What does a booster club do, and who runs it

Last updated 2026-07-25

What does a booster club actually do?

A booster club exists to raise money and support for one specific school program, and then spend that money on the program, not on the general school budget. Think uniforms, instruments, travel, tournament fees, equipment, banquets, scholarships for seniors in the program. The club is legally separate from the school district in almost every case. It has its own bank account, its own tax ID number (an EIN), and usually its own nonprofit status recognized by the IRS. That separation matters more than most new volunteers realize. The school doesn't own the booster club's money, and the district usually can't tell the club how to spend it either, though most clubs work closely with the coach or director and defer to them on priorities. The club raises the money through concessions, spirit wear sales, car washes, raffles, restaurant nights, and direct donation drives, then it spends that money on the kids in the program. Most booster clubs are run entirely by parent volunteers. Nobody gets paid. The officers rotate every year or two, which is exactly why so many clubs end up scrambling: the person who understood the books quits, and the next parent inherits a shoebox of receipts and a login nobody remembers the password to. A well-run club also protects the program from liability and mess. If the club collects cash at concessions with two people counting it and a receipt log, that's a control that keeps volunteers and the club out of trouble. If it doesn't, that's how a well-meaning club ends up with a treasurer accused of something nobody actually did, just because nobody could prove where the cash went.

What is a treasurer, and what does a treasurer do?

A treasurer is the officer responsible for the club's money: tracking what comes in, what goes out, keeping the bank account reconciled, and making sure the club's tax filings happen on time. In a booster club, the treasurer is usually also the only person who really understands the finances, which is a problem worth fixing but is also just reality for most small nonprofits. Day to day, a treasurer's job breaks into a few buckets. First, bookkeeping: recording deposits and expenses, keeping receipts, and reconciling the bank statement every month, more than at year end. Second, reporting: giving the board a simple report at every meeting (cash in, cash out, current balance) so nobody is surprised. Third, compliance: filing the club's annual return with the IRS (more on that below) and renewing any state charity or raffle registrations. Fourth, controls: making sure no single person handles cash from start to finish alone, because that's how honest mistakes and dishonest ones both happen. A good treasurer also keeps a "go bag" of documents: the EIN letter, the last three years of filings, the bylaws, the bank signature card, and a list of who has check-signing authority. When treasurers hand off clean records like this, transitions take an afternoon. When they don't, it takes months and sometimes a forensic look at the bank statements to reconstruct what happened.

What does a club treasurer do that's different from a corporate one?

A club treasurer for a booster or PTO group has a narrower, more hands-on job than a corporate treasurer. There's no finance department, no accounts payable clerk, no controller checking their work. It's usually one volunteer with a laptop, a checkbook or debit card, and maybe a spreadsheet or QuickBooks. The core job is the same everywhere though: don't let money disappear, know where every dollar came from and where it went, and be ready to show anyone who asks. In a club context that means concession stand cash counted by two people and logged, raffle proceeds documented against a state license (confirm with your state charity office whether a license is required for your event size and prize value), and reimbursements paid against receipts, not against someone's memory. A club treasurer of a small booster club (say, under $50,000 a year in revenue) can usually run the books with a shared spreadsheet, a dedicated checking account, and a monthly reconciliation. A larger club, especially one that handles six figures through concessions and tournaments, benefits from a proper bookkeeping system and probably a part-time bookkeeper or an accountant doing a compilation once a year, even though nobody is required to hire one.

