Athletic booster club bylaws: what to include and why

Last updated 2026-07-25

What are booster club bylaws and why does every club need them?

Bylaws are the internal rulebook for how your booster club runs itself: who can vote, how officers get elected, what a quorum is, how money decisions get made, and what happens if the club folds. They're different from your articles of incorporation (the document that creates the legal entity with your state) and different from board policies (day-to-day operating rules the board can change without a formal amendment). Most booster clubs are incorporated as nonprofit corporations under state law, and most states require a nonprofit corporation to adopt bylaws, though the bylaws themselves usually aren't filed with the state. Delaware's General Corporation Law, for instance, says the board "shall adopt" bylaws unless the certificate of incorporation puts that power in members' hands ^[1]. State nonprofit corporation acts (yours will have similar language: check your secretary of state's nonprofit corporation statute) generally require bylaws to exist even if they never see a government office. If you're applying for federal tax-exempt status, the IRS Form 1023 application instructions ask you to attach "a copy of your bylaws" if you have adopted them, and to describe how your organization operates ^[2]. So while the IRS doesn't hand you a bylaws template, a booster club without bylaws is going to have a hard time explaining its own governance to the IRS, a bank, or the next parent who takes over as treasurer.

What does a treasurer do in a booster club?

A booster club treasurer is the officer responsible for the club's money: tracking income and expenses, keeping bank accounts reconciled, preparing financial reports for the board, and making sure the club files its required IRS return (Form 990-series) and any state charitable filings on time. In plain terms, the treasurer is the person who can tell the board, at any meeting, exactly how much money the club has and where it went. Specific duties usually include: depositing concession and gate receipts, paying vendor invoices and reimbursing coaches or parents for approved purchases, maintaining a ledger or bookkeeping software file, preparing a budget-to-actual report for board meetings, reconciling bank statements monthly, and coordinating the annual (or triennial) IRS filing. Some clubs also have the treasurer manage individual player/athlete fundraising accounts, which comes with its own IRS scrutiny (private benefit and inurement rules apply when funds get tracked per-family rather than pooled for the group). The treasurer is not usually the sole signer on checks. Good bylaws or board policy require two signatures above a set dollar threshold, and require that the treasurer isn't the only person with online banking access. That's not an insult to the treasurer. It's basic internal control, and it protects the treasurer from being the only suspect if something goes missing.

What is a treasurer, exactly, and how is the role different from a bookkeeper?

A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer with fiduciary responsibility for an organization's finances; a bookkeeper is (often) a role, sometimes filled by the same person, that handles the mechanical recording of transactions. In a small booster club, one volunteer typically does both jobs. In a larger club, the treasurer might oversee a paid or volunteer bookkeeper and focus on reporting, budgeting, and board communication instead of daily data entry. Legally, a treasurer of a nonprofit board carries fiduciary duties: the duty of care (pay attention, ask questions, review financials before signing off) and the duty of loyalty (don't use club funds or information for personal benefit). State nonprofit statutes and case law generally hold nonprofit directors and officers to these standards; your state's nonprofit corporation act and your secretary of state's guidance for nonprofit officers are the places to check specifics. Bylaws should name the treasurer as an officer with defined term length, election method, and a description of duties, because "treasurer does the money stuff" is not a legal job description and it's what causes fights when a club changes hands.

What do treasurers do day to day, month to month, and year to year?

Monthly	Reconcile bank statement, prepare board financial report
Quarterly	Review budget vs. actual, check state registration status
Annually	File Form 990-series return, renew raffle/solicitation license if applicable
At officer change	Transfer signing authority, hand over records, update bank signatories

Day to day, a treasurer deposits cash and checks (ideally within a few business days, never held at home), records transactions, and holds receipts. Month to month, the treasurer reconciles the bank statement against the books, prepares a report for the board meeting, and flags anything unusual (a bounced sponsor check, a concession stand that's short again). Year to year, the treasurer's calendar includes: closing the books at fiscal year end, preparing or coordinating the annual budget with the board, filing the appropriate IRS Form 990-series return within the required window, renewing any state charitable solicitation registration, and handing over a clean set of books at officer transition. A written 990 tax form checklist in the bylaws' financial policy appendix (not the bylaws themselves, which should stay general) saves the next treasurer from guessing. Here's a rough treasurer task calendar for a typical school-year booster club: | Timing | Task |

What is Form 990 and does a booster club have to file it?

Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report income, expenses, and governance information; the version a booster club files depends on its gross receipts. The IRS explains that "most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return" and that organizations failing to file for three consecutive years will automatically lose their tax-exempt status ^[3]. Small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less file the Form 990-N e-Postcard, a short electronic form ^[4]. Organizations above that threshold file Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990 depending on receipts and assets; the IRS's annual filing requirements overview lays out the tiers ^[3]. A booster club's bylaws don't need to restate these thresholds (they change), but the financial policies section should require the treasurer to confirm the current IRS form 990 threshold and filing deadline every year, because the numbers move and "we always file the same one" is how clubs slide into revocation.

What is a 990 tax form used for, and what happens if a club misses filing?

The 990 tax form tells the IRS, and the public, what a nonprofit took in, spent, and how it's governed; it's also the main document reporters, grantmakers, and skeptical parents pull up on GuideStar/Candid to see how a club runs its money. If a club fails to file for three consecutive years, the IRS automatically revokes its tax-exempt status, effective the filing due date of the third year ^[3]. Revocation isn't automatically the end of the club, but it does mean the club is no longer exempt from federal income tax and donations are no longer deductible for donors until the club applies for reinstatement, which usually means filing Form 1023 again and possibly paying the filing fee (currently $275 for the streamlined 1023-EZ or $600 for the full Form 1023, per the IRS user fee schedule ^[5]). Bylaws can't fix a missed filing after the fact, but a bylaws provision requiring the treasurer to certify filing status at a specific board meeting each year (say, the first fall meeting) creates a paper trail that shows the board was doing its job even if a filing slips.

What should booster club bylaws actually include?

Good bylaws cover governance mechanics, not day-to-day procedure. The core sections most booster club bylaws include are: name and purpose, membership (who counts as a voting member, often families with a student in the program), board composition and officer titles, election process and terms, meeting schedule and quorum, committees, financial authority (who can sign checks, spending limits, budget approval process), conflict of interest policy, amendment procedure, and dissolution clause. The dissolution clause matters more than new officers expect. The IRS's model language for 501(c)(3) organizational documents requires that upon dissolution, remaining assets go to another 501(c)(3) organization or to a government entity for a public purpose, not to members or officers ^[6]. If your bylaws or articles don't include acceptable dissolution language, that alone can hold up 501(c)(3) recognition on Form 1023. A short, workable outline: 1. Name, purpose, fiscal year 2. Membership and voting rights 3. Board of directors: number, officers, terms, vacancies 4. Officer duties (president, VP, secretary, treasurer) 5. Meetings: regular, special, quorum, notice 6. Committees 7. Financial controls: signing authority, budget approval, audit/review requirement 8. Conflict of interest policy 9. Amendment procedure 10. Dissolution clause

What does a club treasurer do that should be written into the bylaws versus a separate financial policy?

Bylaws should state that the treasurer exists, how they're elected, their term, and their general duties in a sentence or two. Detailed procedures ("two signatures required over $500," "deposits made within 3 business days," "credit card statements reviewed by a non-cardholder board member") belong in a separate financial policy or standard operating procedures document that the board can update without a formal bylaws amendment vote. Why split them up? Bylaws amendments usually require advance notice and a supermajority vote under most nonprofit bylaws templates, which is appropriate for governance structure but way too slow for updating a dollar threshold. If your $500 signature rule is buried in the bylaws, changing it to $750 next year means a formal amendment process. Keep the bylaws lean; put the operational detail in a policy the treasurer and board can revise by simple majority vote at a regular meeting. A workable financial controls checklist to keep out of the bylaws but somewhere official: - Two signatures (or board president co-approval) above a set dollar amount

• Monthly bank reconciliation by someone other than the primary bookkeeper
• Annual outside financial review or audit
• Written reimbursement policy with receipt requirements
• Separation of cash handling from cash counting (two people count concession revenue together)

How does a conflict of interest policy fit into booster club bylaws?

