Gymnastics booster club bylaws: what to include and why

Last updated 2026-07-25

What are gymnastics booster club bylaws and why do you need them?

Bylaws are the internal rulebook for your booster club. They cover who can be a member, how officers get elected, how meetings run, how money decisions get made, and what happens if the club ever shuts down. Nobody at the IRS reads them line by line unless you're applying for tax-exempt status, but they're the document you pull out the moment two parents disagree about who authorized a $3,000 equipment purchase. If your club has applied or plans to apply for 501(c)(3) status, the IRS actually asks for a copy. Form 1023 (the exemption application) instructs you to attach "a copy of your organizing document" and, if you have them, your bylaws ^[1]. The IRS won't approve exemption based on bylaws alone, but a set with organizational gaps, no conflict of interest policy, no dissolution clause, tends to draw follow-up questions from the reviewer. Most gymnastics booster clubs skip a lawyer and adapt a template from a sister sport's booster group or a state PTA association. That's fine as a starting point. Just make sure whoever adapts it actually reads every clause, because a football booster template still has language about "Friday night games" and "varsity roster" that makes no sense for a gym program running meets on weekends year round.

What does a treasurer do in a booster club?

A booster club treasurer tracks every dollar that comes in and goes out, keeps the bank account reconciled, prepares a financial report for each meeting, and makes sure the club files whatever the IRS requires each year. That's the short version. The long version is that the treasurer is usually the only officer who can tell you, on any given Tuesday, exactly how much money the club has and where it's supposed to go. Specific treasurer duties that should be written into the bylaws include: maintaining the checkbook or accounting software, requiring two signatures above a dollar threshold you set (many clubs use $250 or $500), presenting a written report at every board meeting, and filing the annual IRS return, whether that's the 990-N e-postcard, a full Form 990, or Form 990-EZ depending on gross receipts. A good bylaws section on the treasurer role also names who takes over if the treasurer resigns mid-year, what records must be handed off (bank statements, tax filings, receipts, the QuickBooks login), and how long financial records get kept. The IRS recommends keeping records that support items on a return until the statute of limitations for that return expires, generally three years, but many booster clubs keep seven years of records to be safe since some issues (like unreported income) extend the lookback period ^[2].

What is a treasurer, exactly, and what do treasurers do day to day?

A treasurer is the officer legally and practically responsible for a club's money. Day to day, that means depositing checks and cash from meet concessions or team dinners, paying invoices for leotards or equipment, reconciling the bank statement every month, and answering the inevitable question from a parent: "where did the money from the car wash go?" Weekly or monthly tasks typically include: recording every transaction in a ledger or software, filing receipts (paper or scanned) for every expense, reconciling the bank account against the ledger, and flagging anything that looks off to the board before it becomes a bigger problem. Annual tasks include preparing a year-end financial statement, filing the IRS return, and helping with the officer handoff if a new treasurer is coming in. Bylaws should require a written handoff process. That single clause prevents more disasters than any amount of good faith among friendly parent volunteers. Specify that the outgoing treasurer must transfer bank access, tax filing history, and a copy of the most recent 990 tax form filed, within a set number of days (30 is common) of leaving the role.

What is Form 990 and does the treasurer have to file it?

Normally $50,000 or less	Form 990-N (e-Postcard)	Filed online only, no paper option [1]
Less than $200,000 and total assets under $500,000	Form 990-EZ or full 990	990-EZ is shorter
$200,000 or more, or assets $500,000+	Form 990 (full)	Most detailed version	Miss three consecutive years of any required 990 filing and the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status, no warning letter required beyond what's already on record [4]. This has caught a lot of booster clubs off guard, especially ones running on volunteer treasurers who rotate out every year or two without a clean handoff. Your bylaws should assign this filing duty explicitly, with a backup person named, so it doesn't fall through the cracks during a transition. See our full breakdown of irs form 990 requirements and how to pick the right version for your club's size.

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to file. It reports revenue, expenses, assets, and governance information, and it's public record once filed. Which version your booster club files depends on gross receipts and total assets, and the treasurer (or whoever the board designates) is responsible for getting it filed on time. Here's the breakdown by size, per IRS guidance ^[3]: | Gross receipts | Which form | Notes |

What is the 990-N e-Postcard and who has to file it?

