Key Components

       Membership subscriptions

       Entry fees to activities, competitions, tournaments and events

       Providing training classes and coaching for a fee (to members and/or non-members)

       Sponsored events

       Social activities such as visits, members' nights, and quizzes

       Alumni Support Group

       Finance Committee

Piggyback your club event
It can sometimes be hard to attract a crowd. Try piggybacking your club event with a national or well known local event. Events such as Melbourne Cup, NRL/AFL Grand Finals, World Cup Soccer/Rugby/Cricket, Christmas, Easter. Hold a function at your club rooms and provide food and drink. Hire a big screen TV to encourage more people. Run competitions or sweeps throughout the day for winner, winning margin, first goal, most runs/wickets made.

Easter Egg Hunt
This can be a great seasonal fundraiser, especially for clubs with lots of children. Buy chocolate eggs in bulk and hide them around your facilities. Sell ‘hunting licences' to the children and give them baskets to find the eggs. Accompany the hunt with an Easter Bunny, face painting and a BBQ for parents while the children are ‘hunting'. You can also adapt this idea to Christmas, with a special visit from Santa or a present hunt.

Karaoke night
Hire a Karaoke machine, charge an entry fee or a ‘per song' fee. Have prizes for the best song, best duet, best 60's/70's/80's/90's song etc. Invite members of opposition clubs. This event could be developed into an annual event with fierce competition between and amongst clubs.

Cinema night
Cinemas such as Hoyts and Village sell discounted movie tickets for group bookings. Depending on numbers you can even have the cinema to yourself. Tickets are sold to your club for about $7/$9 each and can then be sold for $15+ for your fundraiser. Selecting a movie of interest is important, either a Blockbuster or a sports themed movie such as Bend it Like Beckham, Remember the Titans. Select new movies to increase the number of people that will attend. Contact your local cinema for more details.

Hold an Auction
Encourage each member of your club to get a prize donated for the Auction. Obviously the better the prizes, the more money you will make. If you have a number of smaller prizes your can put packs together to make them more appealing.

Slave Auction
Are your members a talented bunch? Encourage your members, their families, and local businesses to donate their services to the club. For example a masseuse may offer a free one hour massage to the highest bidder. Other donations could include washing cars, mowing lawns, walking dogs. As well as being lots of fun, it also provides a great opportunity for members and local businesses to promote awareness of their services and generate future customers.

Garage Sale
Encourage all of your members, family and friends to bring their old goodies to the club rooms for a mega club garage sale. Remember someone's trash is another person's treasure! A BBQ is a good idea to attract more people and encourage them to stay longer.

Bunnings BBQ/Sausage Sizzle
Sausage sizzles are a great way of encouraging people to stay around and socialize after training or games. Alternatively, community organisations, such as Bunnings, may give your club the opportunity to hold a BBQ outside their store. It's a great way to advertise your club and make some money. Try asausages, bread, sauce etc donated to create more profit.

Giddy Up
You can recreate your very own Horse Racing Competition, using six members of your club. Mark out a large area with six lanes, alternatively you can use small surface such as a table and place toy Horses on the track. Invite people along to place bets on the Horses, who will progress through the field via a dice toss. When one dice lands on a number, this corresponds to a horse in the field. The second toss of the dice corresponds to how many pace the Horse will move through the field. Prizes are given for first, second and third positions.

Footy Tipping Competitions

Run a tipping competition for any sporting league such as the AFL/NRL/NBL. Clubs may even want to hold a tipping competition for overseas leagues such as the NBA/Major League Baseball/English Premier League. To reduce administrative time, get participants to tip for all games at the start of the season.

Fantasy Competitions

While this competition requires a bit of organisation it is lots of fun. You can create a fantasy competition using players at your club or use the AFL/NRL/NBL/Australian Cricket Series. People are asked to choose their ‘ultimate' team and points are rewarded when players on their team make a run, kick a goal, taken a wicket, goals kicked, marks taken etc. The person whose fantasy team has the most points at the end of a season wins.

Delivering Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages contracts out the delivery of their annual books. Contact them and see if your club can be paid to deliver them. It would be a great way to keep fit and a delivery day could even replace a training session.

Jackpotting weekly cash

This is a great idea to encourage people to stay back either after training sessions or matches. At the start of the season give each member a number. About an hour or so after the completion of training or a match draw out a number from a hat and if the person is still there they get a cash prize (maybe start it at $10 or $20). If the person is not there, the money jackpots each week.

