When you request this success guide you will be able to order free samples of
Champion's E-Z Discount Cards and Gourmet Food Brochures
Two Great Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams
Which should you choose—discount cards or gourmet food?
The type of product that is selected may determine when you start and end your fundraiser, and whether the campaign will require mandatory or voluntary participation by the players and their parents. In fact, the product selected may also determine the number of hours of adult volunteer help that will be needed.
Two of the most common and productive fundraising ideas for sports teams have traditionally been fundraising discount cards and gourmet food items (such as pizza, cookie dough, cheesecakes, soft pretzels, etc.). These two product lines actually represent two very distinct types of fundraisers. That is, they each possess unique characteristics that require different methods or procedures for implementation.
Until the end of the last century—and before they became so closely associated with children's health issues—candy bars were by far the most popular fundraising product for organized youth sports. The reason was simple: The board of directors of youth sports organizations could order one or two cases of candy bars for each player they could expect to register at their pre-season player registration location. As parents and their children arrived to register, a volunteer would give out the case (or cases) of candy bars to each registrant and, since the candy bars turned over quickly, he or she would also collect from the registrant a check for the proceeds. It was easy! The product was distributed and the money collected in one quick operation—and the sports league had closure as well as all of their fundraiser's profit before the start of their season.
Because candy bars became associated with (among other health issues) childhood obesity and early-onset diabetes, and because youth sports leagues started to implement online registrations via the Internet, candy bars became all but abandoned. A void was created for fundraisers that could be conducted in a similar way at player registrations and, as discount cards were growing in popularity they quickly filled that void.
Discount card fundraisers, like candy bar fundraisers, require almost no work and usually 100% of the players participate. Discount cards are also very easy to sell because of the terrific discounts that are offered to prospective buyers, so collecting the proceeds as the cards are given out is just as easy as it was with candy bars. Furthermore, discount cards offer the added advantage of being compatible with online registrations since the money can be collected online with the registration fees and the cards can be mailed to the registrants—or they can be distributed during the first or second week of team practices.
Gourmet food fundraisers and other order-taker-type fundraisers, on the other hand, do not lend themselves well to starting at player registrations. Since these order-taker fundraisers rely on voluntary participation, it is best to start them when the players' collective enthusiasm for their sport is highest and the players can be easily motivated to participate. Sales incentives for the participants can prove especially effective in both encouraging participation and in generating a higher level of sales on average per participant. Statistics show that the best period of productivity is between the time the teams have formed and at least a week or two prior to Opening Day.
More work for adult volunteers who are administering the fundraiser is usually associated with order-taker fundraisers. The motivational kickoff presentation, the collection of orders and money, and the eventual product delivery and distribution are all steps that a mandatory discount card fundraiser conducted at player registrations does not have. A gourmet food fundraiser may require somewhat more work for your adult volunteers, but a well-run gourmet food fundraiser can be very productive and well worth the extra effort.
Gourmet food fundraisers involve almost no risk of getting stuck with unsold product. Since your members will be turning in the money they collected along with the orders they will be submitting, and since you will be ordering from the fundraising company only the food that was sold and paid for, there is no risk of ending up with product for which no payment was received.
There are some things you can do to enhance the performance of your next fundraiser, and they are discussed in Champion's Success Guide, "Three Elements of a Successful Youth Sports Fundraiser". (You will receive this Success Guide free and without obligation when you complete the form near the top of this page.) In addition, you may want to check out Champion's FAQs Page. This website page offers an excellent side-by-side comparison of these two very popular and easy fundraising ideas for sports teams—fundraising discount cards and gourmet food fundraisers—in a question-and-answer format.
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