Music boosters vs. friends of the music program

[nafmeadmin]

My school (K-8 with Chorus and band) has started having meetings to form a music boosters club. We are having to jump through so many hoops creating these bi-laws, we are getting discouraged. We just want to have a group of music supporters who can mobilize when the music program needs them, and who can do fund-raisers. My principal suggested doing a “friends of the music program” group, and to just have money go through the school. Have any of you done a “friends of the music program” at your school? Pros and cons of either support group? How did this group work?

[nafmeadmin]

I teach middle school band and chorus. I started a music parent group for the first time this year. My parent group has been a huge help in organizing and completing several successful fundraisers already this year. We don’t have a separate account for our parent group. All money goes through the school account, which hasn’t been a problem at all. Initially, my principal also expressed concerns about having a separate account, so I decided to hold off on that for now and have everything go through the school account. But we both agreed that if you’re going to have a booster account, you must have a couple of parents who you know are trustworthy. Hope this helps! 🙂

[nafmeadmin]

Thank you bryans685! How does your parent group work? How did you recruit them? Do they have weekly meetings and officers?

[nafmeadmin]

My parent group has had 3 meetings this year- August, November, and January. I’m going to have one more in May. During Open House I provided parents with first semester dates including our first parent meeting and invited them all to attend. My first meeting was the most highly attended, but I do have a solid core group I can count on. At our first meeting I presented the music program budget for the year and we brainstormed/planned fundraisers for the year. I also gave them an overview of the music program. I don’t have any officers at this time. I may add officers in the future as my parent group gets more established. We also don’t have any bi-laws or a handbook yet. Basically I run the meetings and oversee all activities. I do form committees to help organize and run particular fundraising events. In between meetings and as we plan upcoming events, I send out email updates to my parent group and make phone contacts when needed. Let me know how it goes!

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