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SAMPLE
TIP #1
Expert
Q&A
• Why
does our booster club need liability insurance?
•
How
do we gain the support from our school administrators?
Question:
Why does our booster club need liability insurance?
Answer: What would you do
if your Booster Club was sued because of an injury that happened
at one of your events like a car wash, fundraising sale or concession
stand? Your Booster Club is a business, and a separate legal entity
and can be held accountable to the public for it’s actions,
or lack thereof. Even though an accident or occurrence is the
result of unintentional negligence, it is, nonetheless, considered
negligence. This condition oftentimes leads to a allegation or
lawsuit, wherein the Booster Club President, and all other officers
and directors of the Booster Club, are personally and individually
named, placing their personal assets at risk (home, vehicles,
savings, attachment of future wages and earnings of both individual
and spouse). In the U.S. court system, anyone can sue leadership
at anytime for any reason. Suits against Booster Club leadership
can be groundless or false, but still require a costly and highly
specialized defense (some in excess of $250,000). If the lawsuit
is not answered and properly defended, it is lost by default,
and a judgment obtained against leadership. Responsibility to
the public exposes a Booster Club and it’s individual leadership
to an element of risk, which can be transferred to another through
the use of public or general liability insurance.
Question:
How do we gain the support from our school administrators?
Answer: First, it's important
that you understand the reasons behind the challenges addressed
above. Once you understand the problem we can then work to implement
a solution. To start let's address the challenge of a lack of
support by school administrators. The problem here is that you
are facing years of pre-existing stereotyping. What I mean is
that before you stepped into the role as a booster club leader
the school administrators have experienced many booster leaders
before you. Unfortunately, in some cases these individuals, who
may have had the best of intentions were a bit overzealous and
unruly. They made demands and issued complaints that caused the
school administrators to push the booster club into a role where
it was somewhat isolated and foreign to the operations within
the school. It's also important to remember that prior to NABCA
there has never been a booster association to provide guidance,
oversight and support to booster clubs and the leaders. So before
you entered the picture booster clubs have been somewhat disorganized
and dysfunctional, which has caused school administrators to naturally
be less than supportive. How do we overcome this challenge?
The answer
will require some work and some time, but it's also very simple.
Here are some steps you need to complete if you want to gain an
increased level of support from school administrators:
1. Establish a clear mission and vision statement that your members
understand.
2. NABCA members login now to receive the complete Expert Q&A,
non-members can gain limited access by filling out the following
form.
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