Almost everyone who has more than a little experience with sports fundraising understands that, all other things being equal, each fundraiser you do in a single sports season produces progressively smaller yields.  In fact, this phenomenon is a “law”—in the field of economics it’s called the Law of Diminishing Returns.  However, judging by the number of product fundraisers (i.e., fundraisers that involve the sale of products by its members) that many youth sports organizations conduct during the year, a second or even a third fundraiser is often deemed desirable regardless of the relatively small financial contribution that is made by these subsequent fundraisers.  Although the need for more funds is certainly the driving force, perhaps we should consider whether doing our first fundraiser more effectively or finding a non-selling way to raise more funds might be the better way to satisfy that need.

Conducting one product fundraiser each season can be tolerated or, if it is handled properly, even embraced by an organization’s members.  However, conducting more than one such fundraiser can have negative consequences for your organization’s members as well as for other youth organizations in your community.  Certainly, the more fundraisers you conduct, the more your members will complain about being confronted with yet another fundraiser and, in fact, the less likely they are to participate.  After all, your members are not going to feel comfortable soliciting their friends, neighbors and co-workers to support a growing number of fundraisers.  For those members that do participate in a second or third product fundraiser, individual productivity is likely to decline significantly with each succeeding fundraiser.  In addition, by the time the player and his parent(s) move on to the next sport or activity, everyone is likely to have lost a good bit of their willingness to participate in—or be as productive with—that organization’s fundraiser.

Needless to say (although perhaps one would be remiss to not articulate it), even before your organization begins its first fundraiser, many of your members may have already been fundraiser fatigued or “fundraisered-out” by other organizations’ fundraisers.  The unfortunate fact of the matter is that there aren’t many communities where fundraising isn’t overdone.  One of the best sports fundraising ideas your organization and other sports organizations in your community can embrace is the one that is addressed in this article.  It is one that will help you do fewer product fundraisers and, at the same time, accomplish the purpose that your fundraising efforts are intended to accomplish.  This article is intended to help you understand that in fundraising “more is not better”.   It starts with the premise that if your organization is doing several product fundraisers in your sport’s season, then somewhere in your organization’s history someone had the idea that asking your members to participate in more than one fundraiser would be a good idea.  It offers the assertion that this is not a good idea and that it was probably instituted as a way to avoid doing what was required to make your first fundraiser more productive.  That is, it was deemed easier to put more fundraisers “out there” than to do any one of them with an eye to efficacy.

To the extent that less productivity has spawned more fundraisers, and more fundraisers have resulted in still less productivity, sports fundraising (and school fundraising) has become both ubiquitous and insidious.  The propagation of product fundraisers and the consequent decline in player participation and player productivity seems to have morphed a once vibrant and effective support enterprise into a fatiguing and ever less productive activity.  As with many worthy activities that were once considered desirable, fundraising, when done to excess will produce undesirable consequences.       

You can indeed do fewer product fundraisers—and probably just one fundraiser—without a loss of revenue.  Actually, you can do just one fundraiser and bring in more revenue if you implement a fundraiser in a way that will harness the support of your organization’s leaders and members at large.  That “if” isn’t a very high hurdle.  Frankly, you want a fundraiser to have support and if you don’t get it there is an easier alternative—raising your player registration fees.  Of course, if you put that alternative up on the supply-demand curve you will notice that an increase in fees will precipitate a fall in demand for what your organization has to offer as families in your community seek other, less costly alternatives to membership in your organization.  Getting support for a fundraiser is not the same as getting board members’ votes to approve one.  All youth sports fundraisers that are being done in your community were put to a vote and approved, but not very many of them were supported by those who voted in the affirmative.    

There are ways to reduce the number of product fundraisers your organization routinely conducts each year—and, happily, there is a decision-making process that will help you with this.  First, place the horse before the cart and ask yourself whether your organization needs to fundraise at all.  The purpose of an annual fundraiser should be to help cover operational costs.  An annual product fundraiser should be conducted only if there is a need for funds where the alternative—probably that of raising registration fees—is not desirable.  In other words, an annual fundraiser should only be considered as an alternative to raising registration fees (or, in rare instances, to address an unexpected or emergency need).  So, first ask your board which alternative is more desirable.  Perhaps raising registration fees is an acceptable alternative and you can reduce your number of fundraisers to zero.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It would certainly indirectly help other sports organizations in your community that rely more heavily on fundraising revenue.   