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

Form 990 is the annual information return that tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report their income, expenses, and activities. Nearly every 501(c)(3), including small booster clubs, has to file some version of it every year, even if the club owes zero tax and even if it's run entirely by volunteers. The version you file depends on your gross receipts. The IRS explains it plainly: "Most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual return" and organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can file the Form 990-N e-Postcard instead of a full return ^[1]. Organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 generally file Form 990-EZ, and larger organizations file the full Form 990 ^[1]. Here's the number that trips up the most booster clubs: miss three consecutive years of required filings, and the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status. There's no grace period notice that arrives with a red flag on it; the revocation just happens by law under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) ^[2]. Thousands of small nonprofits, many of them exactly this kind of volunteer group, end up on the IRS's Automatic Revocation of Exemption List without ever realizing they'd stopped filing. If your club is on that list, you can apply for reinstatement. The IRS instructions for Form 1023 describe a streamlined retroactive reinstatement path for organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-N or 990-EZ for the year revocation occurred, provided they apply within 15 months of the revocation date or the date of the revocation letter, whichever is later ^[3]. Read more on form 990 and the specific 990-N filing threshold for exact numbers and deadlines.

What is a 990 tax form, in plain English?

A 990 tax form isn't a tax bill. It's a public disclosure document. The IRS uses it to confirm your organization is still doing what it said it would do when it applied for tax-exempt status, and the public (donors, grantmakers, journalists, nosy parents) can look it up to see how the club spent its money. The form asks for things like total revenue and expenses, a list of major fundraising activities, whether the club paid any officers or contractors, and whether it has independent board members. For the 990-N version, it's much simpler: basically your EIN, legal name, address, tax year, confirmation that gross receipts are $50,000 or less, and a statement that the organization is still operating ^[1]. Deadline matters here. The return (in any version) is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends. For a club running on a calendar year (January through December), that's May 15 ^[1]. Miss it three years running and you're back to the auto-revocation problem above. One genuinely useful habit: file early, not on the deadline. If something's wrong with your EIN or entity name in the IRS system, you want to find that out in March, not on May 14.

What does the club president do, and how is that different from the treasurer?

The president runs meetings, sets the agenda, represents the club to the school and district, and generally makes sure the group is moving in the direction the bylaws and the membership want. The president doesn't usually touch day-to-day money beyond approving spending within limits the board sets. The treasurer is the one who actually moves the money: writing checks, making deposits, tracking the ledger. A well-run club never lets the same person hold both roles or sign off on their own reimbursements. That's not an insult to anyone's honesty; it's just how you avoid a situation where an unusual expense goes unquestioned because the person spending it is also the person approving it. A secretary keeps meeting minutes and the club's official records (bylaws, insurance certificates, past filings). None of these roles overlap much, and that's the point: separate duties mean no single volunteer carries the whole club's risk, or gets blamed for the whole club's mistakes.

Does a booster club need its own bank account and EIN?

Yes. A booster club should never run its money through a coach's personal account, a parent's Venmo, or the school district's own bank accounts. It needs its own Employer Identification Number (EIN), obtained free directly from the IRS ^[4], and its own checking account at a bank or credit union. Without a separate EIN and account, the club can't apply for 501(c)(3) status, can't file its own 990, and has no clean paper trail if a question ever comes up about where the money went. Getting an EIN takes about ten minutes online through the IRS's own application, and it costs nothing; be wary of any third-party site that charges a fee for this. Once the account exists, keep it boring: two or three signers on the account (never just one), a debit card only if the board specifically approves that use, and a rule that no cash gets deposited without a second person verifying the count first.

Does a booster club have to be a 501(c)(3), and what happens if it isn't?

Not automatically, and this trips people up constantly. Being a nonprofit corporation under state law and being tax-exempt under federal law (IRC section 501(c)(3)) are two different steps. Plenty of booster clubs incorporate with their state, get an EIN, but never actually apply for federal tax-exempt recognition, which means donors can't deduct their gifts and the club may owe federal income tax on its net income. To become tax-exempt, most small clubs apply using Form 1023-EZ if they qualify (generally organizations projecting $50,000 or less in annual gross receipts and $250,000 or less in total assets) ^[5], or the longer Form 1023 if not. Once approved, the club gets a determination letter, and that's the document you show a bank, a grant funder, or a suspicious parent who wants to know if donations are deductible. If the club skips this step, it isn't illegal, but it does mean losing out on deductible donations and the recognized nonprofit status that makes some grants and corporate matching programs possible. Confirm your specific situation with the IRS and, for state-level nonprofit or charitable registration, with your state's charity official or attorney general's office, since requirements vary widely by state.

