3 challenges faced by organizers of extracurricular programs

The following is an excerpt from our ebook “How to grow your extracurricular program using group automation software.” Sign up to read the entire ebook. 

Whether running a dance studio, martial arts dojo, sports team or arts-education program, extracurricular activities have a proven, measurable impact on children’s development. Your hard work and passion help contribute to their confidence, academic success and mental health. 

For decades, studies have shown that students who take part in extracurriculars are three times more likely to have a GPA of 3.0 or above. We know extracurriculars play a vital role in the lives of students - so why are they so often underfunded and undervalued? 

1. A shortage of resources or budget 

It’s too common for extracurriculars and afterschool programs to have to operate within a shoestring budget, with only a few staff members that are stretched too thin. These limited resources lead to concerns over the bottom line, and those concerns take you further away from the parts of your job you love most: connecting with your community. 

Sound familiar? It’s a common challenge for hard-working administrators, when they are working with a system that doesn’t meet their specific needs. Your persistence and dedication have built your program into what it is today and you are a master at doing more with less. The goal of any extracurricular activity is to create a fun and safe learning environment, but in order to create that environment for your learners, you are working tirelessly behind the scenes. 

2. A lack of clean business processes and user-friendly tools 

At times, juggling tasks like registration, payment processing, scheduling, and communications, not to mention the day-to-day operations of running a business probably feels overwhelming. 

If each of those tasks is managed by a different tool, it can cause inefficiencies, wasted time, incomplete recordkeeping and preventable errors. That fun and safe learning environment becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Instead, you’re dealing with frustrated parents, stressed-out staff, and potential liability concerns. 

3. Incomplete or inaccurate member lists or database

When working with children and youth, the stakes are high. 

You can’t afford gaps or errors in crucial information like emergency contacts, medical and allergy details, or photo and video permissions. Imagine it: one of your young learners gets injured or falls ill during practice. Their emergency contact details aren’t updated so you don’t know who to call, or you call and reach the wrong person. 

When challenges arise you need to be confident that the information you need is correct, up-to-date and accessible. The result of errors in crucial data might be angry, dissatisfied parents, or worse, a serious safety and liability concern. 

Understanding the challenges faced by organizers 

These administrative and budgetary challenges are nothing new, but they no longer have to consume your day-to-day. More and more extracurricular programs are implementing automated processes, using a new category of modern group management platforms to simplify some of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of the job. 

Using technology, you can free up staff to focus on what matters most: growing an engaged community. A single, user-friendly platform can now host your public website, private member portal, administrative systems, communications & notifications, store, and registration forms. It’s like all the voices of a choir singing in harmony, or when a team really starts playing like a team. It works in that effortless way. What athletes or musicians call “the zone” can be reached by program organizers too. You’ve got this! Making better use of technology greatly reduces the risk of errors and diminishes staff workloads. In fact, nearly 60% of workers surveyed by Workmarket in 2020 estimate they could save 6 or more hours of work per week by automating the most repetitive parts of their job - that’s over 300 hours every year. That means serious benefits for everyone: staff, parents, and, most importantly, kids. 

Sign up to read the entire ebook: “How to grow your extracurricular program using group automation software.”