Second, if you feel there is a need for a fundraiser, ask yourself whether just one fundraiser can be conducted in a manner that will assure—if not guarantee—that this campaign will be the only campaign needed.  If you are not sure whether one fundraiser can do the trick, then try talking with a fundraising professional. 

Notice that this second consideration is not about product.  It is too often assumed that a fundraiser is not productive because the product chosen does not “perform” as expected, so the “solution” becomes one of finding the often elusive “more productive product”.   To fundraising professionals, successful fundraisers are almost never about what product to sell; rather, they are about making sure the fundraiser is conducted most advantageously in terms of timing and implementation.  (See “Why Did Last Season’s Sports Fundraising Campaign Tank?”) 

First Fundraisers

For most youth organizations, the venue or opportunity at which you will have the most control over both how a fundraiser is conducted and the outcome is player registrations.  The reason is that all players must register and, no matter whether the registration takes place at a physical, brick-and-mortar location or online, everyone must satisfy a set of requirements to become registered.  Participation in a fundraiser can certainly be one of those requirements.

For many years and until it became politically incorrect, dollar candy bars were the dominant fundraising product at player registrations.  The reason for this dominance is obvious.  The youth organization’s volunteers could place a case (or “carrier” as they are sometimes called) or two of candy bars in a registrant’s hands and collect the fundraiser proceeds (along with the registration fee) before the product left the registration site.  The registrants would get back the money they handed over to the youth league for the candy bars when they sold them to others.  With the advent of online registrations and the linking of candy to childhood health issues, candy bars have been disappearing from the registration scene; however, it is undeniable that the fundraising methodology employed at registration was virtually infallible.  All registrants were required to participate (i.e., the fundraiser was mandatory), the league knew exactly how much income would be derived from the process, and those funds were available at the start of the sport’s season.  In addition, it was easy—and almost no one seemed to be put out by it because this is the way it was done every year.  That is, it was expected and accepted.               

Products that lend themselves well to the registration venue include fundraising discount cards, raffle tickets, lottery calendars, or any item that can be parceled out in a pre-determined quantity to each player or family.  Whether you conduct your player registrations at a physical location or online, it is worth your consideration to add a few words to your registration form that can be initialed by the parents in acknowledgment of their commitment to sell the product that is given to them.  You can then collect the fundraiser proceeds with the completed registration forms and whatever you are charging as a registration fee so that you won’t have to attempt collections on the back end of the fundraiser. 

Many youth organizations have traditionally allowed their members to make a fixed cash donation—or “buy-out”—in lieu of participating in a fundraiser.  Buy-outs are fine; however, if you allow your registrants to buy out, it should be for an amount equal to the proceeds you were expecting to receive had the parent not bought out of the fundraiser.  In other words, if you are asking everyone to sell, say, 6 discount cards or 6 raffle tickets for $10 each, then you should collect a buy-out of $60—and then give the cards or tickets to the parent to keep or give away as gifts.  Of course, this is really not a buy-out in the strictest sense of the term; however, it is much better than setting a buy-out donation so low that it encourages some members to avoid what the others are being asked to do.  Keep in mind that, for the parent who wishes to buy out, the issue is a desire to avoid selling and (hopefully) not an expectation that they should treated differently than anyone else.  Also, if you are conducting a discount card fundraiser, there is an expectation on the part of the listed merchants that the discount cards will be distributed.  That is an expectation that should be honored.    

By conducting a mandatory fundraiser this way you are treating everyone equitably and, at the same time, you are ensuring that your organization will make exactly the amount of funds it is expecting to make and that it won’t get stuck with unsold product.  Perhaps best of all, all the funds will be in your organization’s treasury almost as soon as your members have registered, and you won’t have to chase after anyone for money.  That is, you will have quick closure and ready funds.  

