# Fundraising do's and dont's.....



## 46n2 (Mar 29, 2018)

Its almost time to kick it in gear and start raising some funds......  what are some of the fundraising do's and dont's.....
Personally ..... snack bar 's , car washes, begging, just not a big fan.  
What are some of the off the wall ways you have raised money and shown your kids not to just look for a hand out.
I heard of selling gourmet popcorn? Personally Id like to see my kids offer a service, maybe paint address numbers on a curb....
what have your teams done in the past.


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## timbuck (Mar 29, 2018)

Here is my take on club wide fundraising ----  It is complete bulls hit.  If you need more money to operate - then charge more money.  Or find a way to save money.
If you want to offer up fundraising that goes direct to a kids dues -- cool.  let the kid and families do it.
If you want to offer up a lower cost, but will do some team wide fundraising to offset costs -  cool.  Do it. 
But if the club is making everyone spend $150 on golfballs and nobody knows where that money is going -  Forget it.
Or if the club is holding a tournament to raise money for the club, but expects parents to volunteer their time during the day of the tournament-  Those parents should get some sort of benefit for their kid.


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## 46n2 (Mar 29, 2018)

no no,  this is for us on the team , together to raise money for trips, our team fee's , etc....... not club wide , just a way to get the kids to work together , maybe have fun and shaved a couple 100 off the dues for each player.


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## Eagle33 (Mar 29, 2018)

World Cup is coming and doing a Pool will be a great fundraiser for your team.


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## Eagle33 (Mar 29, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Here is my take on club wide fundraising ----  It is complete bulls hit.  If you need more money to operate - then charge more money.  Or find a way to save money.
> If you want to offer up fundraising that goes direct to a kids dues -- cool.  let the kid and families do it.
> If you want to offer up a lower cost, but will do some team wide fundraising to offset costs -  cool.  Do it.
> But if the club is making everyone spend $150 on golfballs and nobody knows where that money is going -  Forget it.
> Or if the club is holding a tournament to raise money for the club, but expects parents to volunteer their time during the day of the tournament-  Those parents should get some sort of benefit for their kid.


I have a news for you - ALL clubs do fundraisers.


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## timbuck (Mar 29, 2018)

We've done some little ones for our team.
1.  The OC Registers has a sweet deal.   You sell a 52 week subscription to the Sunday paper for $1.00 for all 52 weeks.  The register will pay you $15 for each one you sell.  You can sell up to 5 per household.  Spend $5.00 and get $60.  Just wake up Sunday morning and walk the paper to your trash.
2. Spirit Cups -  College, MLB and NFL cups.  Sell a set for $20 and your team gets $12 per set.


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## TangoCity (Mar 29, 2018)

Fundraising for the club = bullshit.
Fundraising for YOUR team only = Generally Ok, since your team agrees on something.

And no, not ALL clubs do fundraisers.  I have been associated with three clubs.  Only one of them did Club wide fundraising and it was complete and utter bullshit with non stop fundraising with none of it going to our team.  The second club did NO fundraising and it was a pretty big club - not only did they do no fundraising but they gave freebies out to the kids.  Third club has no club fundraising, just team based stuff.  We have raised between $5K and $10K for OUR team each of the past two years.

Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+).  For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account.  None of the money went to your team.  100% went to the club.  Complete bullshit.


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Mar 29, 2018)

Eagle33 said:


> I have a news for you - ALL clubs do fundraisers.


Non-profits have to raise funds somehow.


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## zebrafish (Mar 29, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> Non-profits have to raise funds somehow.


Is that sarcasm? A lot of these clubs are "non-profit" but the DOCs have salaries well into the 6-digits. Parents pay that cost. 

I'm with everyone else here that a club fundraisers are a major turnoff. Why exactly do I need to chip in $50 for a "charity fundraising" event? What exactly is the return on reducing my yearly fees for this "donation"? Or am I lining the pockets of the person who owns the venue for this "charity/fundraising" event and subsidizing a fun afternoon/evening for a bunch of people? Where and how much money is going where, exactly?

Last year, I told the admin for my kid's team that unless I could get some more financial information about the "charity" fundraiser for our club, I would be happy to make a direct donation in-kind to a charity on my own, which I did.

As far as team fundraisers go-- to me, time is money. I'd rather just pay the cost. I didn't do Girl Scouts with my kid pretty much for the sole reason that I didn't want to be hawking cookies for 2 months of the year.


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## zebrafish (Mar 29, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+).  For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account.  None of the money went to your team.  100% went to the club.  Complete bullshit.


Boy, that sounds a lot like my kid's club 

I agree, total BS.