The 990-N, nicknamed the e-Postcard, is the simplest IRS filing, meant for small tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It asks for basic information: your EIN, legal name, mailing address, website if you have one, name and address of a principal officer, and confirmation that receipts are still under the threshold. There's no financial detail required beyond that threshold check. The IRS states plainly: "Organizations with gross receipts of $50,000 or less can file Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard" ^[1]. It must be filed electronically through the IRS's own portal; there's no paper version and no other way to submit it. The filing is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's accounting period ends. For a booster club running on a calendar fiscal year (January to December), that's May 15. For one running a school-year fiscal year (say July to June), that's November 15. Bylaws should state your club's fiscal year explicitly, because that date drives every other filing deadline downstream, and confusion over fiscal year is one of the most common reasons boards miss it. Confirm your specific deadline and filing threshold with the IRS, since gross receipts calculations and thresholds can shift.

What core sections should gymnastics booster club bylaws include?

A workable set of bylaws for a gymnastics booster club runs 6 to 12 pages and covers roughly a dozen core sections. Skipping any of these tends to create a fight later, usually at the worst possible time (right before a big competition fundraiser, or right after an officer quits). Core sections to include: 1. Name and purpose: state the club's legal name and its mission, tied to supporting the gymnastics program (not the school or gym itself, which is a separate entity). 2. Membership: who qualifies (usually parents/guardians of current team gymnasts), dues if any, and how membership ends. 3. Officers and duties: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer at minimum. Spell out treasurer duties in detail, as covered above. 4. Elections and terms: how officers are nominated, voted on, and how long terms run (one year is common for booster clubs given turnover). 5. Meetings: how often the board meets, how often general membership meets, and notice requirements. 6. Quorum and voting: what percentage of the board or membership must be present to conduct business, and whether votes need a simple majority or two-thirds for major decisions. 7. Committees: fundraising, competition travel, banquet, uniform, etc., and whether committee chairs sit on the board. 8. Financial controls: signature requirements, spending limits, budget approval process, and audit or financial review requirements. 9. Conflict of interest policy: required or strongly recommended if you're 501(c)(3), covering situations like a board member's business supplying leotards or travel services to the club. 10. Amendment procedure: how the bylaws themselves get changed. 11. Dissolution clause: where remaining assets go if the club disbands, which for a 501(c)(3) must be to another exempt organization, not back to members. 12. Fiscal year: the specific start and end date, which drives every IRS deadline. A dissolution clause deserves extra attention because the IRS actually checks for it. Organizing documents for 501(c)(3) applicants must include a clause dedicating assets to exempt purposes upon dissolution; the IRS provides sample language in the instructions to Form 1023 ^[5].

What does a club treasurer do differently in a gymnastics booster club versus other sports?

Gymnastics booster clubs have a few money quirks that football or basketball boosters don't deal with as much, and bylaws should account for them. Competition travel is the big one. Gymnastics meets often require overnight travel to regional or state meets, sometimes national qualifiers, which means the treasurer handles hotel deposits, team travel funds, and reimbursement policies for families who front costs. Bylaws should set a reimbursement policy: what needs a receipt, what the approval threshold is, and how fast reimbursements get processed (30 days is a reasonable target many clubs use). Equipment and apparel costs run high per athlete (leotards, warm-ups, grips, travel bags) compared to team sports where uniforms are shared or reused. Some clubs run a separate "equipment fund" with its own tracking inside the same bank account, which the bylaws should acknowledge if you do fund accounting internally. Individual athlete fundraising accounts are the other tricky spot. Many gym boosters let families fundraise toward their own child's meet fees or travel costs. The IRS has flagged this practice as a red flag for private benefit in certain structures, since a 501(c)(3) can't function as a personal savings account for individual members' private benefit . If your club runs individual accounts, get specific guidance from a tax professional and confirm the structure with the IRS and your state charity office before setting it up; done wrong, it can jeopardize the whole club's exempt status.