Making the fundraising remittance part of what you collect with the player registration fees is the key to making your registration fundraiser easy to administer.  Among the best sports fundraising ideas, none are both as easy to administer and as profitable as a registration fundraising program.  However, if you are starting your first registration fundraiser, some consideration should be given to those who were not expecting to outlay the fundraiser proceeds in advance.  If anyone balks at the extra cash outlay at registration, you can simply take a post-dated check so they will have time to sell the product and thereby reimburse themselves before the check is deposited.  Fundraising discount cards or raffle tickets that sell for $10 each are not difficult to sell and can be converted back to cash rather quickly.  However, by handling the remittances in this manner you have ensured that everyone will participate and that the burden of supporting your youth organization will be borne equally by everyone.  In addition, the fundraiser becomes a one-step process for your organization—a simple exchange of product for proceeds—and a one-step process for your members since the product will be delivered to their customers at the point of sale. 

Conducting a registration fundraiser this way usually produces fewer complaints from the general membership than most youth league board members expect.  Some board members may be reluctant to ask for more up-front money at registration out of fear that it will not be well accepted by those who register.  However, this is a concern that is more apparent than it is real.  In practice this method draws few or no complaints, and what few complaints may surface the first time out virtually disappear the second time it is implemented.  It is also true that repetition breeds acceptance.  That is, each year you run a program in this way, your members will come to expect that “this is the way it is done”, and both the fact and manner of the fundraiser will be met with greater acceptance in the second and succeeding years.  In fact, a successful fundraising program that is administered even-handedly and with authority will command more respect each year. 

Second Fundraisers

Getting back to the decision-making process, and assuming you have decided that at least one fundraiser is necessary, the third consideration is one of whether you will need another fundraiser in the same season.  If your organization has already decided to conduct a registration fundraiser, then you should know how much money it will add to your treasury.  Knowing that, a second fundraiser should be planned only if four conditions are met:  (1) You know that additional funds are needed; (2) The funds cannot be raised by other, more acceptable, means; (3) Your organization hasn’t already promised that your first fundraiser will be the only fundraiser; (4) It is voluntary.

With respect to item (3), you should know how much money fundraising is expected to contribute to your budget.  Therefore, you can always hedge your bet by promising your members that, if the first fundraiser meets it’s goal, there will not be a second fundraiser.  That is a great way to let everyone know that your fundraiser has an important purpose; that you’re not asking them to participate in a fundraiser because you think it is something they should enjoy doing. 

Second fundraisers are usually “order-taker” fundraisers (e.g., a pizza or cookie dough fundraiser, a sub or sandwich sale, or even a discount card fundraiser) where orders are taken and money is collected prior to product fulfillment.  There are a variety of sports fundraising ideas with products available in an order-taker format.  These fundraisers can be very productive if they are started early enough—especially in the “pre-season” and certainly prior to Opening Day—and especially if they offer strong seller incentives and are properly introduced to the players.  (See “Three Elements of Successful Sports Fundraising”)  However, second fundraisers are best promoted as voluntary fundraisers because a youth organization will not be able to exercise the same level of control over sales as it can with a mandatory registration fundraiser.  Also, a second mandatory fundraiser is likely to be met by your general membership with resistance or resentment or both.

There are some disadvantages associated with voluntary order-taker fundraisers.  You don’t have the advantage of knowing in advance exactly how much product will be sold and therefore how much money will be raised.  In addition, order-taker fundraisers can involve many more steps than a registration fundraiser—for both the fundraising chairperson who will administer the fundraiser and for your members who will be engaged in selling and then delivering the product.  Here, the fundraising chairperson must supervise the fundraiser’s kickoff on the front end of the fundraiser, and also the collection and accounting of the orders and money on the back end of the fundraiser, as well as scheduling and supervising the distribution of ordered product and sales incentives to the sellers.  The sellers not only have to take orders and collect and turn them in with the money, but they also have to deliver the product to their customers via a second visit. 

In spite of the additional work involved, a well-planned and well-run second order-taker-type fundraiser can be quite profitable.  Nevertheless, ask yourself whether you believe your members would better tolerate an increase in registration fees rather than being asked to support a second fundraiser.  Even though a second fundraiser may be voluntary, it is still adding to the number of fundraisers your players are taking into your community each year.

