• Executive Directors Column
• Coordinator Expansion Underway
• Dear Booster
• Golf For Goodness Sake
• Sport Supply Group
• Vendor of the Month
• Seeking Nationwide Support
• Do-It Yourself Fundraiser
• Engaging the Business Community
• Spotlight of the Month
• Fast Facts

ONE VISION
This month I want to keep my article short and right to the point. My job, that of directing the National Booster Club Association is the most rewarding and enjoyable job that I could ever ask for and I can honestly say that I love getting up and coming to work every day.

My 70+ hour work weeks offer new opportunities and challenges every single day and the fact that many of the challenges rotate around the need to help provide clubs, schools and communities with guidance and solutions that will enable them to retain their extra-curricular program's is the reason I am turning my attention this month towards hand picking a group of individuals from around the country who I will personally mentor and work with to help them become very successful regional NBCA affiliates.

The goal is simple. I am looking to personally guide and assist a small group of individuals who will then bring answers to the growing challenges facing clubs, schools and communities throughout their region. I will personally provide support, guidance and training to each person I pick. This is a two-fold opportunity that will make a positive impact within the communities around you helping to provide a solid avenue to enhance life emotionally and financially.

I don't care what your business or education level is so don't count yourself out before we have a chance to talk. I don't want your money so finances aren't an issue either. What I want is a person who understands the value that extra-curricular programs provide to our youth and our communities. I want a person who isn't afraid to step outside of their comfort. A person who is a self-starter and who enjoys helping others achieve their dreams.

I encourage you to take this opportunity and email me a short paragraph about yourself. Be sure to include your contact information and the city/state you reside. Let me know why you feel that you are the perfect candidate. I will hand pick a small group who will have the opportunity to position themselves to enjoy many years of success and rewards.

I wish each of you the best of success.
Happy Boostering!

Steve M. Beden
Executive Director

Enroll Your Club

Dear Booster........

The NBCA is now recruiting Area Coordinators nationwide.
- Unlimited opportunity
- No competition
- Part-time or Full-time
- Help make a difference in your community!

To find out more email us your contact information and one of our qualified staff members will personally contact you or click here to learn more: Coordinator Opportunity

Dear Booster,
I was recently elected as the booster president of our cheerleading spirit club and just realized I have no idea of what I am suppose to do. The past president is no longer around and it doesn't seem that any of the other parents really know what to do as well. Help! Can you point me in the right direction or let me know how I can get some guidance. I appreciate anything you can offer.

Sandy P.
Red Devils Cheerleading Spirit Club

Dear Sandy,
Congratulations on being elected as president. If you can let us know what community and state you reside we will see if there is an Area Coordinator close enough to help guide you over the hurdles and onto developing a strong and thriving club. In the meantime let's start with some initial steps that will help you and future club officers as well.
1. This first step is really designed to help you gain a better handle on what is going on with your club. If you haven't already visit with your coach, program director and school administrators then you need to find out if any of the club records, documents and files have been left with them. Also ask them to share what activities and support the club provided that they would like to see again this year. This is the ideal time to also find out if there are any concerns of areas that they felt needed to be improved.
2. Now is the ideal time to call an organizational meeting with all of the new and any past officers you can get to attend. The goal of this meeting is going to be to gather a better understanding of what the club did last year, what areas you need to focus on and improve and to start mapping out a road for the upcoming year.

If your club was somewhat active you will find enough information from steps 1 and 2 to develop an understanding on what your club needs to focus on.

Let me take this opportunity to share just one thought that will help future officers to eliminate the challenge you are currently facing. As you look for people to fill any positions that may still be left blank I want your group to focus on recruiting and electing only underclass (1st, 2nd, junior, etc.) parents. The ones who still have one year left after they serve. The reason is really simple and very strong. When you take on a position as a senior (last year) parent you are doing so at the worst possible time. A time when you will be challenged to assist your son or daughter with many senior year needs and activities. This does not leave the time really needed to oversee your booster club. In addition, when your son or daughter graduates or leaves the program, in almost every case, so do you. This means that there is no mentor left in place for the incoming officer. So if you only allow underclass parents to become officers and encourage them to step down so that someone else takes over their senior year you have put in place a natural mentoring system that will eliminate the challenges you are currently facing.