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

A conflict of interest policy requires board members to disclose any financial relationship between themselves (or their family) and the club, and lays out a process for the board to handle it, usually by having the conflicted person abstain from voting on that matter. The IRS doesn't legally require this for most small booster clubs, but Form 1023 specifically asks if you've adopted one, and the IRS's own sample policy is built into the Form 1023 instructions ^[5]. For a gymnastics booster club, common conflict scenarios include a board member who owns the leotard supply company, a coach's spouse serving as treasurer, or a board member's travel agency booking the competition trip. None of these are automatically wrong. The problem is doing them quietly, without disclosure and a vote by disinterested board members. Build the policy into your bylaws (or as an attached policy referenced in the bylaws) so every new officer signs it during onboarding. It's a five-minute conversation that heads off a much longer one later.

How do quorum and voting rules work in booster club bylaws?

Quorum is the minimum number of board members (or general members, for membership votes) who must be present for a meeting's decisions to count. Without a stated quorum, you risk a decision made by three parents at a poorly attended meeting getting challenged later by the 40 families who weren't there. Common quorum setups for booster clubs: a majority of the board (more than half) for board meetings, and a smaller fixed number or percentage (say 10% of paid members, or a flat number like 10 people) for general membership meetings, since those tend to draw fewer attendees. Voting thresholds usually vary by decision type. Routine business (approving minutes, small expenditures) typically needs a simple majority of those present. Bigger decisions, amending the bylaws, dissolving the club, removing an officer, often require two-thirds of the full board or membership, more than those present. Spell out both the threshold and whether it's calculated against those present or the full body, because that distinction has derailed more than one contentious booster club meeting.

What happens if a gymnastics booster club's tax-exempt status gets revoked?

If your club misses three consecutive years of required 990 filings (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990), the IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status. The IRS publishes the Auto-Revocation List, and once your organization is on it, donations are no longer tax-deductible to donors, and the club may owe corporate income tax on its own revenue going forward ^[4]. Getting reinstated means filing Form 1024 or 1024-A (depending on your exemption subsection) along with any past-due 990s, and paying the user fee, which the IRS lists on its fee schedule and which has changed over the years, so confirm the current amount directly with the IRS before filing . Streamlined retroactive reinstatement is available for organizations that were eligible to file the 990-N or 990-EZ and apply within 15 months of revocation, per Revenue Procedure 2014-11 . This is exactly the scenario good bylaws prevent. A clause requiring the treasurer to confirm filing status every year, with a named backup officer who checks if the treasurer misses a deadline, costs nothing to write and saves the club real money and a lot of stress if it ever gets used.

How often should bylaws be reviewed and updated?

Most booster club governance guides suggest reviewing bylaws every 2 to 3 years, or any time the club's structure changes significantly (adding a new fundraising committee, changing fiscal year, merging with another booster group). Waiting until there's a dispute to check what the bylaws say is a bad plan; by then, everyone's already picked a side. Build the review into your calendar. Many clubs do it at the same board meeting where they approve the annual budget, since that's already a moment when officers are thinking about structure and money together. Amendments should go through whatever process your existing bylaws specify (usually written notice to the board, a vote at a scheduled meeting, sometimes with a supermajority requirement). Keep a version history. When a new treasurer takes over three years from now and finds two different sets of bylaws in the file cabinet, dated versions with amendment records save a genuine headache. A state-personalized starting document helps here too. A treasurer kit built for your specific state's raffle and charity registration rules, alongside a bylaws template, gets a new board most of the way to a workable document without paying a lawyer for a from-scratch draft; it's a $99 one-time tool, not legal advice, so still have someone on your board (or a local attorney if the club can spare the fee) read the final version before adopting it.

Where do bylaws intersect with state charity registration and raffle licensing?