No Apologies

Many youth organization board members—and fundraising chairpersons—can be quite diffident or even apologetic in introducing a fundraising campaign to its members.  Keep in mind that our attitudes and even our beliefs are expressed in the way we conduct ourselves in the presence of others.  As parents we sometimes realize—after the fact—that our observed actions were imprudent and that we have, by example, unintentionally sent the wrong message about something to our children.  The way a board member or coach observably responds to the implementation of their organization’s fundraiser also makes an impression on the players and their parents—the people who will be asked to participate.  Subtle actions and attitudes can convey more truth than oratory, and they will either send the message that your sports fundraising campaign is important, has a worthy purpose and should be embraced fully, or it will send the message that it is not all that important or worthy of their support.  Either message can have a profound impact on your campaign’s results. 

Certainly, a negative or ambivalent approach is likely to hurt the outcome of a fundraiser as well as contribute to the problem of having to do more fundraisers than would otherwise be necessary.  Therefore, an appropriate last step in the decision-making process should be to ask those in leadership positions who will vote for and approve the fundraiser to cast their unreserved support along with their vote.  Perhaps all they gave to the fundraiser last year was their vote.  If that is all they are going to give to the fundraiser this year then it would be unreasonable to expect that this year’s campaign results will be much different than last year’s results.  (See “The Cure for Ambivalence in Youth Sports Fundraising”.)  

Furthermore, to put this in perspective, your first fundraiser is going to run for, at most, only a few weeks.  Asking your board of directors and your coaches for a show of honest support for such a limited engagement is not the same as asking them to build an exact replica of the Great Pyramid.  You’re just asking them grasp and approve of the fundraiser’s purpose and to engage others in its worthiness—and they’ll probably do that if they are themselves convinced of its worthiness.    

If the fundraiser can’t be embraced and supported by those who voted for it, then perhaps your organization’s leadership is collectively saying that it approves of the purpose but not of the method.  If that is the case, then it should consider an alternative way to raise the funds that are needed.  To be sure, the purpose is more important than the method of achieving it.  If there is a more acceptable method available then, by all means, discard the fundraiser.  That is, don’t ask your members to support something your leadership won’t support.  A fundraiser is not something in which you should ask your members to participate unless your leadership’s collective intention is to lead them to the accomplishment of its purpose.          

On the other hand, if your board members and coaches have followed a logical decision-making process and have concluded that an annual sports fundraising campaign is necessary and that it will, for example, keep registration fees low and make your sports program more accessible to the youth in your community, then the fundraising program should be embraced fully and promoted with confidence and authority.  There should be no room for doubt and no reason for hesitation.  If the fundraiser is the method of choice, then your board members and coaches should understand that it is something that requires more than a vote.  It requires honest and active support.    

In addition to being conducted with confidence and authority, a fundraiser should also be conducted with the belief in its purpose and the expectation that everyone in the organization will or should participate.  Of course, with most fundraisers, especially voluntary-participation fundraisers, you won’t get everyone to participate.  Nevertheless, an “expectation of participation” is in itself an important message to convey—not in words, but in attitude.  It will help communicate your belief in the fundraiser’s purpose.  If you don’t communicate that belief then those from whom you are asking support may presume that the fundraiser lacks purpose and that your request for support is baseless.    

You have undoubtedly heard the axiom that if something is worth doing it is worth doing right.  With respect to running a fundraising campaign, that nugget of wisdom couldn’t be more on the mark.  One well run and fully supported fundraiser can easily out-perform several fundraisers that are carelessly thrown into the hands of the members of a youth sports organization.  If your fundraiser’s purpose is worthy, then there should be no cause for ambivalence and no reason to be apologetic in asking others to participate.  

Doing all that can or should be done to ensure the support and success of your first fundraiser may mean that you will not have to conduct a subsequent fundraiser.  However, if you want to make an impact on the current state of youth sports fundraising, then share this article with someone who serves on the board of directors of another sports organization within your community.  Letting other leagues know how they can benefit from doing fewer fundraisers is one of the best sports fundraising ideas that you can share with other sports organizations in your community.  It is an idea that will not only benefit them and their members, but it will also help make your organization’s future fundraising efforts more productive.    

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