Does a booster club need a raffle license or charity registration?

Often, yes, and this is one of the most commonly skipped steps because raffles feel so casual. Most states regulate raffles as a form of gambling, and running one without the right license or registration can expose the club and, in some states, individual officers to fines. Requirements vary hugely by state: some require a specific raffle or charitable gaming license, some cap prize values, some require the organization to have existed for a minimum number of months before it can run a raffle, and some exempt small clubs below a certain revenue threshold. There is no single national rule here. Confirm the specific license type, fee, and threshold with your state's charity registration office or attorney general's office before you sell a single ticket. Separately from raffle licensing, many states also require charitable organizations to register before soliciting donations at all, sometimes called charitable solicitation registration. This is a different filing from your IRS paperwork and a different agency, usually the state attorney general or secretary of state's charity division. Skipping it doesn't affect your federal tax status, but it can mean fines or a cease-and-desist letter if a state finds out you're fundraising without registering.

How does a booster club actually handle cash safely?

Cash is where booster clubs get into trouble, not because volunteers are dishonest but because nobody set up basic controls. The fix isn't complicated: two people count concession or event cash together and both sign the count sheet, deposits go to the bank within a few days (not sitting in someone's car for two weeks), and nobody who counts the cash is also the only one reconciling the bank statement. A simple rule that stops most problems before they start: no single volunteer should both receive money and record it in the books without a second person checking the numbers. That's not about trust. It's about protecting the volunteer as much as the club, because an unclear cash trail hurts the person holding the bag just as much as it hurts the organization. Reimbursements need receipts, full stop, not a text message saying "I spent $40 on tape." And every booster club should have a written policy, even a one-page one, saying who can approve spending above a certain dollar amount (say, $200 or $500) so the treasurer isn't making that call alone every time.

What happens during a booster club treasurer handoff?

The outgoing treasurer should hand the incoming one: the EIN letter, the last three years of 990 filings (or 990-N confirmations, which come as an email receipt, not a paper form), the bank account statements and signature cards, the bylaws, any state charity or raffle registrations, and a current reconciliation showing the bank balance matches the books. A lot of clubs skip this and just hand over a checkbook and a smile. That's how clubs end up on the IRS auto-revocation list, because the new treasurer had no idea a filing was due, or how a club loses track of $3,000 because nobody knows which fundraiser that deposit came from. A one-time setup that many first-time treasurers find genuinely useful is a state-personalized kit that walks through your specific state's raffle rules, charity registration requirements, and a filing calendar built around your fiscal year. BoosterLedger sells a $99 one-time Treasurer Kit Builder for exactly this reason: it's cheaper than an accountant's hourly rate and faster than piecing together fifty different state agency websites at 11pm before a board meeting.

What's the difference between a booster club and a PTO?

A booster club supports one specific activity, like the football team, the band, or robotics. A PTO (parent-teacher organization) or PTA supports the whole school broadly, funding things like teacher grants, playground equipment, or school-wide events. Both are usually run the same way structurally: volunteer officers, a separate bank account and EIN, 501(c)(3) status, and an annual 990 filing. A single school can have a PTO and a dozen separate booster clubs operating alongside it, each with its own bank account and its own IRS filing obligations. They don't share money, and the school district usually doesn't control either one's spending decisions, though it may require both to register as approved school-affiliated organizations and follow its facility-use and fundraising policies.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do in a club?

A club treasurer tracks all money coming in and going out, keeps the bank account reconciled, gives the board a report at every meeting, and handles the club's annual IRS filing. In a booster club or PTO, the treasurer is usually the only officer with hands-on access to the books, which is why clean handoff records matter so much.

