ACCELerated Fundraising Solutions with Bethany Birkholz and Matthew Sprissler
Introduction Accel Sports is a pioneer in building FREE customized fundraising programs that focus first on identifying your goals and then creating the game plan, or path to your success. We pride ourselves in being the complete solution everyone is looking for when it comes to fundraising. Our average fundraiser produces over $10,000 in profit and reaches that success in under 2 weeks. That equates to over $100 profit/participant. Currently in it s 10 th year of service, ACCEL Sports is about to celebrate completing its 1,000 th fundraiser.
Why do we Fundraise? The list of things teams and organizations want to accomplish are quite extensive AND expensive. No matter how large or small a budget is, Finances can dramatically alter the ability for a group to be successful and achieve their goals.
Play Money $$$ A brief look into our usual costs just to enjoy the game are reasonable per player, but massive when multiplied by 100s of team members: Costs just to play Travel costs, Field time rental fees, equipment (balls, jerseys, shoes, goal posts, etc.), safety equipment, Official s fees, Liability insurance, etc. Costs for bringing the team together Dinners, pizza, banquet, T-shirts with team spirit or Personalized Rugby Shirts, Trophies/Awards, personal rugby balls, etc.
Unless we all have a rich uncle OR everyone here bet big against Green Bay Packers last weekend, we need to consider making our finances a main priority. A shopping cart of money is realistic only if you make a plan to fill the cart.
Our Plan
Your Plan Fundraising must be an integral part of your yearly goals, scheduling, balance sheet, etc. Fundraising cannot be something we do on the side. It must be understood that if we want to be successful as a team we must also be successful financially. Let the team know the expenses. Recognize that fundraising also brings the team together to accomplish a goal. That goal can be as simple as making sure everyone on that team can afford to be there. Fundraising makes that possible.
How to run a successful fundraiser? Rule #1: KEEP IT SIMPLE Rule #2: Always follow rule #1 The biggest challenge that many people have is they think fundraising is difficult. That is true, only if you complicate it. Fundraising can be quick and painless with HUGE rewards for a focused effort.
How do we keep it simple? Set your goal around your finances. If the profit per item sold means you need to sell 25 boxes of cookies each, then set all goals and prizes around that one number Set Expectations. Have a team kickoff meeting where you set the atmosphere that the fundraiser is a critical component of your team s success for the season. Let them know the team costs and how the fundraiser will cover these. 100% Participation. Letting one person out of the fundraiser will result in many other falling behind. Instead, bring the team together and ask others to help the team members that are struggling or not trying.
Keep it Simple Participation includes ALL staff. All coaching and staff MUST motivate and speak about the fundraiser daily. If you don t, expect poor results. The difference between keeping the team focused on the goal and not talking about the fundraiser is in the $1000s of lost profits. Staff has the lead job of PROMOTION! Keep it Short 2 Weeks Max. Most people that hit their goal will do so in under 10 days.
What program do you use? Find a fundraiser that can easily reach your goals with one solid effort. Selling items that only cost $1 or $2 each is not worth the effort. Find a fundraiser that has items around $10 to $20 each ($10 minimum). People will buy 2 boxes of David s cookies at $16 each or they will buy 2 candy bars. The Cookies will make a LOT more profit for the same effort. Lasting impression: You only get one shot at leaving a good impression. Ask your neighbors and friends to support your efforts by only going to them one time instead of multiple times with multiple smaller fundraisers.
Questions to Ask When working with a Fundraising company it is important to learn what level of service they provide. Very few companies are a full service fundraising firm like ACCEL Sports. Make sure you ask questions: Minimum numbers that need to be sold? Up front costs? Profit for the program based on volume or by individual item? Integrity in the business (get references)? It is also important to consider working with someone within your region so that they understand your community and have a vested interest in helping your community.
Creating your own fundraiser Successful fundraising usually has a highly trained professional behind it backing all of the risk and details. However, creating a fundraiser from scratch can be a viable option for some: Examples are Golf Outings, Raffles, BBQ dinners, etc. To be successful you need a very dedicated group of a few that have the time and dedication to do a lot of work. Things to be careful of: Be conservative on your goal first time out. We have seen many fundraisers not reach their lofty goals first time out and lose a LOT of money. Make sure you take into consideration all of your up front costs and risks of running your own fundraiser. Be willing to accept those and with a conservative goal still be able to cover your costs. Don t go out and buy a new car and hope to sell enough tickets without VERY serious research and education on what MUST happen to make a car raffle successful. Make sure you don t abuse any expectations of your supporters. If you promised a program to be done in a certain way, make sure you meet or exceed those expectations, whatever it takes. If you have a Golf outing that didn t raise as much as expected, don t cancel the end of day social. People that supported you and paid good money will be disappointed, which will hurt the integrity of the team to ask for their support again.
Victory ACCEL Sports Fundraising is committed to helping youth sports achieve levels of success higher than ever expected. Our commitment to helping Youth Rugby continue growing as one of the best programs in the region is something we will always put our best efforts towards. If your team needs advice on a fundraising program you are considering, need information on any programs out there, or need us to run a fundraiser for you, please don t hesitate to contact us. We can also offer guidance in any struggles you have along the way with any program you are running. We look forward to your success!
ACCELerate your Success! On the web: www.accelsports.net On the phone: 877-811-3388 EMail: info@accelsports.net