ROGERS -- Community involvement and team pride were the end goals for parents in the Heritage High School Booster Club during this year's reorganization.
Everyone at Heritage should be proud to be a War Eagle, said Sandra Cooper, parent. That $2 hot dog at the concession stand isn't a quick snack, but represents the community buying into the team, she said.
AT A GLANCE
Fundraising Report• The Rogers Mounties Booster Club distributed almost $50,000 to sports and scholarships last year, according to its membership form. The club took in about $82,600 in concession and program sales last year, according to a financial activity report presented to the School Board.
• The Heritage Booster Club distributed roughly $40,000 through July 2014, according to a report presented to the School Board. It took in about $49,600 in concessions and programs, according to a financial report.
Source: Staff Report
"We want students to know we're behind them," said Michele Markel, parent.
The Heritage Booster Club met Wednesday, its first meeting of the school year and second meeting after voting to move its finances under the Rogers Community School Recreation Association for tax-exempt status.
Members clicked through business items. Will they serve hamburgers at football games? Order rhinestone-studded T-shirts? Were the concession stands that fund scholarships and team grants ready for business?
Coaches brought in their requests. Cheerleading and football coaches requested iPads, and the club voted to do what it could to get those items before the season ends. Doug Freeman, wrestling coach, requested new headgear and mat tape. His budget -- listed in the 2013-14 athletic budget as $3,000 -- went toward tournament fees, he said.
The cracked gear poses a health risk, Freeman said pointing out flaws in the equipment.
"They just wear out," he said.
The club approved the tape, but delayed the headgear, unsure if it could approve the request.
There can be a lot of unknowns in booster clubs, said Steve Beden, executive director of the National Booster Club Training Council. Parents come and go, creating what he calls the "roller-coaster effect" of changing leadership.
Heritage parents say they're on the way up.
Adopting the Rogers Community School Recreation Association as a shelter organization is a step in the right direction, said Scott Borman, parent.
It is not unusual for booster clubs to shoestring along behind established 501c3s, Beden said. Although partnering with another group can cost a booster during grant applications, he said.
New IRS rules issued in July offer a shorter form for clubs that raise less than $50,000 a year to file for tax-exempt status. Many groups may be considered nonprofit under state rules, but lack the federal tax exemption, he said.
"It doesn't really make sense for a school-based club not to pursue tax-exempt status," Beden said.
Administrators in Bentonville, Springdale and Fayetteville said their clubs are run under nonprofit rules.
In Fayetteville each sport has its own 501c3 booster club and some have two, depending on the way the sport is split, said Steve Janski, athletic director. The clubs feed athletes, raise money for gear and clothing, Janski said.
"I've never actually heard of a booster club not being a 501c3," Janski said.
The Bentonville Athletic Booster Club supports every sport in grades 8 through 12, said Scott Passmore, athletic director. The club averages $70,000 in grants, and last year contributed $160,000 toward new turf. Graduating seniors with a 3.0 or higher grade point average typically will get a college scholarship if they apply.
"If you have a strong booster club you're going to have strong community support," Passmore said.
The Springdale Athletic Foundation is a 501c3 as are football clubs at both Springdale high schools, said Rick Schaeffer, district spokesman. Other schools have booster clubs without the tax-exempt designation, Schaeffer said.
The Rogers High School Booster Club doesn't plan to move under the Rogers Community School Recreation Association, said Ryan James, president. He took office in August.
Allen Brown, Heritage High School Booster Club president, was elected in May. The club's financial business was moved under the Rogers Community School Recreation Association in mid-June.
It's a natural fit between the association that oversees programming at the Rogers Activity Center and the booster club, said Coleta Paris, Rogers Community School Recreation Association director. All expenses will come through the Rogers Activity Center's finance department, but the club has its own budget, Paris said.
The Heritage club is making other changes, Brown said.
This year's booster goals include increasing membership, launching a new website, creating a budget forecast, Brown said.
Changes in the financial system will mean smoother sailing for coaches who in the past had a hold put on their account at school while waiting for the club to reimburse purchases, Brown said.
"We're trying to improve the cash flow for the coaches," Brown said.
Brown's personal goal is to find a way to feed student athletes. Hungry kids are a problem in every sport, he said.
The club shouldn't end the year with a fat savings account, but try to fill needs, he said.
"It needs to go back to the student-athletes. That's why it was donated in the first place," Brown said.
It's a goal shared, said Sterling Wilson, booster and School Board member.
"We've got to get out of this mentality that 'this isn't my sport,'" Wilson told the group.
Both men are working to garner more community support for the club. A bigger booster club that incorporates more sports has bigger fundraising power, said Beden of the national booster club organization.
Brown has asked the War Eagle Football Moms to consider joining with the booster club.
"I think what they're doing is a wonderful thing," said Lisa Reading, War Eagle Football Mom president.
It can be difficult to raise money when businesses don't recognize that there are two high schools in town, she said. A bigger group has potential, she said.
She's all for the Mounties, said the Rogers graduate, unless they're playing the War Eagles.
"I bleed blue, but I root orange and navy," Reading said.
NW News on 09/08/2014