A conflict of interest policy requires board members, including the treasurer, to disclose financial interests that could affect a club decision (a board member's company selling uniforms to the club, a coach's spouse running the concession stand for pay) and to recuse themselves from voting on those matters. The IRS Form 1023 instructions specifically ask applicants whether they've adopted a conflict of interest policy and, if not, explain how conflicts are handled, and provide a sample policy in the instructions' appendix ^[2]. Most small booster clubs run into conflicts constantly and don't realize it: a board treasurer whose kid gets picked for a paid officiating slot, a president whose printing business does the team's banners at a discount. None of that is automatically wrong. The problem is doing it quietly. A conflict of interest policy in the bylaws (or as an attached exhibit referenced by the bylaws) requires disclosure and a recorded vote with the interested party stepping out of the room, which protects both the club and the individual board member from later accusations.

How do quorum, voting, and officer elections usually work in booster club bylaws?

Quorum is the minimum number of voting members or board members who must be present for a meeting's votes to count; bylaws should state quorum as a number or fraction ("a majority of the board" or "five voting members") rather than leaving it undefined, because an undefined quorum means any two parents who show up on a slow Tuesday could technically "vote" on spending decisions. Most booster club bylaws set board quorum at a simple majority of officers/directors and set general membership meeting quorum lower (since attendance varies wildly by sport and season). Officer elections are typically annual, with staggered terms recommended for larger boards so the whole board doesn't turn over in the same year, a practical safeguard that keeps the club from losing all institutional memory (and every login password) at once. Voting by proxy or electronic ballot should be addressed explicitly if your club expects members who can't attend in person. Silence on this in the bylaws leads to arguments about whether a text message counts as a vote, which is a conversation nobody wants to have during a fundraiser deadline.

How should bylaws handle officer transitions and financial handoffs?

Bylaws should require an outgoing treasurer (and other officers) to transfer all records, passwords, and signing authority to the incoming officer within a set window, commonly 30 days after the election or the start of the new fiscal year, whichever comes first. Without a deadline, handoffs drift, and a new treasurer can spend months locked out of the bank account or QuickBooks file. A basic transition checklist bylaws can reference (again, detail belongs in a policy document, not the bylaws text itself): - Bank signatory cards updated at the bank in person

• Online banking and accounting software logins transferred, old officer's access removed
• Physical and digital records (receipts, board minutes, tax filings, state registration) handed over
• Outstanding checks, invoices, and reimbursements documented
• Current-year budget and actuals summary given to incoming treasurer This is also the point where a lot of clubs discover they're behind on ^[990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) filings or a raffle license renewal, because the outgoing treasurer assumed someone else handled it. A State-Personalized Treasurer Kit built around this handoff moment (state-specific filing checklists, sample transition forms) is one way to shortcut the research, though plenty of clubs build their own checklist from their state's nonprofit and charity office guidance and their prior IRS filings.

Where do you find a real booster club bylaws template, and should you just copy one?

Plenty of state PTA/PTO associations and university extension offices publish nonprofit bylaws templates or checklists; your state's PTA affiliate and secretary of state nonprofit division are good starting points, and IRS Publication 557 discusses organizational document requirements for tax-exempt status generally ^[6]. Don't copy another club's bylaws word for word without reading every clause, though. Bylaws written for a 5,000-member district PTA council look nothing like what a 40-family swim club board needs, and copying language about "regions" and "delegate assemblies" into a small club's bylaws creates governance requirements nobody can actually meet. A reasonable process: pull two or three real templates (state PTA, a neighboring booster club willing to share, a nonprofit law clinic's sample), build your own outline from the ten sections above, then have a board member or a volunteer attorney (many bar associations run nonprofit legal clinics) read the draft before the membership votes to adopt it. Confirm with your state's nonprofit corporation office and, if you're pursuing or maintaining 501(c)(3) status, with the IRS Form 1023 instructions, whether your specific state or the IRS wants anything added; requirements do shift and this article isn't a substitute for that check.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do in a booster club?

