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Dear Booster........

Building Blocks for Success

How many times have you heard the phrase "success is built from a solid foundation"?

If your club is not including the most fundamental business principals you are probably experiencing a constant roller coaster of success.

Make sure that your club includes the following and you will reduce the learning curve experienced from year to year.

1. Have a transition plan.
2. Conduct annual planning meetings.
3. Insure outgoing leaders are still around to be mentors.
4. Invite pro-active comments, suggestions and pointers from all supporters.
5. Be clear in your mission and vision.

Supporting Those Who Support Our Mission

This month I want to take time to recognize all of those who support the vision and mission behind what the booster club stands for.

If it wasn't for the continued support from these individuals and company's the job we each undertake would be many times harder.

It should be our responsibility and commitment to insure that we patronize businesses that support our cause. Not just when we seek their sponsorship for an upcoming event or when we find the need for a new piece of equipment, we should remember to patronize their businesses year round.

Remember to send a thank you when you receive special support or you have just been given that extra inventory that will help push your fundraiser over the top because the business you are working with decided that it was important to see that you succeed in hitting your goal.

For many clubs and teams this may mean seeking the business from new vendors who may be miles or states away from your group. Is this wrong? I like to believe that we each have a responsibility to the group we support to insure that we are gaining the very best product at the very best price possible, thus producing the largest gain in support of the extra-curricular program and the kids who we are helping. So anytime we can add another business that supports our cause whether it be down the road or the next state over we all win.

Over the past few years the NBCA has continued with your help and guidance to search out the "best of the best" with regards to businesses who support our cause and provide exceptional products, services and programs. You can have complete confidence that all of these businesses who promote their membership with the NBCA are first class organizations with proven track records. We encourage you to patronize the business from these company's. They each have proven records for helping successfully support your programs.

If you know of a business that is not a member of the NBCA I also want to encourage you to submit their information (vendor submit) and let us share their products, programs and services with other booster clubs from around the country. Let's help those who help us!

Together we can make a difference that will gain the support from our school administrators, school boards and communities.

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

Steve M. Beden
Executive Director

No matter what event you hold as a fundraiser, it is important to have multiple streams of income. Many groups hold successful fundraising events but don't plan for any secondary sources of income.

Many years ago movie theater owners discovered that they had the perfect captive audience to sell products to. Now days they make very little money from selling tickets to the movie. The big bucks are in concession stand sales. It's no accident that you have to walk by the concession stand to get to the movie!

What started out as popcorn, drinks and candy has now grown to chips & cheese, hot pretzels, bulk candy sales, ice cream, cotton candy, movie posters and memorabilia. For theater owners it's all about multiple streams of income.

For you, the booster club event holder, multiple streams of income should be important to you also. It may be as simple as selling refreshments at the intermission of the school play, or as complicated as adding an auction to your groups annual banquet.

With all the competition for your donors fundraising dollars, make sure you capture the most you can from each of your donors. It is always easier to coax a few more dollars from an existing donor than to find a brand new donor. Some groups have managed to grow a small annual event into their sole fundraising source by leveraging their secondary sources of income. Gather your members together, put your thinking caps on, and brainstorm those money making ideas for your next fundraising event.

The NBCA is proud to introduce a portfolio of discounted insurance programs offered by AIM Insurance and now available to all NBCA members. NBCA members now have the option of purchasing any of the following policies at a special members only discount.

1. General Liability: What would you do if a child cuts open an eyebrow or one of your volunteers gets hurt at one of your fundraising events? The general liability provides $1 million coverage to protect your members, volunteers and your organization against bodily injury liability lawsuits arising from Booster Club sponsored activities. There is no deductible for this coverage.

2. Fidelity Bond: What if you discovered $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000 of your money has been embezzled and your fundraising vendors have turned you over to a collection agency? The bond insurance will replace your Booster Club’s money and avoid having you turned over to a collection agency. The bond limits are $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000, with a $250 deductible.