Send us your Dear Booster.... article and we will select one each month to share with the readers of Booster Trends. To submit your email send to: dearbooster@boosterclubs.org.

My Free Travel
My Free Travel is a division of HORT Financial Services, founded in 1987, with its headquarters in downtown Chicago. My Free Travel has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Omaha, Phoenix, Seattle, Sacramento, and Toronto. My Free Travel maintains call centers in Chicago, Utah and Seattle.

My Free Travel is committed to providing the highest quality, most cost effective and results oriented travel incentives on the market. Our goal and focus is driven by customer satisfaction. We pride ourselves on our high level of customer service and repeat business. With travel certificates there is no perishables, no heavy boxes to lug around, you can put these in a pocket or purse, do not have to worry about product going bad, can use extras next month or next year and most important, the group will make a much higher profit margin on each unit sold thus making more money faster during a fundraising campaign.

My Free Travel has over 18 stock and custom program to fit every budget. We offer incentive travel promotions from our 3 day 2 night hotel certificates which make great fundraisers to a 4-Day Ocean Cruse, 8-Day Luxury Resort Getaway, to a night Ritz Carlton. 800-219-4152 steven@myfreetravel.com

Clubs will make a much higher profit margin on each unit sold thus making more money faster during a fundraising campaign. All of our programs are straight-forward programs with absolutely no catches or gimmicks.

Donate or contribute a minimum of $10 and we will give you a FREE Vacation (Note - This usually gets a $20 donation in many cases). To find out more visit www.myfreetravel.com or contact Steven @ 800-219-4152 or steven@myfreetravel.com

NBCA Advocate - This is an ideal opportunity for anyone with contacts to local booster clubs, teams and businesses. The NBCA Advocate position does not require you to make any commitment other than your interest to periodically refer the NBCA to local booster clubs, teams and businesses. NBCA Advocates receive a commission or override for simply referring the association’s services to booster clubs, teams and businesses. This is an outstanding opportunity for any person who understands the role that extra-curricular activities play in shaping our society. If you would like to register and become an NBCA Advocate, please email your contact information or visit BoosterWorld and register today.

Area Coordinators - The NBCA is now seeking individuals who would like to assist local clubs, teams and businesses. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone looking for an opportunity to work part-time, or looking to help make a difference in your community. Coordinators will receive high commissions for introducing the association’s services to businesses, schools and parent organizations. This is an outstanding opportunity for any person who understands the role that extra-curricular activities play in shaping our society. If you would like to register and become an NBCA Advocate, please email your contact information or visit BoosterWorld and register today.

Club Coordinators - The NBCA is seeking individuals who are currently working with or involved with a booster club or extra-curricular program. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone currently involved with a club, team or extra-curricular program and who would like to turn the time you are spending into an opportunity to receive prizes, awards, recognition and compensation. Club Coordinators simply do what they are currently doing, nothing more. If you would like to register for the position of Club Coordinator, please email your name, club affiliation, city and state. Email us today at marketing@boosterclubs.org

Don't be afraid to price items generously - people tend to try to bargain prices down. Hopefully, since they know the proceeds are going to charity, they will not try to bargain too much, but even inexpensive items will help profit your charity.

It is also a good idea to pre-print "thank you" receipts to give to customers after they make their purchase, thanking them for helping your cause and directing them to where they could find more information (web site, phone numbers, etc.).

You can also sell baked goods at your yard sale as another way to bring in money for your cause. Put a donation jar out for people who would like to help your cause but are not going to purchase anything. Make it a festive atmosphere with balloons and music (CDs or radio).

This is a win/win event - you get rid of your clutter and raise money for your favorite cause.

As school districts are forced to cut funding for extracurricular activities and parents reach the bottoms of their pockets, candy bars and washing cars will not generate enough money to make up the difference. One logical place to look for funding help is the local business community.

