# Booster Club Meeting Agenda: Order of Business and Template

> How to build a booster club meeting agenda using the Robert's Rules order of business, with notice, timing, a consent agenda, and a fill-in template.

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

A booster club meeting agenda is the list of business for one meeting, arranged in the standard order of business that Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) prescribes. The president drafts it with the secretary, the board adopts it at the start of the meeting, and the president follows it to keep the meeting on time.

A good agenda does more than keep order. It tells members in advance what will be decided, so the parent who cares about the spring trip budget knows to attend. It also makes the minutes easier, because the secretary records business in the same order it appears on the agenda.

## The Standard Order of Business

RONR sets out a standard order of business that applies whenever the bylaws or rules do not set a different one. A booster club fits it into a short frame of opening and closing items.

| Order | Item | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call to order | The president opens the meeting at the announced time and confirms a quorum is present |
| 2 | Adoption of the agenda | The board adopts the agenda, with any additions |
| 3 | Approval of minutes | The chair asks for corrections, then declares the minutes approved |
| 4 | Reports of officers, the board, and standing committees | Officers report in the order the bylaws list them, including the treasurer's report, then standing committees |
| 5 | Reports of special committees | Committees formed for one task, such as the gala committee or the nominating committee |
| 6 | Special orders | Items the club scheduled for this meeting, such as elections or a bylaws amendment with notice given |
| 7 | Unfinished business and general orders | Items postponed or left pending at the last meeting |
| 8 | New business | New motions from any member |
| 9 | Announcements | Dates, volunteer needs, reminders |
| 10 | Adjournment | The chair declares the meeting adjourned |

RONR calls item 7 "unfinished business," not "old business." The difference matters. Unfinished business is limited to items carried over from the last meeting (postponed, left pending when the meeting ended, or scheduled), not any topic that has come up before. A topic discussed last year and dropped is new business.

## Reports Are Heard, Not Adopted

Most reports are for information. The treasurer reports balances, receipts, and payments. Members may ask questions, and the chair then says the report "will be filed." The treasurer's report is never adopted, because a vote to adopt it would suggest the board has verified the numbers. Verification happens through the annual [financial review or audit](https://boosterclub.org/finance/financial-review/).

When a report includes a recommendation, the officer or committee chair makes a motion to carry it out at the end of the report. Example: "On behalf of the concessions committee, I move that the club raise the price of hot dogs to $3 starting with the first home game." That motion is handled like any other motion. The format for the monthly treasurer's report is on [The Monthly Treasurer's Report](https://boosterclub.org/finance/treasurer-report/).

## Adopting the Agenda

A proposed agenda becomes the official agenda only when the board adopts it at the start of the meeting. At that time, any member may move to add an item. On a small board this usually happens by unanimous consent: "Are there any additions to the agenda? Hearing none, the agenda is adopted."

Once adopted, the agenda binds the meeting. Changing the order afterward takes unanimous consent or a two-thirds vote. A member who wants to raise something not on the agenda waits for new business.

## Using a Consent Agenda

A consent agenda groups routine items the board will approve without discussion, such as minutes, a donation acknowledgment, or the dates of next month's concession shifts. The chair reads the list and asks whether any member wants an item removed. Any single member may pull an item for separate discussion. The rest are approved together by unanimous consent.

A consent agenda can save a large share of a short board meeting. It does not work for anything involving money beyond routine, budgeted payments, anything a member might object to, or anything the bylaws require a separate vote on.

## Timing

A booster club board meeting should run 60 to 90 minutes. Long meetings lose volunteers. The president can put a target time next to each item on the draft agenda and use it to keep reports brief.

Practical rules that keep meetings short:

1. Reports are written and sent with the agenda. Officers summarize them in two minutes and take questions.
2. Committee chairs bring motions, not open-ended discussions.
3. Discussion items that need research go to a committee or to the next meeting.
4. Member and guest comments, if the board allows them, get a fixed slot and a time limit set by a standing rule (for example, three minutes per speaker).

