Organizing a simple, yet effective, fundraiser is the best way to develop a strong bond between a community and a youth football league. Whether you are an assistant coach or league commissioner, this article provides three creative fundraising ideas that have worked for other leagues.
Boost Your Funds!
If you simply incur the cost of a few hundred booster decals with your league logo and name, you will have secured a low-overhead, high-return profit fundraiser. Young football players dressed up in their jerseys are tempting to most potential contributors. By involving your players as the primary sellers of the decals, your league stands to make the most money in the shortest amount of time.
Going door-to-door or camping out at a shopping mall or grocery store is the most effective way of working this fundraiser. Split your teams into groups of four or five, send a parent volunteer with each group, and watch the money pile up. By giving the kids incentives to sign up as many boosters as possible, you'll see them work as hard as you do putting the whole thing together. If you don't see as much return in one weekend as you would like, have a booster week!
Raffle, Anyone?
Though most teams and leagues hold raffles every year, this idea is geared more towards the parents due to the large amount of money involved. Holding a banquet or party at the end of your season, is a great way to secure a friendly venue for a high-priced raffle. While 50/50 raffles and silent auctions have been working for leagues for a long time, a raffle with an even bigger prize can really boost your league revenue. A few months before the party, split up raffle tickets to the parents of the athletes on each team. Give the seller a deadline to sell between 5 and 10 tickets. It is also a good idea to inform the seller that he or she can have the buyer go in on the price of the ticket with a group. Using a network of professionals and business people as your buyers is the most effective way to raise the necessary funds for a large-scale raffle of $5,000 or $10,000.
In addition, include an incentive for the seller of the winning ticket. For instance, if the raffle prize is $10,000 and each ticket costs $100, give the seller of the winning ticket $500 and give the team to which he is a part $300. This way, each parent in charge of selling tickets will be even more eager to sell. At the end of the year, at the end of your league party, pull out the winning ticket and make one lucky supporter of your program happy. While the lucky buyer wins big, youth football wins the most because you will be building a bigger database of supporters and showing a commitment to constant improvement.
Partner Up!
Everyone knows that using credit cards to buy groceries, clothes, and school supplies drains your bank account. But did you know that at the same time you and others continue to spend, your son or daughter's football team can gain valuable funds? That's right, by registering your credit or debit card with a local participating merchant, you will be doing a wonderful service to your local youth league. For every transaction you make with your charge card, the participating merchant will pay a small sum of money to your youth football league.
As all of your supporters are doing their holiday shopping and simple, everyday errands, you can watch the money roll into your league's account. By year's end, you will have a nice summary of your funds earned and a tidy profit with very little upkeep and attention. Contact your local area merchants for more information about these programs in your area.
These ideas and tips were given to USA Football from youth football leagues around the country.