Many states require nonprofits, including booster clubs, to register with a state charity office or attorney general before soliciting donations, running raffles, or holding certain fundraisers. Some of these registration forms ask for a copy of your bylaws or articles of incorporation as part of the application. Raffle licensing in particular often has bylaws-adjacent requirements: some states require the raffle to be run by an organization that's been in existence for a minimum period (commonly one to five years depending on the state), or that has a specific charitable purpose stated in its governing documents. Because these rules vary significantly by state and change periodically, confirm current raffle licensing and charity registration requirements with your state charity office or attorney general's office before running any raffle or major solicitation. Bylaws that clearly state your charitable purpose, your fiscal year, and your officer structure make these state filings faster to complete, since you're pulling the same answers from one document instead of reconstructing them from memory or old emails.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do in a gymnastics booster club?

The treasurer tracks all incoming and outgoing money, reconciles the bank account, presents financial reports at meetings, and files the club's annual IRS return (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990 depending on gross receipts). Bylaws should also require the treasurer to maintain a written handoff process for the next officer.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's money: recording transactions, keeping the books reconciled, reporting finances to the board, and handling required tax filings. In a booster club, it's usually a volunteer parent role with real legal responsibility attached, since the treasurer's name often appears on IRS filings.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for most tax-exempt organizations, reporting revenue, expenses, and governance details. Which version applies (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) depends on gross receipts and total assets. It becomes public record once filed.

What is a 990 tax form?

A 990 tax form is any version of the IRS's annual return for tax-exempt organizations: the 990-N e-Postcard for the smallest orgs, the 990-EZ for mid-size ones, or the full Form 990 for larger organizations. It's not an income tax return in the traditional sense; it's an informational disclosure.

What is the 990?

"The 990" usually refers to the full-length Form 990, the most detailed version of the IRS's annual information return, required for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more, per IRS filing thresholds.

What do treasurers do differently during officer transitions?

An outgoing treasurer should hand off bank account access, the most recent financial statements, copies of the last several years of IRS filings, and any outstanding invoices or reimbursement requests. Bylaws should set a deadline for this handoff (commonly 30 days) so a resignation doesn't leave the club's books in limbo.

Does a gymnastics booster club need a lawyer to write bylaws?

Not necessarily. Many clubs adapt a template from another booster organization or state PTA association and have a board member (or a local attorney if the budget allows) review the final draft. The important part is customizing every clause to your actual club rather than leaving generic placeholder language in place.

What happens if a booster club doesn't file a 990 for three years?

The IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of missed required 990 filings, with no separate warning notice beyond standard filing reminders. The organization then appears on the IRS Auto-Revocation List, loses tax-deductible donation status, and may owe corporate income tax until reinstated.

Should bylaws include a spending limit requiring two signatures?

Most booster club governance guides recommend it. A common structure requires two officer signatures (or board approval) for any expenditure above a set threshold, often $250 to $500, with the treasurer able to approve smaller routine expenses alone. Set the exact number based on your club's typical budget size.

What is a dissolution clause and why do bylaws need one?

A dissolution clause states where the club's remaining money and assets go if it ever shuts down. For 501(c)(3) organizations, assets must go to another tax-exempt organization, not back to members or officers. The IRS provides sample dissolution language in the Form 1023 instructions.

Can individual gymnasts fundraise toward their own competition fees?

Some clubs allow it, but the IRS has raised private benefit concerns about individual fundraising accounts within a 501(c)(3), since exempt organizations generally can't function as personal savings vehicles for individual members. Get specific guidance from a tax professional and confirm any such structure with the IRS before setting it up.

How often should a booster club update its bylaws?

Every 2 to 3 years is a common review cadence, or sooner if the club's structure changes (new committees, a fiscal year change, a merger). Amendments should follow whatever process the existing bylaws specify, typically written notice plus a board vote, and each version should be dated and archived.

Sources

1. IRS, Instructions for Form 1023: Form 1023 requires applicants to attach a copy of their organizing document and bylaws
2. IRS, e-Postcard (Form 990-N): organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file Form 990-N, filed electronically only
3. IRS, Automatic revocation of exemption: failing to file required returns for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status
4. IRS, Private benefit and inurement issues for exempt organizations: private benefit rules restrict use of a 501(c)(3) organization's funds for individual members' personal benefit
5. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: streamlined retroactive reinstatement is available for small organizations that apply within 15 months of automatic revocation