The idea for a booster club grew out of conversations with the Wilson athletic department and interested parents who recognized the long-standing need for additional funding for Wilson athletics. A main goal of the Tiger Boosters is to fundraise for the benefit of all athletic teams, as well as support the teams in other ways.  

For more information on funding sources for athletics, click here. 

For the Tiger Boosters’ governance information, click here. 

They are the same organization. WTA is the acronym for the official name, Wilson Tiger Athletics, Inc. However, the WTA will be using Tiger Boosters going forward to eliminate any confusion with Wilson High School athletics.

While Tiger Boosters regularly consults and works closely with Wilson's athletic department to determine priorities, Tiger Boosters is an independent organization. The Wilson Athletic Director serves, ex officio, on the Tiger Boosters Board, and does not vote. 

For a detailed list of accomplishments, click here. 

• General support for all teams:  The Tigers Boosters works closely with coaches to understand teams’ needs and to identify and implement ways to help them. It carries out its own larger-scale fundraising activity (annual Tiger Bash, etc.) and co-sponsors events (Tenley Tiger Run, DC Sneaker Expo, etc.), heavily advertises those events as well as specific team events on social media and through other means to the Wilson community, alumni and supporters, and seeks and receives donations for Tiger Boosters.  It purchased and rolled out TeamSnap to help all teams organize and manage their rosters, registration, scheduling and communications in one place, and established this website, which includes a dedicated page for each team to showcase its successes.
• Support to specific teams: The Tiger Boosters also help teams with their own fundraising by suggesting ideas, advertising events and providing operational help such as securing permits for events as needed.  It holds financial accounts for all teams within the Tiger Boosters account, which enables teams to receive donations on a tax-exempt basis. It also has awarded scholarships so athletes could attend regional and national events, and hopes to make more awards and grants in the future.  It also purchased group software subscriptions which are available to all teams.
• Support to coaches:  The Tiger Boosters supports coaches by preparing onboarding packets for new coaches, through regular meetings to understand their needs, and pays coaches’ stipends.

Each athletic team has its own ledger within the Tiger Boosters’ bank account which that team manages. Donations and fundraising proceeds specific to one team go to that team’s ledger. Teams carry over any used funds in a year to the following year.

The Tiger Boosters assesses a general administrative fee of 10% of all deposits, by each team, to cover operating expenses such as TeamSnap, website management, other financial management software (QuickBooks, etc.), required insurances, a bookkeeper and related overhead. However, that 10% is capped at $4000 per sports program per year. 

The Tiger Boosters also assesses a different administrative fee for large fundraising events to cover any special services it may provide to specific teams (providing insurance, acquiring permits, etc.), usually 20%.  However, Tiger Boosters does not “double dip,” so deposits are assessed a general administrative fee or a fundraising administrative fee, but not both. 

Tiger Boosters is also asking families to contribute $100/player per season to the Coach & Scholarship Fund. This fund is a dedicated bank account that is used for the sole purpose of paying coach stipends and scholarships for team dues for athletes who can’t afford to contribute to the team’s needs. Tiger Boosters does not take any administrative or other fees associated with this fund. Team fundraising efforts may not be sufficient to cover coach stipends or scholarships for athletes, so a separate fund was established to ensure coaches receive stipends.

The Tiger Boosters does fundraise to benefit the athletic program and teams more broadly. It holds at least one major fundraising event each year (Tiger Bash), applies for grants, seeks out sponsorships, and more. However, it is really important that the Boosters support the individual teams in their efforts, so a lot of energy goes into helping teams have successful fundraising events themselves. Boosters would rather support than compete with the teams.   

The Tiger Boosters has a Board of Directors and Officers, consistent with its status as a DC nonprofit.  Members of the school administration sit on the Board, (ex officio ex officio members do not vote). A full list is available HERE. Officers and board members are current Wilson parents, parent alumni, and alumni who serve as volunteers and are not compensated.  We are always looking for more volunteers. See opportunities here.

The Board meets one weekday evening per month.  All members of the Wilson community are welcome to attend, and we particularly encourage parent representatives from teams to attend.  Notice of Board meetings are provided in advance.

There are many ways!  In addition to attending Board meetings, click here for a list of opportunities. 

Specific questions can be directed to Booster co-presidents Natalie Cooper-Berthe and Maria Emanuel at wta.inc.president@gmail.com