Band Booster Parents- I need ideas!

[lyeag]

This may be a little long, but I will try to be as brief as possible. I am a member of the band boosters at my daughters' school. Our school is very small and in a sports dominated district. We cannot seem to get many parents involved in boosters and we are in danger of losing our best fundraiser-the concession stand at football games- to a sports group due to our low numbers.

Our band only has approximately 25-30 members, so if you can imagine the burnout of the parents who are involved. Our district band program includes the younger grades as well, so we have many younger students whose parents we want to get involved, but they see the concession stand as a "high school" thing.

What things do you do to recruit more members and have better meeting turnouts? We are in dire need of fresh ideas!

 

[kendall]

Get a phone list of the younger students' parents and call them, inviting them to the meeting. At the meeting if you can have very specific dates, tasks, descriptions of what help is needed, they can then sign up to assist. If they can't come to the meeting, ask if they would be willing to help with Activity A or Activity B. So often people just don't know "how" they can help, and those active in an organization make the assumption that "everyone" knows. I've discovered that many folks simply just have to be called and asked, and they generally will assist when they know that their help is needed. That personal touch can make all the difference. Does the concession stand may seem to be a high school thing because either all high school parents run it, or the stand is only open during high school events? Of course, when inviting the parents to work the stand be ready to be explicit on how their help will help the band program - how their child will benefit.

Another good reminder is that working the concession band is much better than, say, selling wrapping paper and candles. Have hard number on how much the boosters earn - show that it is a worthwhile event!

Good luck!

 

[monsterkitty]

First, as a band director, can I tell you how glad I am that we are not allowed to have just a "band booster" club? It is just one big organization at the high school. That said, here is an idea that works for us:

All of the groups, football, band, basketball, drama, etc. have a set number of spaces they need to fill for the concession stands. The money is then divided between the groups evenly. That way not any one group can dominate the fundraising opprotunities.

Is it possible for the band booster to combine with this other group and spit the money?

 

[lyeag]

First, as a band director, can I tell you how glad I am that we are not allowed to have just a "band booster" club? It is just one big organization at the high school. That said, here is an idea that works for us:

All of the groups, football, band, basketball, drama, etc. have a set number of spaces they need to fill for the concession stands. The money is then divided between the groups evenly. That way not any one group can dominate the fundraising opprotunities.

Is it possible for the band booster to combine with this other group and spit the money?

Well, I personally love that idea, but here in small town Oklahoma, band is a second class group. I would fear that it would not get divided evenly. Let's just say our kids get spoken down to by adults and students.

I do know some of the athletic booster clubs are talking about this option. We do make quite a bit of money from the stand, we cover all the jr. high and varsity games. I think last year we made around 6K. It funds all of our equipment repairs, uniforms, audition fees for honor bands, and hotel for clinics that are out of town for the regional honor bands. We also pay for about half of the spring trip. (Nothing huge like Disney, something small and regional )

Thanks for the ideas guys, keep them coming!

 

[Bildmouse]

We've been out of boosters for a few years now but one of the things we did was contact some local restaurants and sponsored give back nites. We would hand out certificates and the restaurant would give us a percentage of receipts. We also had a card that offered discounts from various stores and restaurants. We charged $10 for this card and the discounts were good for one year.

 

[monsterkitty]

Well, I personally love that idea, but here in small town Oklahoma, band is a second class group. I would fear that it would not get divided evenly. Let's just say our kids get spoken down to by adults and students.

I do know some of the athletic booster clubs are talking about this option. We do make quite a bit of money from the stand, we cover all the jr. high and varsity games. I think last year we made around 6K. It funds all of our equipment repairs, uniforms, audition fees for honor bands, and hotel for clinics that are out of town for the regional honor bands. We also pay for about half of the spring trip. (Nothing huge like Disney, something small and regional )

Thanks for the ideas guys, keep them coming!

Oh I know the feeling of being in the "lower class group"! The high school band is also looked down on by those who think they are better because their child is in a sport. However, we set up a contract that stated the percentage that goes to each group. For example, if 2 band parents and 2 softball parents worked the stand that night, the $$ would be split 50/50.

It's funny how they look down on the band kids when they are the ones who do better in competitions than our sports teams.

 

[Claudia1]

I hear you and feel your pain!