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is the officer of an organization responsible for its money: recording income and expenses, reconciling bank accounts, reporting the financial position to the board, and making sure required tax filings and registrations happen on time. In a volunteer nonprofit, it's almost always an unpaid parent or community member.

What do treasurers do differently in a small volunteer club versus a company?

The core duties (tracking money, reporting, filing taxes) are the same, but a club treasurer usually works alone with no finance staff, no accounts payable department, and often just a spreadsheet or basic accounting software. The job relies much more on personal diligence since there's no built-in second layer of review.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to file, reporting revenue, expenses, and activities. Small organizations with gross receipts of $50,000 or less can file the simplified Form 990-N e-Postcard instead of the full form. Filing is required even if the organization owes no tax.

What is the 990 tax form used for?

The 990 isn't a tax bill; it's a public disclosure return that lets the IRS and the public confirm a tax-exempt organization is still operating as it claimed when it got its exemption. It reports revenue, spending, and major activities, and the IRS and watchdog sites make completed 990s publicly searchable.

What is the 990, exactly, and who has to file it?

The 990 is a family of IRS forms (990-N, 990-EZ, 990, and 990-PF) filed annually by tax-exempt organizations, with the specific version determined by gross receipts and total assets. Almost every booster club, PTO, or youth sports nonprofit with federal tax-exempt status has to file one version every year.

What does a booster club president do versus the treasurer?

The president leads meetings, sets direction, and represents the club to the school or district, but generally doesn't handle day-to-day money. The treasurer manages the actual finances: deposits, payments, reconciliation, and filings. Keeping these roles separate protects both people and the club from mistakes or accusations.

Does a booster club need to file taxes if it made no profit?

Yes. Tax-exempt status doesn't remove the filing requirement; it just usually means no tax is owed. Even a club with $500 in total revenue for the year still has to file the Form 990-N e-Postcard annually if it holds 501(c)(3) status, per IRS guidance on annual exempt organization returns.

What happens if a booster club misses its 990 filing?

Miss one year and usually nothing dramatic happens, though it's best practice to file anyway once you notice. Miss three consecutive years and the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), with no advance warning letter required by law.

Can a booster club get its tax-exempt status back after auto-revocation?

Yes, through the IRS streamlined retroactive reinstatement process, available to organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-N or 990-EZ and that apply within 15 months of the revocation date or revocation letter, whichever is later. Confirm current procedures and forms directly with the IRS since requirements can change.

Does a booster club need a raffle license?

In most states, yes, if it wants to run a raffle involving purchased tickets and cash or prize payouts, though exact rules, thresholds, and license types vary widely. Confirm requirements with your state's charity registration office or attorney general's office before selling tickets.

What's the difference between a booster club and a school PTO?

A booster club supports one specific program (like athletics, band, or robotics), while a PTO or PTA supports the whole school. Both are typically separate nonprofit entities with their own bank accounts, EINs, and IRS filing obligations, even when they operate at the same school.

Who actually owns the money a booster club raises?

The booster club itself owns the money, as a separate legal entity from the school district. The district generally can't direct how the club spends its funds, though most clubs coordinate closely with the coach or program director on spending priorities as a matter of practice, not legal requirement.

Sources

1. IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File: Filing thresholds for Form 990-N, 990-EZ, and Form 990, and the May 15 deadline for calendar-year filers
2. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Automatic revocation after three consecutive years of failing to file required returns, under IRC section 6033(j)
3. IRS, Instructions for Form 1023: Streamlined reinstatement process available within 15 months of revocation for organizations eligible to file 990-N or 990-EZ
4. IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online: EINs are issued free directly by the IRS
5. IRS, Instructions for Form 1023-EZ: Eligibility thresholds for using Form 1023-EZ, generally organizations projecting $50,000 or less in annual gross receipts and $250,000 or less in total assets
6. 26 U.S.C. section 6033(j), Cornell Legal Information Institute: Statutory basis for automatic revocation of tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of failing to file required annual returns