3. Property Coverage: If a fire destroyed a $1,800 computer, $1,400 popcorn machine, or $10,000 of fund raising merchandise it would be financially difficult to replace. The property insurance will replace Booster Club property damaged or lost due to a theft or natural hazard. The policy limit is $10,000 with a $250 deductible.

4. Officer’s Liability: As an officer of the Booster Club, you are the focal point for everything that goes on in the organization. You could be strapped with huge legal bills because someone has accused you of making a misrepresentation, mismanagement, or distributing false or misleading information. The Officer’s Liability will pay your legal bills and provide liability protection from situations like these. The policy limit is $1,000,000 with a $1,500 deductible.

Call AIM at 1-800-876-4044 for additional information or to answer any questions that you may have.

If your group isn't goal setting it's time you took notice.

Timing is a critical part of any success story. And the goals which your group writes down are the script for yours. Goal-setting works infinitely better when the goals are written down. Not only is there a ready checklist of your objectives and priorities, but the very act of writing them forces you to take control and get organized.

If you are to chart a course for yourself, you must have an idea of where you want to go! Written lists of goals do that. More basically, they help you to order and control your day.

1. Goals must be specific and measurable.
2. They must be stated positively and in the present. (No, "I will not's")
3. They must be attainable.
4. They must aim at basic personality changes.
5. They must start with "I" or "We".
6. They should be fun.

Keep your goals in a small notebook which you carry with you at all times, and add "a-ha's" to it as you think of them. Haven't you had a brilliant brainstorm in the middle of the night and by the time morning came you had forgotten the idea that you were sure was going to change the world!

Unfortunately, our minds only allow us to remember, on average, 40% of what we want to when we want to, so write it down.

Keep the notebooks in sections according to ideas. Your ideas, properly implemented , are what will make or break your success script. Make room for them. As they accumulate, having the ideas organized by section will make it easier for you to find them. Also write your daily "to do" list in this notebook.

Why become a Club Coordinator?

Because Club Coordinators receive opportunities throughout the year to attend specialized booster training clinics, gain direct support from industry experts, receive special program notices and have access to an unlimited amount of club building resources. Resources that will make your job of supporting your booster club or team much easier and much more enjoyable.

The best part about being a Club Coordinator is not just the wealth of support and resources you will receive it is the ability to gain personal recognition from your peers. Club Coordinators become eligible to earn regional and national awards, attend conferences and to earn commissions for helping bring solutions to your group.

If you would like to become a registered Club Coordinator email us your name, current position, club or group name, city, state and contact number today!

We would like to welcome the following companies to the National Booster Club Association and want to encourage you to patronize each of them. Their products and services are top notch.

TLK MARKETING, INC.
TLK is a company that does embroidery and silk screening as well as having promotional items. They have stock items and custom wearables. TLK will help you design your artwork so that it reflexes your school or club. Their website is www.tlkmarketing.com check them out for wearables.

JUST FOR NETS
Need a net for your volleyball team? How about a new tennis net? Or archery? Well we have the right company for you. Just For Nets has nearly 20 years of experience in netting. They supply nets all over the world. The nets are of the highest quality and met the standards from Little League to high school. Give them a try, but be sure to mention that you are an NBCA member. Their website is www.justfornets.com.

JACKSON CANDY FUNDRAISING
When you open the website for Jackson Candy Fundraising, the smell of chocolate waifs through the air. It should!!! Jackson Candy sells all kinds of candy and that means chocolate, hurrah!!!! This is the place to come for a candy fundraiser. They have Nestles, Hershey, Rice Krispy Treats just to name a few. Check them out at www.candyfundraising.com.

GTM SPORTSWEAR
If your team needs sweats or jackets and you want them at a good price and still have your logo on them, check out GTM Sportswear. Their selection is great, their quality top notch, and their turnaround time terrific. Another area that made me smile in happiness was their customer service. Check them out at www.gtmsportswear.com.

DAKTRONICS
Daktronics has installed tens of thousands of scoreboards and display systems in more than 70 countries since our founding in 1968 and is recognized as a world leader in scoreboards, electronic displays and large screen video systems. We enjoy a strong reputation for delivering quality, reliable products, supported by top-notch service. They also have a great customer service area and are neat people to work with. Their website is www.daktronics.com. Check them out!!

