster Club Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/difficult-meetings/) disruption, conflict, and parliamentary tricks

## Common Mistakes

- **Bylaws that never adopt a parliamentary authority.** Founders copy a template and drop the clause. With no authority adopted, every procedural dispute becomes an argument with no referee.
- **Bylaws that cite "Robert's Rules of Order" without "Newly Revised."** Older public-domain editions circulate under that name, and the wording invites a fight over which version applies.
- **Treating the small-board rules as permission to skip votes.** Informal discussion is allowed, but every decision still needs a vote or unanimous consent recorded in the minutes.
- **Running the general membership meeting like a board meeting.** The relaxed rules belong to the board. A contested membership vote run informally invites a challenge.
- **Deciding by group text.** Unless the bylaws and state law allow it, a decision made outside a meeting is not an act of the board until a later meeting ratifies it.

## Checklist

- [ ] Confirm the bylaws name "Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised" as the parliamentary authority (secretary)
- [ ] Note the bylaws' rules on quorum, meeting frequency, notice, and electronic meetings
- [ ] Check the club's state page for any state law rules that override the bylaws
- [ ] Put the board and general membership meeting dates for the year on the calendar
- [ ] Give every board member a copy of the bylaws and the small-board rules
- [ ] Adopt a standard agenda template for every meeting
- [ ] Assign who drafts minutes and who keeps the permanent minute book
- [ ] Review this section with the incoming board each spring

## Related Pages

- [Booster Club Bylaws](https://boosterclub.org/bylaws/) the document that sets meeting rules for the club
- [Standing Rules vs Bylaws](https://boosterclub.org/bylaws/standing-rules/) where to put meeting procedures that change often
- [Booster Club Governance](https://boosterclub.org/governance/) how the board and the membership share authority
- [Booster Club Board Positions and Duties](https://boosterclub.org/governance/board-positions/) the president's and secretary's meeting duties
- [Booster Club Filing Requirements by State](https://boosterclub.org/states/) state rules that can override the bylaws

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*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. California Legislative Information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CORP&sectionNum=5211