If you are looking into how to create a booster club in Kentucky, there are a few things to consider before starting. Because every state has its own rules and regulations, getting started can be a bit difficult. The process has you dealing with both Federal and State guidelines which can get confusing. To ensure you don’t miss a step when you create a Kentucky booster club, it is important to be aware of US and Kentucky laws .
When putting together the legal information for your Kentucky booster club, be absolutely sure you are gathering the correct information. Referencing or submitting incorrect legal information can cause headaches and delays in the formation of your new organization in Kentucky.Starting to sound a little overwhelming? Don’t worry, by following Booostr’s how to create a Kentucky booster club guide – you’ll be up and running in no time at all!
Once you have committed to establish your booster club in Kentucky, consulting the Kentucky Secretary of State website is a to the place for you to start. The Kentucky SOS website has the documents, detailed instructions and overall all of the information you need to get set up legally.
We always recommend utilizing a state’s Secretary of State website as your primary resource rather than a 3rd party site. Mainly this is due to other websites potentially not having the right documents specific to your state, old information or even in some cases, there may be incomplete information. Save yourself a whole lot of hassle when you are learning how to create a Kentucky booster club and directly refer to the Kentucky Secretary of State website.
The first real step in how to create a Kentucky booster club, is selecting a name for your club. When deciding on a name try to come up with 10-15 options that you feel sound nice and are unique and memorable. We here at Booostr suggest thinking of multiple naming ideas because your Kentucky booster club name needs to be one that no one has used before. Note, keep in mind, specifically in the state of Kentucky, your nonprofit corporation name should include:
As you are going about choosing your name, again reference the Kentucky Secretary of State website as you can run a search on the site to see if anyone is already using the name you want! One last tip – before getting too fancy with your Kentucky booster club name, consider including the school name and the activity type in the name. An example would be “Central High School Wrestling Boosters”, or getting even more specific: “Louisville Central High School Wrestling Boosters”. These details in the name make it much easier for donors, supporters and volunteers to understand what your booster club does and the school it is associated with!
One of the first steps you should take in the creation of your Kentucky booster club is writing your mission statement. Your booster club mission statement is a top-level short statement defining the broad goals around why your organization exists. A great way to set the tone for your club, would be to align your mission statement with that of the booster club’s affiliated school’s mission. Be sure to set the focus accordingly if your club supports one actvity or more than one activity, and be open and inviting to any potential members. The mission statement should define who the organization is, why it exists, and who benefits from the existence of the organization.
Your Kentucky booster club bylaws provide information about the club itself, serving as a basic organization operations manual. Typical bylaws include information, rules and procedures for holding meetings, electing directors, appointing officers, and taking care of other essential corporate formalities. For more details on creating your Kentucky Booster Club’s bylaws, please see
Filing for an Employee Identification Number (EIN) is important after completing all of the paperwork for establishing your new Kentucky booster club. In order to open a bank account for your booster club, most states require an EIN. Filing for an EIN is done through the IRS. The steps for the application process are found on the IRS website.
While it is not necessary, we here at Booostr highly recommend you go through the extra steps to apply for state tax exemption for your Kentucky booster club. Becoming tax exempt grants your booster club the opportunity to save money by not collecting and managing sales tax, in book keeping and allows your donors to write their donations off of their taxes. All of the information and paperwork for become tax-exempt is available on the IRS website. The basic step-by-step process listed on the site is as follows:
As you are gearing up the structure of your booster club, it is important that you identify and appoint members to your board of directors. Depending on your state, you may need as little as one director, in some the minimum is 3 directors. We always recommend having a smaller board (typically 3 members) when starting out to ensure you are able to make business decisions quicker (less cooks in the kitchen).
In your first booster club meeting the founders will gather with potential club officers and the board of directors to discuss approving the bylaws, appointing officers, setting an accounting period, tax year, and approving initial transactions of the corporation, such as (usually) the opening of a corporate bank account. After the foundation of the club is established, you can begin to discuss other agenda items pertaining to the club’s long- and short-term goals.
We cannot overstate how important it is to choose booster club officers that are able to manage your club effectively and professionally. As with any nonprofit or for-profit company, a club officer should have some experience managing an organization (people, finances, goals and marketing) and great interpersonal skills in order to communicate with parents and students. The club officer should focus heavily on the development and growth of the club, to secure the club’s future.
Now that all of the legal paperwork is complete, and you have held your first Kentucky booster club meeting, it’s time to create a bank account for your booster club! Having a bank account makes managing the booster club’s finances much much easier. Not only does your booster club bank account keep the management of booster club donations and payments cleaner and easier to track, it also makes it easier to pass off management of the club in the future when your term is up. Your bank account is the final step to creating an official organization and now allows your booster club to operate as a business and conduct transactions with other businesses.
Now that your booster club is up and running, there are a few things to keep in mind. Be sure that your booster club stays up to date on Kentucky law, regarding booster club management. Also know that there are yearly fees and dues that need to be paid to the state to keep your organization in good standing. If you need further help managing or marketing or fundraising for your booster club, be sure to check out the articles and toolsets available on booostr.co.
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Booostr is the first booster club software platform with a connected set of tools designed to help booster clubs and nonprofits better manage their organization. From Communication, to Management, to Fundraising, Booostr's connected software improves booster club efficiency and allow them to focus on surpassing their goals.