JUMP USA
JUMPUSA.com is the place for all your sports training needs. Whatever your sport, we've got the tools to help you jump higher, run faster, and reach new levels of performance. Train with JUMPUSA.com and prepare to win! Check out Jump USA at www.jumpusa.com.

PRETTY GOOD POPCORN
Pretty Good Popcorn is very unique in the fact that they have a bonus plan where you can earn extra money or more popcorn to sell after you sell so much. Go to www.prettygoodpopcorn.com and read more about this. Pretty Good Popcorn will help you set up your fundraiser and send you the product There are no shipping charges and you pay for product after you do the fundraising. What a deal!! Besides that the popcorn is good!!!

WATCH IMPRINTS
Custom imprinted watches and clocks are great corporate gifts for your employees, great thank you gifts for customers, and a unique way to promote your business. Think of having a watch with your mascot on it and being able to sell these watches to other members of the booster club or team that you are sponsoring. The watches are of good quality and have nice bands. Visit Watchimprints at www.watchimprints.com.

PLAN - IT SCHOOLS
Plan•It School offers innovative fundraising products for non-profit groups and organizations. They can help you with your printing needs and help you do fundraising. They will help you through the whole fundraiser. Everything is customized for your school. The people at Plan•It School are very nice and willing to help in any way. Give them a look-see at www.plan-itschool.com.

DYNA CAL, LLC
Need an easy, cost-effective way of communicating with your club’s members, parents, and community? Look no further! DynaCal understands the importance of good communication, especially for booster clubs. The more the community knows about what you are doing, the more willing they are to support your activities and your school! That’s why we offer a dynamic, web-based calendaring and scheduling tool for organizations just like yours! Visit DynaCal at www.dynacal.com.

We are excited to have each of these tremendous company's onboard and look forward to the opportunity of helping you become involved in the tremendous products and services each provides.

We encourage you to visit each of them on BoosterWorld and check out the opportunities they provide to support your organizations.

Dear Booster,
G'day
I'm looking at developing a "club" and I'm wondering how to go about it. The NBCA seems to be the only organization that we can find that supports clubs. Do we have to buy software from you to gain your support. Can you please outline how we can work with the association.
Regards,
George
Australia

Dear George,
G'day to you as well. We are glad to see that booster clubs have no boundaries with regards to geographic location. Your inquiry from Australia is the 5th country (USA, Canada, Mexico, Italy and Australia) to inquire about how the NBCA can help support your cause.

First, let me start by explaining that we do not sell software, instead we are a full-service association. As such we provide booster clubs who join the association with a portfolio of club building tools located in Command Central that include - database builder, email and newsletter programs, club notes, fundraising administrator and programs designed to help insure continued success, year after year all without the loss of data or knowledge. Every booster club that becomes a member of the association receives these tools free of charge.

With regards to assisting your club I suggest that you visit the BoosterWorld website (www.boosterclubs.org) and complete the online club questionnaire that will help our staff to best provide you with the proper steps to successfully starting and running a booster club. You can do this without becoming a member and will receive a very comprehensive report to get you started.

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.

To all of you that took the time to respond - thank you! Your responses help us to better understand how we can provide you support, guidance and assistance.

Submit your answers now
We will report the results in next months Booster Trends e-newsletter.

Fact of the month-
Successful clubs have found the key to building their nest egg of volunteers. They have found that volunteers in general want to get involved but don't want to take on tasks that require a high level of commitment. Breaking up volunteers into small work pods with simple, achievable tasks that do not require an abundance of time or effort will insure they keep coming back to help. Time and time again!

Quote of the month-
"Great love and great achievements involve great risk".

Author Unknown

Booster Trends is an online e newsletter provided by The National Booster Club Association. NBCA, BoosterWorld and Booster Trends are trademarks of The National Booster Club Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2004.

National Booster Club Association
100 N. Morain St., #208
Kennewick, WA 99336
info@boosterclubs.org
509-735-2878
Fax: 509-735-4917