Coin Toss

At your next function hold a coin toss where people throw coins at a prize (make it fairly small so it's harder to hit) and the closest to the prize wins it. People can throw as many coins as they like and the club gets to keep all coins that are thrown. You can also auction off the rights to toss the coin at your next home game! Raffles Contact local businesses and try and get as many prizes donated as possible. Everything from a meat tray, to hampers, shopping vouchers, petrol vouchers, a load of firewood, chooks, memorabilia and cars can be raffled. Some community organisations hold a raffle that other clubs can be a part of. For example your local Rotary Club. They usually have great prizes up for grabs (cars and holidays). They usually offer 50% profit margins ($1 for every $2 ticket sold).

Community Voucher/ Coupon Booklets

Local communities often develop booklets that incorporate a wide range of offers and deals from a number of local businesses. These booklets can be purchased by the club and sold on to members for a profit. Rebel Sport - Club Rebate program Rebel Sport has developed a club rebate program to help schools and sporting clubs. It's free to register your club. Inform club members, friends and families of your unique club number. When making a purchase your members will receive a 5% discount off any full priced item. As well as this saving, your club will get 5% of your total purchases back in a cheque at the end of the year. Contact you nearest Rebel Sport for more information.

Group Trips

Organise a group bus trip to major sporting events, movies, shopping tours or even organise a mystery trip. Charge members enough to cover costs and make a profit for the club.
Merchandise Team merchandise is a great way to make money and create team unity. Items such as t-shirts, shorts, hats and key rings can be bought in bulk with club logo and sponsors logo. These can be sold to club members and supporters.

Club Investments

For bigger sporting clubs investment properties can be a great source of income with rent payments. Shares can also be a good source of income especially if a member of your club is a stock broker. Ensure you receive sound advice prior to any investment.
Individual sponsors Share the load and get all players to find a personal sponsor for the season. Establish a board in your club rooms to acknowledge these sponsors.

A Different Approach to Gaining a Major Sponsor

Encourage each of your members to gain a Minor Club Sponsor for $50. Provide members with Club Sponsor certificates and/or stickers for the businesses to display. Invite all Minor Sponsors to a club game or function where one of the sponsors will get drawn out of the hat to become the ‘Major' sponsor of the club. Provide the Major sponsor with additional signage and advertising space at the club and on websites and newsletters.

Legends Trivia

Australia Legends Trivia is an Australia wide company that can host your trivia night for you or provide a Questions Package to run your own trivia night. Both options make the task of organising your trivia night much easier. The trivia night can run for two and a half to four hours. Team sizes are usually between four and ten people, and prizes are in form of donations, cash and or gift certificates. One hour quick quiz prices start from $30.00 with themed questions packages up to $85. Themes include Music, Entertainment and Sport
Contact Details: Phone: 1800 005 438 Fax: (07) 3870 4813 Email: info@legendstrivia.com Website: www.legendstrivia.com.au

Personalised Trivia

Personalised Trivia have developed trivia kits which help you to conduct a well-organised, fun-filled and entertaining trivia night. The kit costs $66.00 (plus $5.00 postage and handling) and provides details on raising revenue as well as the all important trivia questions! Requirements: To successfully run a trivia night, you will need one or two people to ask the questions, correct the answers and one or two people to organise food and drinks for the evening. Contact Details: Phone: (02) 9418 3749 Email: personalisedtrivia@bigpond.com Website: www.personalisedtrivia.com.au/

Shopping Tours (for the spouses)

Organise a range of shopping tours throughout you capital city. Shopping tours are a fun and easy way to shop for bargains with family and friends while raising valuable funds for your club. Visit some of the best factory outlets and save up to 55% off normal retail prices. 5-10% commissions on purchases made throughout the tour are paid to your club! Requirements: One person is needed to organise this fundraiser, to contact the Shopping Tour company to organise a suitable date then advertise the fundraiser within your club. Talk to people about their interest and suitable dates beforehand then make sure everyone comes and brings their family and friends. Allow plenty of notice to ensure everyone can attend.
Contact Details: Melbourne Shopping Tours Phone: (03) 9748 4999 1800 134 181 (free call) Website: www.melbourneshoppingtours.com.au/

The most important step in successful fundraising is to have a plan. You need to take time to think through strategies for achieving that plan. Also set a timeline and break down tasks into manageable pieces.

Once you've decided to raise funds

       Establish a fundraising committee — build a team of people who will help you raise money and provide you with support in the planning process.

       Describe the exact purpose for raising funds — it's much easier to raise funds for a particular project than it is for operating costs.

       Set a budget — work out how much it will cost you to raise the funds e.g. running expenses such as salaries for professional help, rent, phone, power, printing, cleaning, stationery, transport, auditing, equipment etc.

