How To Build A Better Boosters Club

“How to Build a Better Boosters Club and the Secrets to Raising More Money and Achieving Greater Success for Your High School Arts or Athletics Program.”

I know first-hand the value of high school arts and athletics activities – and the values they teach.

When I was in high school, I was fortunate to have done it all.  Well almost anyway.
I played football and basketball, ran track and played golf.
I sang in the boy’s chorus, participated in musicals and was the president of my class.

In fact, in my high school, it was equally as cool to be in the boy’s chorus as it was to play football.
And we were really good in both....Click Here
In chorus, which involved 120 guys…half the male population of our school…we recorded albums, went on an annual tour, sang for the Vice President in the White House and opened the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC my senior year....Click Here
In football, WE NEVER LOST a game and won state championships in all of my four years.  We were so good in fact, that my high school coach was named National High School Coach of the Year my senior year.
I learned and benefited from these experiences tremendously.
In fact, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be the person and success I am today without them.
So, I can speak to the value of these activities – and the values they teach – firsthand.

I also learned what it takes to build and sustain a winning program… and how to raise a lot more funds with a lot less effort.

I also witnessed and can share with you what it takes to develop and sustain a winning program.
Like many of you, I’ve also had to do my share of fundraising.
I knocked on many doors.  But instead of selling restaurant cards, coupon books, plants, mulch and water softener like kids do today, we sold boxes of candy and did a variety of other, more familiar, fundraising activities.Click Here
When I was a junior, I was the top salesperson in my high school for one of the activities I participated in.  I sold over 2,000 boxes of candy that year.
But in my senior year, I didn’t want to work that hard.  I wasn’t lazy … I just got smart like kids are supposed to do from year to year!
So, instead of going door-to-door in the dead of winter like I had the year before, I devised a new – and what turned out to be a much better – fundraising strategy.
And it worked wonderfully!
In fact, I netted more than double the funds I’d raised just a year before. And rather than knocking on over 3,000 doors, I called on just 6 people and all told, it took me less than a day.
When I was in college, I was a successful middle school and high school coach.  In fact, the football teams I worked with in the two years I coached never lost a game.  During that time, I also raised money and was able to provide my team with all new equipment and uniforms, which was accomplished with just 2 calls.
So I learned very early on how to raise a lot of funds with very little effort and how to build and sustain winning programs too.
Now … and for the past 30 years … I’ve been helping non-profit groups professionally.

From coach to professional fundraiser

When I finished college, I was recruited to become a Development Director – or chief fundraising officer – of a high school.
I was tasked with all fundraising, public relations and student recruitment activities.  And, like most high school staff, I was also given the opportunity to coach too!
It was a lot of work.  But it was also a blast and we had a lot of success.
Three years later, I started my own consulting firm helping schools and other non-profit groups reach their full and financial potential.
Since that time, I’ve worked with and helped over 400 groups and have helped them raise over 500 million dollars.  .........Click Here

How I got immersed in helping high school booster clubs

Several years ago, I was asked by my son’s high school football coach to help out with their boosters’ club, which had ACTUALLY LOST $3,000 the year before.
I suggested we do things a little differently than in years past … that we cut back our efforts in some areas and expand our efforts in others which would result in raising more funds and having more freshman (participants) and fans, all with a lot less work.Click Here
I met with some early resistance.  But fortunately, much of what I suggested was actually implemented.

What we did led to immediate and substantial benefits

And the results were remarkable!
In the first year alone, we raised almost $53,000 more than the year before!  That was pretty incredible for a program that hadn’t had a tradition of winning and is located in a mostly low to middle income neighborhood.
Today, that same program is raising so much more money each year that they literally can’t spend it all. In fact, they’ve started saving to help pay for a new field they’re hoping for some day!
Program numbers have also increased dramatically. So have the number of fans in the stands.Click Here