Team fundraising tips

Posted on October 1, 2008. Filed under: Guest Bloggers |

Hockey’s back and that means one thing: the funding drives are on! This week, Miss 604 (Rebecca Bollwitt) offers tips for boosting your team’s cash flow.

A while back I won a lovely gift basket during a raffle at a Surrey Minor Hockey game that pretty much made my night – aside from watching the home team win. Raffles are a good way to pay for extra team costs as equipment, ice time, officials, travel, and facility fees soon add up. Donating funds to keep amateur sports going in your town is always an important task, so where do teams look when they’re in need of a little extra support?

One of the first tips I’ve been told is that you should divide your team into smaller teams, this will encourage participation and maybe a little friendly competition – all for the group’s main cause. 50/50 draws are always popular among spectators at games. However, make sure that your association obtains the proper lottery licenses for these. Regulations also apply to raffles and draws so make sure you check with your local hockey association before starting any “lotto-like” activities. Once you have the license and the go-ahead, they are definitely fan (and bank account) favourites.

Gear sales are a good way to clean out the basement and closets while putting your old skates to good use, handing them down to other kids and “spirit items” such as team socks, pens, buttons and stickers can be bought in bulk and sold to friends, family, and fans.

Bake sales, bottle drives, chocolate sales and coupon books are always great ways to raise funds however, you can also host events that may bring in a nice big lump sum all at once instead of having a multi-week campaign. In High River they have a “funny money” casino night – an entire event dedicated to having a good time and supporting the teams in the region. There are also comedy nights, BBQ’s, restaurant nights or Pub Nights (for the adults). Sometimes big league organizations will also lend a hand. Ridge Meadows teams are partnering with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL for their 50/50, where proceeds from funds raised at the Pacific Coliseum will help out the amateur association.

Big or small, everyone can lend a hand to keep these important community activities alive and well. If you have your own success story, feel free to share it in the comments below.

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