Why should local businesses help? Business owners know that sports and club participation teach character, leadership, teamwork and sacrifice. Studies show that kids who play sports and participate in extra-curricular activities have strong attendance records and higher grades than those who do not participate. Studies also show that involved kids have lower rates for pregnancy, smoking and getting in trouble with the law. When businesses look at kids and young adults for part time or full time employees, high school extracurricular activities are an important part of a kid’s credentials.

Then there is the “Cha Ching!” factor.
To paraphrase a former President, “Ask not what a business can do for you, but what you can do for the business”. The answer is: help them sell burgers and tires. Think about how many events your school hosts each school year including all sports events, camps and tournaments and now add events for clubs, music and the arts. How many kids, parents and families come into your community because of school activities? Any of them stop to eat, buy gas or shop? Many parents wander off into the community while waiting on their kids to compete. School-based activities bring fresh money into the community.

If your school has 1,500 kids from 1,000 families, using a 7 year average home ownership turnover, each year, 140 of those families will buy a new house, furnish it and fix it up. The ones who didn’t buy a new house spend money doing home improvements to the house they live in. And the same 1,000 families, who have 2 cars and buy a used one for their junior, represent about 800 cars purchased each year. Change your business fundraising technique from begging to a value-based proposition!

Why businesses say “no”.
Businesses don’t want to say “no” and risk losing the support of the kids and their families. But 30 parents from 30 groups called on them and they can’t say yes to everyone. Besides, they gave the football team $200 and that’s all the business can afford right now.

So… What if instead of 30 parents from 30 groups calling on local businesses, you could offer them a single program to support every sport and every club all year long? What if they had a single contact from the booster club to work with? What if you invited them to become a member of your booster club? What if you have special programs to help them sell their products and services?

The WIIFM factor.
Businesses really want to know “What’s in it for me?” Some are willing to be good community citizens donating money to select programs, but if you have a strong WIIFM answer, businesses you have not been able to get to contribute in the past, will join your program.

Continued in July.

This months article brought to you by GR8fundraisers.

We wanted to get involved in the association for several reasons. Dormkit is specifically geared toward the college student. Dormkit offers the college student the essentials, snacks and laundry supplies. We know there are many products that could be used in fund raisers, but Dormkit offers the basics, and we knew that would be very appealing, especially from the parents point of view. In fact, in every Dormkit we include a pre-stamped thank you postcard for the student to simply put in the mail. It's a nice feeling to know the parents will get recognition for their efforts. It requires minimum effort for the busy student, and mom and dad get the satisfaction that their gift was appreciated.

We think the benefits our company has over others is that is it a no brainer in as far as the usability of the products Dormkit provides. Everybody eats and everybody needs to do laundry. That is the beauty of Dormkit. It is not a matter of “if” the product gets used by the student, but “when” and “how much”. We offer three sizes in both the Snack Attack and the Suds for Duds. We use name brand favorites in our popular Snack Attack: Oreos, Nachos, Planters Peanuts, Chips Ahoy, Fig Newtons, just to name a few. The benefit our company had over others is that we are dealing with a known entity. We don't have to “win over” the students with our product. They are foods they have been enjoying all their lives. Who doesn't love Oreos??

The Suds for Duds has detergent, fabric softener, some quarters for the washing machines, and a simple guide to how to do the laundry. We know that some students, (now its hard to believe this I know,) have maybe never done their own laundry before college. The simple guide we provide ensures the student will not have to endure the embarrassment of having all their whites turn pink(ee-gad!). We even include a crossword puzzle book to occupy their time while waiting for the next dryer to be freed up.

As far as the growth we see in the future involving the clubs, the sky is the limit. We would like nothing more than to grow and grow our affiliation with the clubs. It is our goal to be the number one company these clubs think of when they are deciding what to do to raise funds. We are extremely dedicated to the clubs and want to build a strong, positive relationship. The other VERY attractive thing about our company, is that because we are also a Pack and Ship company, we can pass on our shipping discounts to the clubs, thereby helping you raise more money, which is what its is all about! So, folks, when you need a fundraiser, think Dormkit, the stuff kids need. Please visit us at www.dormkit.com