## Notice and Distribution

The bylaws set how much notice members get for each kind of meeting. A club writing or revising its bylaws should set a specific minimum, such as 10 days' written notice for general membership meetings. Sending the agenda with the notice is good practice even when the bylaws do not require it.

Special meetings are different. RONR requires the notice (the "call") of a special meeting to state the business to be transacted, and only that business may be taken up. An item left off the call of a special meeting cannot be added at the meeting, even by unanimous vote of those present, because absent members had no notice of it.

Send the following together, three to five days before a board meeting:

- The agenda
- Draft minutes of the last meeting
- The treasurer's report
- Written officer and committee reports
- The text of any motion a member plans to make that involves money or a policy change

## Agenda Template

Copy, fill in, and send with the meeting notice.

```text
[Club name] Booster Club
[Board / General Membership] Meeting Agenda
Date: [date]   Time: [start time] to [target end time]
Location: [address or video link]

1. Call to order and confirmation of quorum ([President]) [time]
2. Adoption of the agenda
3. Approval of the minutes of the [date] meeting (draft attached)
4. Consent agenda (items below are approved together unless a member asks to remove one)
   a. [routine item]
   b. [routine item]
5. Reports of officers
   a. President's report ([President])
   b. [Other officer] report
   c. Treasurer's report ([Treasurer]) (attached)
6. Reports of standing committees
   a. [Committee name] ([Chair]), recommendation: [motion text, if any]
   b. [Committee name] ([Chair])
7. Reports of special committees
   a. [Committee name] ([Chair])
8. Special orders
   a. [Election, bylaws amendment, or other item scheduled for this meeting]
9. Unfinished business
   a. [Item postponed from the [date] meeting]
10. New business
    a. [Motion text submitted in advance by [member]]
    b. Other new business from the floor
11. Member and guest comments (three minutes per speaker)
12. Announcements
    Next meeting: [date, time, location]
13. Adjournment
```

## Common Mistakes

- **An agenda full of discussion topics instead of decisions.** "Fundraising ideas" is not an agenda item. "Motion to approve the fall car wash on September 20" is. Topics without motions eat the meeting and decide nothing.
- **Adding items to a special meeting.** The club takes up a new item because "everyone is here." Business not in the call is invalid, and an absent member can challenge it.
- **Adopting the treasurer's report.** Adopting it suggests the board verified the numbers, which it has not. Receive it, ask questions, and file it.
- **Calling every old topic "old business."** Items that were not postponed or left pending are new business and need a new motion.
- **Sending reports the night before.** Members read them for the first time during the meeting, and the meeting doubles in length.

## Checklist

### Before the meeting
- [ ] Review last meeting's minutes for postponed or pending items (secretary)
- [ ] Ask officers and committee chairs for written reports and motion text (president, 7 days before)
- [ ] Draft the agenda in the standard order of business (president)
- [ ] For a special meeting, list every item of business in the call
- [ ] Send the agenda, draft minutes, and treasurer's report to the board (3 to 5 days before)
- [ ] Send notice to members as the bylaws require for a general membership meeting

### During the meeting
- [ ] Confirm a quorum before taking up business (president)
- [ ] Adopt the agenda, including any additions
- [ ] Follow the agenda in order and keep to the target times (president)
- [ ] File reports and act only on motions

### After the meeting
- [ ] Carry unresolved and postponed items onto the next draft agenda (secretary)

## Related Pages

- [How to Take Booster Club Meeting Minutes](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/minutes/) minutes follow the agenda's order
- [Quorum for Booster Club Meetings](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/quorum/) what to confirm at the call to order
- [How Motions Work in a Booster Club Meeting](https://boosterclub.org/meetings/motions/) handling the motions that come out of reports
- [The Monthly Treasurer's Report](https://boosterclub.org/finance/treasurer-report/) the report that opens every agenda
- [Booster Club Committees](https://boosterclub.org/governance/committees/) how standing and special committees report