       Set goals — work out how much money you need to raise and by when. Then break that down into manageable pieces e.g. $100 for stationery and $200 for travel etc. Make sure the goals are meaningful and varied — raising funds for the same thing year after year can be demoralising.

       Build a fundraising pyramid — this is a tried and true formula for working out how many of a certain type of donation (small, medium or major) you need to raise for a particular amount of money. This is based on the fact that people give at varying levels, depending on their capacity, motivation and, most importantly, on how much they're asked for. In most successful campaigns, one third to half of income comes from large gifts and legacies, another third comes from medium-sized gifts, and the final third comes from smaller gifts. The trick to meeting your fundraising target is to decide what amount constitutes major, medium and small gifts, and how many gifts you need at each level of the pyramid.

       List the other (non-monetary) resources needed — check these against the resources already available: people, equipment, transport, facilities etc.

       Build a fundraising team — it's good to create a network of people who will join you in raising funds. Have those people who enjoy this type of work. Those who dislike it are better off working for the organisation in some other way.

       Consult — decide who will need to be consulted before any decisions about the fundraising venture are made. This is likely to mean getting the backing of your board.

       Evaluate (and choose) your funding options (see "Funding Options" below).

       Know how to account for any funding you might receive — this includes tax implications, keeping accurate records for your own organisation and for the funding organisation and/or donor (see Section 6 — Financial Management).

       Develop your strategies (including a timeline) to put your final plan into action. Make sure these strategies fit into your overall income plan.

Raising Money through Membership

       Membership fees — charge a membership fee for your organisation. Some organisations have a "sliding scale" of fees according to whether the member is unemployed, on a low income, a student, employed, or a corporate or government organisation.

       Having patrons — patrons can be selected for the status they bring to the organisation or in acknowledgement of their financial support (in this case you could consider setting a patron subscription).

       Friends of the organisation" membership — "friends" are usually people interested in the organisation but not directly involved with it. It's a good idea to offer something to your "friends" (e.g. open days, newsletters, cheaper entrance fees, preferential booking) in return for their paying a subscription or a donation (you can suggest the amount) to the organisation.

       Business membership — this is similar to "friends" but is directed at commercial organisations.

       Local authority or government agency membership — where this is appropriate you could charge a higher membership fee.

       Major sponsors — similar to business sponsors but the contribution to the organisation might be substantially higher. For more information about sponsorship refer to the "Business Sponsorships" section below).

Donations

Someone giving something is called a donor and the recipient of that donation is called a donee. Donations can be given by corporations, foundations and individuals. Donations also come in different forms including cash donations, donations of income (e.g. from interest or rent) and donations in kind (e.g. provision of free services or donated goods). Donors can be involved to varying degrees from little or no involvement, to active management on how the gift is used.

Donor-donee relationship

If a donor wishes ongoing involvement in the management of their donation, they may have little formal control but considerable informal influence over the donee. The donor may or may not have expertise related to the application of the gift, but the donee may feel unable to raise any concerns as the donor has given the money and may give more in the future. This means the donor-donee relationship can start on an unequal footing. To make the relationship work there needs to be an open relationship between the donor and donee. Expectations from both parties need to be very clear from the start and may require renegotiation at a later date.

Business Sponsorships

Sponsorship is a two-way agreement in which a company will offer cash, product or service for an association with your organisation or a particular activity.

In order to gain sponsorship you will need to clearly state what the benefits are from this association. These benefits may include company or brand exposure, potential for increased sales and /or logo placement. Your task is to highlight an opportunity for this association to occur such as a project, event or activity that is seen as attractive to the potential sponsor. It's your organisation's responsibility to follow through and deliver what you have promised.

While money is the most obvious benefit of a sponsorship, voluntary groups can also gain much from gifts in kind such as printing, transport and equipment; space for offices; payment for publicity; and volunteer work paid for by companies that have corporate volunteering programmes.

Sponsorship strategy

A sponsorship strategy involves:

       identifying activities suitable for sponsorship

       writing a clear summary of and budget for the proposed activity

       identifying potential benefits for the sponsors

       establishing the value to the sponsor

       identifying potential sponsors and selecting who you will approach

       writing the sponsorship proposal

       approaching the sponsor

       follow up with the sponsor.

Ways of recognising sponsors

You could put the sponsor's name on:

       clothing

       all stationery, which can be done cheaply with a self-inking stamp

       all promotional material such as entry or registration forms, posters, tickets

       notice boards at clubrooms

       cups, medals and ribbons

       a display by the sponsor in the clubrooms

       the club banner.