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Mar 29, 2018)

zebrafish said:


> Is that sarcasm? A lot of these clubs are "non-profit" but the DOCs have salaries well into the 6-digits. Parents pay that cost.
> 
> I'm with everyone else here that a club fundraisers are a major turnoff. Why exactly do I need to chip in $50 for a "charity fundraising" event? What exactly is the return on reducing my yearly fees for this "donation"? Or am I lining the pockets of the person who owns the venue for this "charity/fundraising" event and subsidizing a fun afternoon/evening for a bunch of people? Where and how much money is going where, exactly?
> 
> ...


Yes, that was sarcasm.  I am not opposed to DOCs (and coaches for that matter) earning a living.  I am good with teams having fund raisers to cover tournament and/or travel costs.  I am down with clubs finding ways to pay for kids that might not otherwise get a chance to play due to cost. 
But I am familiar with this (per @TangoCity):  "Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+). For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account. None of the money went to your team. 100% went to the club. Complete bullshit."
Don't operate as a for profit business, but get the benefit of a non-profit then demand that your "customers" raise additional funds.  Happy to pay my share.  But mandatory fund raising is a major turn off.  At least for me.


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## Mystery Train (Mar 29, 2018)

If you are fundraising for your team and you have some large families on the team, a yard/garage sale can get you some bank.  Most families have multiple children so there's tons of clothes and toys and old furniture to get rid of...not to mention all those soccer bags and uniforms with club patches on them that you can't use anymore because the team changed logos or has a new sponsor this year or got merged.  lol


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## timbuck (Mar 29, 2018)

There are soccer / team fundraisers and then there is charity work.
Charity work is something that a team can do to bond and be more than "just" a soccer team.
Our team works with the local AYSO chapter and their special needs kids - The VIP program.  Our team shows up for their practice each week and helps out. And they try to show up for their games whenever they can.
Additionally -  the past few years we've done a team Christmas gift exchange.  It was fun, but a bit unneccessary.  So this year, we adopted a military family and bought them Christmas gifts.  It was pretty awesome.  The kids had a blast shopping for a single dad and his 2 young (under 6) kids.


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## espola (Mar 29, 2018)

A raffle can be a money-maker, but check up on  the laws governing them before starting.


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## etc1217 (Mar 30, 2018)

Here's an idea for a fundraiser, although I haven't done it personally yet, my mother's  non-profit group has done it for years.

Pechanga and Barona provide free buses for turnaround trips as long as you fill the bus, which is about 60 people and you stay for an 8hr period. What my mother's group does is offer seats for $25-$30 and they keep the total profit but they do tip the bus driver. The only catch is that the people have to  gamble during their time at the casino. The casino gives out player's cards and tracks the amount of play. But you can make an easy $1500-$1800.

I know there's no true kid involvement, it's more so for the parents, friends and especially grandparents, the kids just sell the tickets. For all the running around we do for soccer, it is a fun time for parents like a mini day or evening trip. No true planning, just pick a date, sell the tickets and go, it's fairly easy money to make without spending too much of your time and it makes for a fun day especially if you like to gamble.

Depending on the team,  12-18 players need to sell 4-5 tickets each. I'm sure everyone has friends/family that like to gamble....

Just a suggestion, if you want an easy fundraiser for your team or any organization that needs to raise money.


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## LifeisGood (Mar 30, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+).  For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account.  None of the money went to your team.  100% went to the club.  Complete bullshit.


Is this type of golf fundraiser done at different clubs?  I have heard about it at a specific club that sounds like "Blammers" but didn't know it was at others.  

Some of the ideas mentioned before were great, and not ones I had heard of before.


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## Toch (Mar 30, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Fundraising for the club = bullshit.
> Fundraising for YOUR team only = Generally Ok, since your team agrees on something.
> 
> And no, not ALL clubs do fundraisers.  I have been associated with three clubs.  Only one of them did Club wide fundraising and it was complete and utter bullshit with non stop fundraising with none of it going to our team.  The second club did NO fundraising and it was a pretty big club - not only did they do no fundraising but they gave freebies out to the kids.  Third club has no club fundraising, just team based stuff.  We have raised between $5K and $10K for OUR team each of the past two years.
> ...


 Don’t be scared to name names


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## espola (Mar 30, 2018)

etc1217 said:


> Here's an idea for a fundraiser, although I haven't done it personally yet, my mother's  non-profit group has done it for years.
> 
> Pechanga and Barona provide free buses for turnaround trips as long as you fill the bus, which is about 60 people and you stay for an 8hr period. What my mother's group does is offer seats for $25-$30 and they keep the total profit but they do tip the bus driver. The only catch is that the people have to  gamble during their time at the casino. The casino gives out player's cards and tracks the amount of play. But you can make an easy $1500-$1800.
> 
> ...