Our band is also in danger of losing the concessions to the athletics, However, we are have been state finalists for decades and have 2 state championships, to we have a little more bark to our bite. Even so, our band is still looked down upon, even though we are highly respected in our state. Our football team has only won one game in about 3 years, and that was because the other team had to forfeit due to an ineligible player that scored a touchdown.

We sponsor a competition for a major fundraiser. How about an invitational for area bands to watch and support each other? Open the concessions stand and sell tickets.

The Scrip program is also a good one for us, also it will not bring in 6K. http://www.scrip.com/ Our easiest sales have come from keeping fast food cards on hand to sell when people ask for them.

For the last 2 football seasons, the Athletic Boosters have had a tailgate meal, open to the public, right before the games. They charge $5 for 2 hot dogs, chips or cookie, and a pop. We have discovered that their meals do not impact our concession sales at all. Strange, huh?!?!?! That may be an idea for you.

Garage sales only net about $800 every two years.

Sponsor an after game student dance. Sell simple concessions and those glow-in-the-dark thingies. Low cost and not much effort.

Good luck with your situation. Unfortunately, we are hearing that this is not uncommon. Schools cannot afford to support all athletics and are cutting back severely. Band programs have a history of being more self-sufficient with long-standing fundraising programs that others now what to get for themselves.

 

[golfgal]

Ok, I will be the first to say we are VERY, VERY lucky with our band program. It is HIGHLY respected in our town, schools, etc., even more so then most of the sports teams. The football and basketball coaches make SURE their teams attend the band concerts as the band is at all of their home games. They come, in uniform, to watch. The administration is VERY supportive of our program too. Even with all that, we still need to raise funds. Our two largest fundraisers are our annual garage sale, bringing in about $6500 each year and our ad sales for our band program for our home competition as well as the receipts from the concession stands and entrance fees-bringing in about $15,000. We have 185 marching band students and about 700 students in the band program overall-but only the marching band kids really do any fundraisers.

OP, in your case I would send out an email or letter district-wide making sure everyone understands that the concession stand is NOT just a high school deal it is a BAND PROGRAM deal and you need the help of everyone or you will have to charge a fee to all of the band members. Then find one parent at each school who will be responsible for finding volunteers for each game--the elementary schools take the games the week of ______, the middle school takes the games the week of _____, etc.

If you want to find a fundraiser that is different, try a golf tournament. They are great fundraisers and in a sports minded town, a good option.

 

[barkley]

i'de suggest you contact all the current parents as well as the younger one's (a meeting but also a very informative mailing so anyone who can't attend will be aware of what's going on). spell out in dollars and cents what that concession provides for and how it will impact the program if it's lost. you may find some of the younger kid's parents very willing to pitch in to ensure it's kept in place for when their kids age up.

another suggestion that i've known of-see if you can involve any of the former band booster parents (of grads) or any grads that are still around (and idealy still into music because often those band kids are their bread and butter for private lessons). for some booster parents that concession stand was a very socializing aspect of their lives and they just assume because their kids have graduated they can't "boost" the band anymore. i remember one couple who saw 3 kids through highschool and stayed on as very supportive boosters who were viewed by many subsequent generations of band kids as the "grand boosters" (speaking of which-grandparents can boost realy well too-don't limit it to parents).

 

[momrek06]

OP, I could have written your post.
I was an officer on the board of our band boosters group. We LOST the concession stand to the athletic club...it was so upsetting to us.
We talked to everyone within the school and the school board about it and this is what they came up with....50/50 RAFFLE at every single HOME football game.
So we went to a local party planning store and bought a roll of raffle tickets and we went up and down the stands on BOTH SIDES of the field (home and away teams) and sold the tix. We did this from the start of the game to 1/2 time. The game announcer called out the winner on the p.a.
We made some great money doing this and all the parents took turns doing the raffle from week to week. I cannot remember what we sold them for...but there is an amount like 1.00 for one ticket, 2.00 for 3 tix, 5.00 for maybe 10.....and then we did an arms length....I cannot remember at all but something like that.....

As far as getting parents to the meetings...we called and we called and we called and we called. We called the Seniors to the Freshmen....it WORKS. We put the NOTICE of the MEETING on our local cable tv access channel as well as in our local town paper....it WORKS.