A booster club treasurer tracks all income and expenses, deposits and reconciles bank accounts, prepares financial reports for board meetings, manages reimbursements, and coordinates the club's annual IRS Form 990-series filing and any state charitable registration renewal. In small clubs, the treasurer often also does the bookkeeping directly rather than overseeing a separate bookkeeper.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is an elected or appointed officer legally responsible for an organization's finances, carrying fiduciary duties of care and loyalty. In a booster club, the treasurer is typically named in the bylaws as a board officer with a defined term, election process, and reporting duty to the rest of the board.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS reporting income, expenses, and governance details. Small organizations (gross receipts normally $50,000 or less) file the short Form 990-N e-Postcard instead of the longer 990 or 990-EZ, per IRS filing requirement guidance.

What is a 990 tax form used for?

It's the IRS's public reporting document for tax-exempt organizations, showing revenue, expenses, and board governance practices. It's also the primary document watchdog sites and donors review to check how a nonprofit, including a booster club, manages its money.

What is the 990?

"The 990" usually refers informally to whichever version of IRS Form 990 an organization files: the full Form 990, the shorter Form 990-EZ, or the e-Postcard Form 990-N, depending on the organization's gross receipts and total assets for the year.

What does a club treasurer do that's different from a regular member?

Unlike a general member, a club treasurer has signing authority (often shared with another officer), fiduciary responsibility for accurate records, and a legal duty to ensure required filings, like the IRS 990-series return, happen on time. Bylaws should spell out this authority explicitly, not leave it assumed.

Do booster club bylaws have to be filed with the state or the IRS?

Generally no. Bylaws are an internal governance document; most states don't require you to file them, though your nonprofit corporation statute may require you to adopt them. The IRS Form 1023 application does ask you to attach a copy if the organization has adopted bylaws.

What happens if a booster club doesn't have bylaws at all?

The club can still operate day to day, but disputes over voting, officer authority, or spending limits have no written rule to settle them. State nonprofit corporation law may impose default rules in the absence of bylaws, and Form 1023 reviewers will want to understand governance some other way if bylaws don't exist.

How often should booster club bylaws be reviewed or updated?

Most nonprofit governance guides suggest a review every two to three years or whenever the club's structure changes significantly (new sports added, incorporation, big change in membership size). Amendments typically require advance written notice to members and a supermajority vote, as specified in the bylaws' own amendment clause.

Can the same person be treasurer and bookkeeper for a booster club?

Yes, and in small clubs this is common out of necessity. The tradeoff is weaker internal control, so bylaws or a financial policy should still require a second signer on checks above a set amount and an independent person to reconcile the bank statement or conduct an annual review.

What is a conflict of interest policy and does a booster club need one?

It's a written policy requiring board members to disclose personal financial interests in club decisions and recuse themselves from related votes. The IRS Form 1023 application specifically asks whether an applicant organization has adopted one, and provides a sample policy in the instructions.

What is a quorum in booster club bylaws?

Quorum is the minimum number of voting members or board members who must be present for votes at a meeting to be valid. Bylaws should state quorum as a specific number or fraction; leaving it undefined risks a handful of attendees making binding decisions on behalf of the whole club.

What should a booster club's dissolution clause say?

It should state that if the club dissolves, remaining assets go to another 501(c)(3) organization or a government entity for a public purpose, not to members, officers, or directors. This language is required for organizations seeking IRS recognition under Section 501(c)(3), per IRS model organizational document guidance.

Sources

1. Delaware General Corporation Law, Title 8 §109: Corporate bylaws are generally adopted by the board unless the certificate of incorporation reserves that power to stockholders/members
2. IRS, Instructions for Form 1023: Form 1023 requires attaching a copy of bylaws if adopted, and asks whether the organization has a conflict of interest policy, with a sample policy provided
3. IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File: Organizations that fail to file required returns for three consecutive years automatically lose tax-exempt status
4. IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file the Form 990-N e-Postcard
5. IRS, User Fee Schedule (Rev. Proc. 2024-5), Form 1023 and Form 1023-EZ fees: Current IRS user fees for Form 1023-EZ ($275) and Form 1023 ($600) applications
6. IRS Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization, Chapter 3 (Organizational Test): 501(c)(3) organizations must include a dissolution clause directing remaining assets to another exempt organization or government entity for a public purpose