Many schools lack a formal fundraising policy, which leads to inconsistent practices and potential liability. This post provides a practical framework for building one that satisfies district leadership.
Ask the average athletic director whether their school has a formal fundraising policy and the answer is usually some version of: there are guidelines somewhere, but they are not well documented and most coaches are not following them consistently. In some districts, the policy exists on paper but has not been updated in years and does not account for digital payment platforms, online campaigns, or the compliance requirements that have evolved since it was written.
The absence of a clear, current fundraising policy creates problems that compound over time. Coaches make decisions without a framework. Booster clubs operate inconsistently. District administrators have no reliable standard to enforce. And when something goes wrong, whether that is a financial discrepancy or a parent complaint about how funds were used, there is no policy to reference when determining what should have happened.
A well-written fundraising policy solves all of that. And getting one approved by your district is more straightforward than most athletic directors expect.
A practical fundraising policy does not need to be long. It needs to be clear. The following areas should be addressed at a minimum.
Authorization requirements establish who can approve a fundraising campaign before it launches. This typically means the athletic director approves all athletic department campaigns, with notification to the principal for campaigns above a certain dollar threshold. No campaign should launch without documented approval from someone with authority to grant it.
Approved payment methods specify how donations can be collected. A modern policy should explicitly allow digital payment platforms while also specifying what makes a platform acceptable: reputable payment processing, automatic transaction records, and no requirement for the school to manage funds directly through a third-party account it does not control.
Fund use restrictions define what fundraising proceeds can and cannot be used for. Student athlete equipment, travel, entry fees, and program supplies are standard inclusions. Gifts for coaches, adult social events, and expenses that do not directly benefit student athletes should be explicitly excluded. For a deeper look at where booster clubs most commonly cross these lines, see What Booster Clubs Get Wrong About Program Finances.
Reporting requirements establish what documentation programs must produce and when. At minimum, programs should report total funds raised and a summary of how funds were spent at the end of each campaign. Annual reporting to the athletic director should be required for all booster clubs and program-level fundraising accounts.
Conflict of interest provisions address situations where a fundraising platform or vendor has a personal connection to someone in the school or district. These provisions are particularly important when a parent volunteer is recommending a specific platform or service for the program to use.
District administrators are more likely to approve a fundraising policy that is framed around risk reduction and accountability than one that emphasizes expanding fundraising activity. Lead with the compliance and financial controls the policy establishes, not with the fundraising potential it enables.
Present the policy as a tool for protecting the district from the liability that comes with informal, unregulated fundraising practices. Unauthorized cash collections, booster clubs operating without proper registration, and campaigns that use funds for non-student purposes are all real risks that a clear policy mitigates. That framing addresses what district administrators are actually concerned about. For the full case on why informal fundraising creates hidden costs and compliance exposure, see The Administrative Cost of Informal Fundraising and How to Reduce It.
If your district already has a general fundraising policy that applies to all school activities, your athletic department policy should be presented as a supplement that addresses the specific circumstances of athletic fundraising, not as a replacement for the existing document. Positioning it as an extension of existing policy rather than a new set of rules is more likely to move through approval quickly.
Before you submit a draft policy for approval, share it with the people it will affect: head coaches, booster club presidents, and the school's business office. Their input will surface practical objections that are better addressed before the formal review process than during it.
Coaches will want to know how the policy affects their ability to run their own campaigns. Booster club leaders will want to know what the reporting requirements mean for how they operate. The business office will want to know how digital payment platforms fit into the school's existing financial systems.
Addressing those questions in the draft makes the approval process faster and reduces the likelihood of the policy being sent back for revisions. It also builds buy-in from the people who will be expected to follow it, which is where most policies fail even after they are formally approved.
A fundraising policy is not a bureaucratic formality. It is the document that protects your programs, your volunteers, and your district when something goes wrong, and that gives everyone involved a clear framework for making decisions before something does. Writing one does not require a legal team or a lengthy review process. It requires clarity about what your programs need to do, what the district needs to be comfortable with, and how those two things can be aligned in a document that works for both.
HypeRaise gives athletic directors, coaches, and parent volunteers the tools to run a centralized, transparent, and effective campaign.
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