Why would anyone pay for a bus trip they can get for free?


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## Fact (Mar 30, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Fundraising for the club = bullshit.
> 
> Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+).  For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account.  None of the money went to your team.  100% went to the club.  Complete bullshit.


Albion use to do this. Not sure if Gins's house is paid off so not sure if they continue this.

What about the club that requires you to sell raffle tickets, including coaches.


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## Fact (Mar 30, 2018)

espola said:


> Why would anyone pay for a bus trip they can get for free?


This would work for me when I had family in town.  Totally worth it to put them on a bus.


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Mar 30, 2018)

espola said:


> Why would anyone pay for a bus trip they can get for free?


It’s like the popcorn you “buy” from the Boy Scouts.  You are making a donation to the Boy Scouts and in return as a sign of appreciation they give you some popcorn.   Otherwise it is the most expensive popcorn on the planet.  Focus on the donation.  Not the popcorn.


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## SBFDad (Mar 30, 2018)

As a former team manager, fair amount of experience in this.

Best thing we did was to offer up quality fundraising opportunities and allowed people to keep 100% of what they raise. It provided incentive for parents to actually put in some effort. You have money concerns? Not if you put in the work. Don’t wanna worry about raising money? Cut a bigger check for your team fees.

After this policy was put in place, no one ever complained about team fees again and no one ever played BS games with payments. And team budget stress went way down.

The key though...gotta provide good opportunities at key moments throughout the season to raise money. Gambling always worked well...selling squares and brackets for major sporting events was always a good one. Shhhhh. Don’t tell the popo.


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 30, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> Non-profits have to raise funds somehow.


Yeah, that's called club dues.


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## Soccer_newbie (Mar 30, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> It’s like the popcorn you “buy” from the Boy Scouts.  You are making a donation to the Boy Scouts and in return as a sign of appreciation they give you some popcorn.   Otherwise it is the most expensive popcorn on the planet.  Focus on the donation.  Not the popcorn.


Oh my gosh!  The Boyscout popcorn was the worst!  My husband didn't realize how much 1 bag of popcorn was and he felt bad saying nevermind after he found out the cost.  Most expensive bag of popcorn we ever bought.


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## soccerchaffeur (Mar 30, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Fundraising for the club = bullshit.
> 
> 
> Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+).  For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account.  None of the money went to your team.  100% went to the club.  Complete bullshit.


I think we were part of the same club.  Not sure where that money went?  Certainly didn't go to better fields or anything that benefited our team.  What a bunch of Slammers...errr Scammers!


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## timbuck (Mar 30, 2018)

It’s not just the above mentioned club.  One that rhymes with “bikers” did something similar.


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## etc1217 (Mar 30, 2018)

espola said:


> Why would anyone pay for a bus trip they can get for free?


 1) It's a fundraiser.
 2) You don't have to drive especially if it is more than an 1 1/2 drive.
 3) You can drink on the bus = sell alcohol shots = more money (unless they changed the rules)
 4) You can drink and don't have to drive or at least sober up on the drive back before you have to drive.
 5) It's a fundraiser.


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## zebrafish (Mar 30, 2018)

timbuck said:


> It’s not just the above mentioned club.  One that rhymes with “bikers” did something similar.


No way! As did a club that rhymes with "Doh! See? Fallacy!"


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## Frank (Mar 30, 2018)

Chipotle. You get 50% of sales.


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## Sunil Illuminati (Mar 30, 2018)

Frank said:


> Chipotle. You get 50% of sales.


......and salmonella


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## soloyosh (Apr 4, 2018)

We partnered with a local bank branch that was converting their landscaping to zero-scape.  The team spent a Saturday morning spreading gravel at the direction of the landscape supervisor.  Paper took a picture and the the bank donated what they paid the landscaping company for that part of the job to the team.  Worked out to be $2k.


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## outside! (Apr 4, 2018)

Great idea. BTW, it is Xeriscape.


