HOW TO CREATE A BOOSTER CLUB IN NORTH DAKOTA

Are you planning to start a booster club in North Dakota? Are you confused about the State’s legal rules and regulation for starting a North Dakota booster club? Is it getting hard for you to collect the information that you need? Have no fear – you are not the only person trying to navigate the proper procedures for forming a legal booster club in North Dakota.

We developed this Booostr North Dakota booster club creation guideline to help ensure that you have collected all the proper information needed to fill out any legal documentation. We also wanted to make sure you had one source to that clearly outlines every step of the booster club creation process in North Dakota.

Reference the North Dakota Secretary of State

The first step in founding a North Dakota booster club is collecting all of the legal requirements via the North Dakota Secretary of State website as well as calling for help over the phone when you feel it is needed. Since booster clubs generally fall under the umbrella of Non-Profit Organizations, there is a lot of general information around founding Non-profits that you can follow so that you don’t make any mistakes in the process. This is where the North Dakota Secretary of State website comes in handy, as it is continually updated with the latest information needed straight from the source!

Once you have gathered the needed documentation from the North Dakota Secretary of State website, the next step is to select the name of your booster club in North Dakota. When coming up with a name for your booster club, we suggest the following:

1. Create Multiple Names and Variations of Names
2. In North Dakota it is not required an organization contain the word “company”, “corporation,” “incorporated,” “company,” or “limited, or the abbreviation “corp.,” “inc.,” “co.,”or “ltd.”
3. In North Dakota your Non-Profit name CANNOT include any of the words “limited liability company,” “limited partnership,” “limited liability partnership,” “limited liability limited partnership,” or any abbreviation of those words
4. Make sure the names you are creating relate to your organization and its focus. For example if your club is supporting Central High School Football, you might want to consider using the name Central High Football Boosters Inc. or Boosters For Central High Football Ltd. etc.

Once you have come up with 4-8 possible booster club names, you need to verify that your name is not already being used. To find out the names of booster clubs that are already established in North Dakota, you can return to the North Dakota secretary of state website and search through their database of registered companies / organizations.   Once you have a name that no one else is using, you can now commence to filling out your organizational paperwork to submit to the state.

Prepare Bylaws For Your North Dakota Booster Club

In order to create your booster club articles of organization, you need to have bylaws that comply with North Dakota law. Your bylaws contain the rules and procedures your corporation (club) will follow for holding board meetings, electing officers and directors, and taking care of other corporate formalities required in North Dakota. Your bylaws are your internal operating manual and do not need to be filed with the state. See NDCC 10-33-26 for more information on what to include in your bylaws (when link opens scroll down to NDCC 10-33-26).

Appoint Officers For Your North Dakota Booster Club

The next step needs to be taken extremely seriously as you are essentially forming the first management team for your North Dakota Booster Club!  When you appoint your officers, it is important to choose volunteers that are invested in the success of the booster club and will manage it in a professional manner. You need to consider officer candidates based on their expertise, interaction with parents and kids as well as their focus on the development and growth of the club. Once your candidates have agreed to be involved, you can now start the formal officer nomination process at your first club board meeting (see next step).

Hold A First Meeting of Your Booster Club

It is mandatory to hold a first meeting of the officers and board of directors of your North Dakota booster club in which you cover different management and start up aspects of the booster club. Typically the following is handled at the inaugural club meetings based on club bylaws:  \

1. Elect at least 3 directors to the board (if not named in the articles)
2. Approve bylaws and any changes to them
3. Appoint booster club officers
4. Set an accounting period and tax year
5. Approve transactions, such as the opening of the business bank account.

Follow IRS Federal Guidelines for Your Booster Club

Now that your organization is up and running at the state level, you need to make sure you are in Federal compliance. The next step is to comply with the necessary federal rules and regulations so that you will not have any issues with the IRS. Some of the important information and forms that you need are.

1. All federal legal forms needed to submit for starting a nonprofit organization such as a North Dakota booster club.
2. Federal forms and information related to necessary taxation.
3. Applying for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) for your North Dakota booster club.

In order to get all the information and access to all the forms that you need it is best to visit the IRS website. You will need to reference your North Dakota business formation documentation when walking through the federal process, so make sure you have that information handy!

Apply for North Dakota Booster Club Tax-Exempt Status

One of the most important (but commonly forgotten) steps needed is applying for tax exempt status for your North Dakota booster club. There are countless organizations that miss this step and it ends up costing them in taxed revenue in the long run. Keep in mind that this step needs to be approved at both the state and federal level to be completely exempt.  While there are a few hoops you have to jump through, it is absolutely worth it in the end! Here is a handy guide to the tax exempt process for your reference:

1. Make sure that you already have your EIN number from the IRS. STOP HERE if you do not have an EIN and apply for one before proceeding as it is required!
2. With your EIN, the next step is applying for IRS nonprofit status. The forms to do this are easily available on the IRS website.
3. With your EIN number and your nonprofit status, the final step is filling out and submitting IRS form 1023. With approval of IRS form 1023 your organization is now tax exempt!

Open Your Booster Clubs Bank Account

Now that the process of setting up a tax exempt legal North Dakota booster club is complete, you can finally physically open your booster club business bank account! Your business bank account for your North Dakota booster club is critical because it lets your club function as an independent business entity.  Why is this so important?  Well first it makes accounting for the business much easier to manage.  Beyond your booster club accounting, there are a number of services and benefits that are available to businesses that require a business bank account, ie. credit card processing and/or payment solutions for vendors.  Finally, opening a business bank account for your North Dakota booster club helps in that it makes it easier to transition club management, including the finances, to new volunteers after your management term is up.

No doubt that starting a North Dakota booster club is not an easy task. But once you will have all the legal requirements and understand the steps the overall process becomes easier to manage.  A properly set up club that is well managed can have a huge impact on students, schools, school activities and communities for decades to come!  Now that your club is up and running learn how to manage, market and fundraise for your North Dakota booster club!