Funding Policy and Guidelines

The Helena High Bengal Booster Club supports Helena High School extra-curricular activities (as identified in the HHS Student Handbook). The HHS Booster Club’s financial support exists to provide funding that otherwise would not be available through HHS or School District budgets. It is the intent of the HHS Booster Club to contribute money that directly benefits the students of Helena High School, consistent with gender and program equity considerations.

The following are the guidelines that apply to Booster Club funding. All funding commitments and requests are subject to the availability of funds in the Booster Club’s account and budget.
If the extracurricular activity at issue is one that is sanctioned by the Montana High School Association, the HHS Booster Club will provide the following types of funding assistance:

• Booster Sponsorship Money: The Booster Club provides a sum of money to each sport or activity for each season of competition. The amount of money provided depends upon the number of participants in the sport or activity:
  • 49 or fewer participants: $100
  • 50-99 participants: $150
  • 100 or more participants: $200
• Poster Sponsorship: The Booster Club will contribute $50 to the cost of printed posters/schedules. The sport or activity must include the Booster Club as a sponsor, and/or include the Booster Club logo on the poster.
• Banquet Sponsorship: The Booster Club will contribute $5.00 per student toward the cost of end-of-the-season banquets (revised 9/8/2014).

A request for any of the foregoing types of funding assistance must be made in person by either a parent representative associated with the activity, or by a member of the HHS Booster Club Board of Directors. Funds will be issued by check to the sport or activity account; checks are generally not issued to individuals. Effective August 2011: It will be required that a parent representative of each activity requesting money be present at all Booster Club meetings throughout the school year. If the requesting activity is unable to meet the minimum attendance requirements, no funding will be provided for the following year. Parent representatives may represent more than one sport during the monthly meeting.

Additional Requests: Any sport or activity that wishes to receive funding assistance beyond the types identified above may submit a request to the Booster Club. The following procedures and criteria apply to such requests:

1. The request may be presented in writing to any current member of the HHS Bengal Booster Club Board of Directors.
2. The request must provide at least the following information:
   1. The purpose for which the money will be used;
   2. The amount of money requested;
   3. The approximate number of students who will participate and benefit from the funding;
   4. An explanation of how the funding would directly benefit HHS students;
   5. The reason Booster Club funding is necessary, and the efforts that participating students and their parents have made, or intend to make, to provide financial support for the subject of the request;
   6. Verification that the funding request is directly related to an Montana High School Association sanctioned activity or program.
3. Funding requests that are received by Booster Board Members are to be transmitted to the Board President, to be placed on the agenda for the next scheduled Board meeting;
4. A student (preferably), coach, teacher or parent involved with the activity seeking funding may be asked to appear at the Board meeting to address the funding request;
5. The request must be approved by a majority vote of Board members in attendance at the meeting.
6. The Board will notify the requester of the approval or denial of the funding request. The requester, unless a current HHS Bengal Booster Club member, may not be present during the vote on the request.

Disfavored Requests: The following requests for funding assistance are discouraged and, absent some unusual circumstance, will generally be denied:

1. Requests for funding of travel for participation in activities beyond the school season (e.g., sports and music camps);
2. Out-of-state or international travel that primarily benefits individual participants, without providing or promoting meaningful benefits for HHS;
3. Commercially-sponsored trips that are non-school and out-of-district initiated and sponsored.
4. Requests for team uniforms, equipment or apparel.