You could also:

       advertise the sponsor's wares or activity in programmes and club newsletters

       promote and foster the sponsor's name and products at, or during, an event, in your annual report, or at the AGM

       have the organisation or its members become involved in promotional activities for the sponsor

       give the sponsor the opportunity to market products at the venue or to the participants

       distribute the sponsor's advertising material at clubrooms or to all participants

       have the sponsor's advertising on your venue

       have the sponsor use photos of events for their own promotions.

Publicity
The best form of publicity is often the oldest one – word of mouth. All fundraising
campaigns should have supporting documentation to promote the cause.

Courting the Media and Key People
Building relationships with key media is important. Once you have established your
contacts, invite them to your launch and make sure that all members of your organisation
are aware of the key personalities involved. In particular, the media will appreciate as
many ‘good’ stories associated with your campaign as you can tell them as they are
always on the lookout for ways to strengthen community ties.
Another good idea is to identify and appoint an ambassador or patron for your project.
Maximise any opportunities as key figureheads will assist greatly in generating publicity for
your project. However, make sure you get their approval first.

The Giving Scale
The Giving Scale is one of the main tools of fundraising. It is based on the Law of Thirds, a
tried and tested rule of thumb whereby generally:

• one person will give one third of the target
• the next ten givers will give one third of the target
• the others will give the final third of the target

For example the scale for a $9,000 fundraising target would be:
1 person gives $3000; 10 people give $300; 100 people give $30.

Sponsorship
Sponsorship involves a relationship between two parties in which both seek benefits
through an equitable exchange. Sponsorships are business arrangements and usually
involve a contract with specific terms and conditions on both parties. Generally clubs will
seek funding for equipment or specific events, while the sponsor will seek media exposure,
advertising to a specific audience, public awareness and representation at events and
special occasions.

The funds available for sponsorship are usually a finite resource and typically very
competitive. Consequently, clubs and organisations should take a systematic approach to
the sponsorship process to ensure a better success rate. There are three main phases in
the sponsorship process – planning, selling and servicing.

Planning for Sponsorship
Before a sponsorship proposal is prepared organisations need to know:
What is the organisation’s image among members and the public? (If the image is
poor, it may be difficult to secure a sponsor.)

• What local / regional / national companies match the club and its image or the event?e.g. Coca Cola targets its product to young people (18-25 yrs) and wants to be involved
• in large audience participation events. Is there a ‘fit’?
• What is the club’s ‘best’ program with which to seek sponsorship?
• What opportunities are offered to the sponsor? (e.g. sell the sponsor’s product exclusively at the event, media coverage highlighting their support, advertising and signage)
• Will the event clash with any other events? (e.g. local bowls tournament at the same time and location as the local music recital)

Selling the Proposal
Most sponsorship proposals require a verbal presentation and this phase should not be
underestimated. Professionalism is vital, so the organisation should carefully consider
who should make the presentation. If there are members who have the necessary
experience and skills, then perhaps it would be best if they presented the proposal rather
than the chairperson / president.

Other issues to consider:

• Find out who to send the proposal to (e.g. the decision maker). Make an appointment to meet them face to face as this greatly enhances the likelihood of success.
• Find out the company’s sponsorship criteria and history – what do they want out of a sponsorship relationship?
• Prepare the proposal to a professional standard (e.g. typed and well laid out).
• Information must be relevant, accurate and precise.
• Being well prepared when presenting the proposal is critical. Ensure that supplementary information is at hand to support the proposal and try and anticipate the questions that may be asked by the sponsor.
• Follow-up after the meeting and thank them for the opportunity to present the proposal.

Maintain contact.
Servicing Phase
The relationship that has been established between the club and the sponsor should not
be neglected after receiving the assistance. The club should maintain a positive
relationship and ensure ongoing communication. Some considerations to assist this
relationship are:

• Thank you letter. All funding should be acknowledged with a personal thank you letter.
• Press clippings. Any press publicising any aspect of the project should be forwarded to the sponsor.
• Regular written progress reports (may include photographs where appropriate).
• Personal visits and invitations. Invite the sponsor to participate in club events, celebrations, etc.
• Telephone calls. Committee members should be available to respond to calls from sponsors and to initiate calls.
• Take an interest in the sponsor organisation.
• Newsletters. Sponsors should be placed on the organisation’s mailing list and be acknowledged in the newsletter where appropriate.
• Recognition. Sponsors like to be recognised for the contributions they make.
• Request for continuing funds. Identify relevant progress and accomplishments and outline opportunities for continuance and expansion.