With the costs of transportation seeming to double in the last 2 years, but so much to be gained from tournaments, what are teams doing to get their players to tourneys that require travel? I would venture a guess that many teams have had to scale back on how many tournaments they're able to attend and out-of-state options are becoming something reserved for only the most serious of teams... With Westerns and Easterns being out of state for many teams this last year, how well did your fundraising efforts go to getting your players there without killing their families bank accounts (or college funds)?
Our Churchill program has been fortunate this year to have a couple dedicated parents who have worked in various other settings that have required massive fundraising efforts. Last years' Westerns in Boulder, CO cost $500/player to attend, so after fundraising efforts we were at about $300/player. This stretched a few families to the breaking point and their plea is that we don't do the same this next year. The ability to fundraise this spring will be the determining point as to what tournaments we're able to attend plain and simple.
That said, even for the teams out there that are just participating in local tournaments, there are still financial needs. I'm curious what teams out there are doing in regards to fundraising? Both the big efforts and the small? Your idea could be what allows that one new team to make it to the state tournament they've missed every year or that player to join in who didn't think they could afford it. For many, ultimate provides a sport that is not only superior to other sports, but also more affordable. What ways have your programs kept costs down and play up?
Friday, December 08, 2006
Best Fundraising Ideas
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5 comments:
I have been the Treasurer for Mt Lebanon for 2 years now, so I have discovered a few things about fundraising and ultimate.
1.) Find the cheapest form of travel- although a charter bus can be nice, sometimes its just cheaper to take a school bus. (last year, mt lebo drove a 15 seater van to Termanis in GA and only had to pay under $900 for both gas and van rental)
2.) get sponsers- we were able to cover jersey costs thanks to Aflac Insurance
3.) Entertainment book sales or whatever local fundraisers suite you best- a fast and easy way to make a few hundred dollars
4.) Host a tournament, charge each team a resonable amount yet still raise team profits
hope that helps!
jake
Mt. lebo
Our biggest fundraiser is a tag sale held in the middle of town, on the Amherst Common. We collect stuff for about a month at a someone's house, price it the night before, and then move it to the Common to sell it. People are surprisingly generous in terms of donating stuff (everyone has "junk" they don't want) and we almost always make over $1000. This is an idea we stole for CHS years ago, when David Caruba was running the show there. Now we have people save stuff all year, knowing that the sale is coming up in May.
The other fundraiser we started last year was selling cookie dough, through one of the programs offered to the school teams by an outside company. That was REALLY profitable. You do it over a 3 week period, have sales contests, and people are generally very happy to buy food, particularly sweets.
hopkins is constantly trying to figure out how to fundraise, and we've had one carwash this year, are planning another one in the spring (they usually bring in a litlle over $1K), we're planning a concert at the student-run coffee shop, with HS bands, and then merchandise.
i really like the idea of the tag sale. i'm interested in trying to get that going. is there an event you coordinate that with, or do you just set up at the common? and is that in the HS or in town? who is your target-market?
jake
Hurt Flatball
The Common is in the center of town, right near Amherst College and the weekly farmers' market. There is a lot of traffic there on Saturday mornings. The high school is about a mile from there (Amherst is a really, really small town) and we could do it there, but this is much more visible as it is in "downtown." Finding a good location in your area is key.
Our target market is the regular tag sale folks, college students and anyone else who stops by. We sell things really cheaply. Parents and players all work there in 1 or 2 hour shifts. Let me know if you have any other questions.
anyone else have other fundraising ideas?
also, could someone (maybe a UPA rep) explain why easterns is being held in ohio? looking at last year's field, it seems like a move to ohio only benefits maybe three teams but doesn't improve the travel or expenses for the rest of the teams.
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