Booster Club?

[SouthCarolinaRo]

For the first three years of our teams' existence, we have had a difficult time ordering parts through our school district's finance department. If someone on the team runs to Home Depot/hardware store to purchase something, the school district cannot reimburse this person (against finance policy). If anyone else has had issues with having funds readily available to purchase parts for the robot in a timely manner, have you any suggestions on how to overcome this challenge we have faced using the school district's finance department? Would starting a booster club be the answer? Or are there other options? Thanks.

[Chris is me]

A booster club as a separate financial entity (501c3), while difficult to set up and time consuming (you can't do it in time for build season 2012), is a very useful thing to have. You get much more control over your money and the tax exempt status makes you eligible for many more grants than you'd think.

[walterev]

We have the same issues. Here is what we are doing:

1. Form a non-profit organization, which costs $25 in South Carolina
2. Open a checking account with a LOCAL bank (free for non-profits)
3. Use a debit card for local purchases
4. Keep excellent records

We are also considering a credit card for online use.

A 501C is a must for corporate donations, but we use our local school foundation (or FIRST) for this. Also, be very careful to keep the booster organization separate from the robotics team or you may run into problems with your school district. At least that is our experience.

[Jimmy Nichols]

We started up a Fund with a the Community Foundation for our Township. They already have 501c3 status and we just had to form a board and apply for a fund. Very easy and you don't have to be an existing non-profit.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

A booster club as a separate financial entity (501c3), while difficult to set up and time consuming (you can't do it in time for build season 2012), is a very useful thing to have. You get much more control over your money and the tax exempt status makes you eligible for many more grants than you'd think.

Actually, a lot of existing educational organizations are willing to let you participate under them. This is what we do, and the setup time is minimal.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Actually, a lot of existing educational organizations are willing to let you participate under them. This is what we do, and the setup time is minimal.

We've done this in the past (umbrella-ing), but it can be a fair bit of work unless you find a few organizations willing to help you several times.