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## Slammerdad (Apr 5, 2018)

MyDaughtersAKeeper said:


> Yes, that was sarcasm.  I am not opposed to DOCs (and coaches for that matter) earning a living.  I am good with teams having fund raisers to cover tournament and/or travel costs.  I am down with clubs finding ways to pay for kids that might not otherwise get a chance to play due to cost.
> But I am familiar with this (per @TangoCity):  "Worst fundraiser was the club that put on the golf tournament where each team had to find a golf foursome (charging $200 per player) and for the golf tournament each team had to provide a tee sponsor ($250) and had to donate a "gift basket" for the silent auction (valued at $500+). For any of those three items ($800, $250, $500) that you didn't provide they TOOK the money out of your team account. None of the money went to your team. 100% went to the club. Complete bullshit."
> Don't operate as a for profit business, but get the benefit of a non-profit then demand that your "customers" raise additional funds.  Happy to pay my share.  But mandatory fund raising is a major turn off.  At least for me.


I think in looking at fundraising with the example put forth above (golf fundraiser) there is some misconceptions that I want to add.  First, my DD's club did do the golf fundraiser.  No funds were taken out of any team accounts for unsold golfballs, or tee sponsors.  It was suggested amounts for each team but not every team participated and they were charged NOTHING.  Additionally, the top sales of golf balls for the girls were rewarded giftcards (up to $500.00) so there was some incentive to sell.  Lastly, any team that hit the golf ball sales mark for every girl on the team was rewarded (this year) with a high end sports jacket with custom logoing specific to their team and the club.    Now does it appear like a money grab?  At first glance yes, but speaking specifically from MY experience, our dues are significantly lower than surrounding clubs ( by more than $1k annually) and I have witnessed several players who have received full scholarships to play due to financial hardships and no these were not the unicorns, but everyday players.
None of our coaches drive Tesla's or Ferrari's(unless they are self made) so I would tell you that nobody is getting rich from the fundraiser.
Just wanted to make the point that the golf tournament is largely successful for my club in fundraising and not at all what prior posters are representing.


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## TangoCity (Apr 5, 2018)

Slammerdad said:


> I think in looking at fundraising with the example put forth above (golf fundraiser) there is some misconceptions that I want to add.  First, my DD's club did do the golf fundraiser.  No funds were taken out of any team accounts for unsold golfballs, or tee sponsors.  It was suggested amounts for each team but not every team participated and they were charged NOTHING.  Additionally, the top sales of golf balls for the girls were rewarded giftcards (up to $500.00) so there was some incentive to sell.  Lastly, any team that hit the golf ball sales mark for every girl on the team was rewarded (this year) with a high end sports jacket with custom logoing specific to their team and the club.    Now does it appear like a money grab?  At first glance yes, but speaking specifically from MY experience, our dues are significantly lower than surrounding clubs ( by more than $1k annually) and I have witnessed several players who have received full scholarships to play due to financial hardships and no these were not the unicorns, but everyday players.
> None of our coaches drive Tesla's or Ferrari's(unless they are self made) so I would tell you that nobody is getting rich from the fundraiser.
> Just wanted to make the point that the golf tournament is largely successful for my club in fundraising and not at all what prior posters are representing.


Our team had $800 taken out of team account by club DOC for golf tournament fiasco. (it was not Slammers).


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## Fact (Apr 5, 2018)

Slammerdad said:


> Additionally, the top sales of golf balls for the girls were rewarded giftcards (up to $500.00) so there was some incentive to sell.  Lastly, any team that hit the golf ball sales mark for every girl on the team was rewarded (this year) with a high end sports jacket with custom logoing specific to their team and the club.    Now does it appear like a money grab? .


Yes sounds like a money grab.  What child wants to be the one that prevented her team from getting a jacket?  Way to use peer pressure!


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## Slammerdad (Apr 5, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Our team had $800 taken out of team account by club DOC for golf tournament fiasco. (it was not Slammers).





Fact said:


> Yes sounds like a money grab.  What child wants to be the one that prevented her team from getting a jacket?  Way to use peer pressure!


Just to again clear up misconceptions.  Of the 30+ teams in the club, 4 made the goal.  So it didn't appear to be "peer pressure".  One team had two players who didnt hit the goal and the club still gave them the jackets as a sign of the good effort.  Lastly, if you are worried about peer pressure, you better find another activity for your kid as soccer is LOADED with peer pressure.


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## Fact (Apr 5, 2018)

Slammerdad said:


> Just to again clear up misconceptions.  Of the 30+ teams in the club, 4 made the goal.  So it didn't appear to be "peer pressure".  One team had two players who didnt hit the goal and the club still gave them the jackets as a sign of the good effort.  Lastly, if you are worried about peer pressure, you better find another activity for your kid as soccer is LOADED with peer pressure.


You have to be kidding that the kids did not feel the pressure.  This is how it always went down at my house.
Dd:  But mom I need to sell 50 more boxes of cookies. 
Mom:  Honey please sell these at work tomorrow.
Me: Yes dear.


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