Fundraising For The Most ROI

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Have you ever heard someone say “yes, Fundraising time!”? If you have you would be one of the few because typically nobody wants anything to do with fundraising. It makes us uncomfortable and many times isn’t worth the hassle when all is said and done. So let’s talk about 4 that are worth it and 3 that probably are not.

Worth it:

  • Car Wash –  yes a good ol’ fashion car wash on a hot day can be a great way to make money if you have access to a good spot and a couple of outgoing teammates willing to flag down cars passing by. It’s also good because the “safety in numbers” feel you get by not being the only one there trying to ask for money

  • ESPN The Magazine –  ESPN has a great fundraising program that allows the kids to sell subscriptions to their magazines online and the best part is that the team keeps $30 out of the $40 per subscription .  Most players can find at least 1 or 2 family members or friends willing to get a one year magazine subscription for charity and if you have 10 players that’s an easy $300-$450 in your team’s pocket to pay for expenses like uniforms or lodging etc.

sublimated basketball uniforms

  • Parent Jerseys – This one is the biggest no brainer of the bunch. Nearly all parents and many grandparents would love the chance to sport their kids jersey in the stands to let their boy/girl know how proud they are of them. Allen Sportswear is one company that always offers to make parent jerseys at a discount so leagues can sell them for fundraising. You can get a mock up of the parent jersey and email it out to the parents so they can see it and get excited or your league can have one made and display it during registration so the parents can reserve one on the spot.   Either way works great and it’s an easy way for the league to earn thousands in fundraising before the season even starts.

  • Donut Deliveries – Who doesn’t like Donuts? Getting neighbors and family to buy a dozen donuts for $15 and then getting Krispy Kreme donuts in the morning is easy and a sure fire winner. Just put a post on Facebook and another app like NextDoor and post that you’re delivering Donuts for $15 a dozen and before you know it you will be up $500-$1000! It’s amazing what a few determined moms can do in one day… On a side not I’d like to thank the amazing volunteers at iprevail and foster friends of Oviedo for  stealing their idea. 

 

Not worth it:

  • Cookies – Telling a kid to go out and get cookie orders “yuck”.. Nobody is excited for that, the kids feel terrible and the parents end up having to buy all the cookies because nobody else wants them. Then the parents get bitter at your league for forcing them to buy expensive, crappy tasting cookies and start thinking about putting their kids in a different league next year. No thanks.

  • Coupon Books – Another item nobody wants to buy, $10 to save 10% at some sandwich joint nobody goes to is hardly appealing.  Every time my kids bring me a stack of those things I feel depressed knowing I’d have to pay for them all and I’d never use those stupid things once. I actually did take my kid out of a football league for making me buy 5 of them. I was so angry I signed him up for a different league the next year.  So if you’re looking to lose a bunch of players just force them to sell useless coupon cards! Yeah!

  • Sponsorship runs –  I’m gonna run 20 laps at who cares field so please give me money for every lap.  It’s takes people all of 1 second to know they are being duped and get annoyed. Then the kid pleads “please help me, I have to earn $50 by next week”. You look into those sweet eyes and vow to knock the daylights out of whatever adult has put you in this incredibly awkward situation. If it’s your kid you also vow to never sign them up for that league again for as long as you live. Great, you just lost more athletes, congratulations!

 

The need for fundraisers is prevalent and real but how you go about it can make or break your team/league. So be smart, don’t put the kids and parents in awkward situations; instead do a fundraising activity that will bring your athletes, coaches and families closer together for a stronger foundation.

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and one of the founders of iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on consistent and sustainable support for foster homes, homeless assistance and natural disaster survivors.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR (Choosing The Uniforms To Do Right By Your League)

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Cross Posted From Allen Sportswear

Everyone is looking for a competitive advantage these days. Most towns have multiple leagues so directors are competing for the best athletes against another league just a few miles down the road and the uniforms your league wears go a long way in ensuring you end up on top. However, not everyone can afford big brands like Nike for their uniforms and with the easy access to internet, there has been a lot of cheaper sources for your organization’s uniform and equipment needs, and if you’re lucky you will find one at par or even better than big brand quality. Should you rely on luck? Picking the right uniform and the right company to provide them should be a huge priority for any league.

I will start a 7 part series to go over the most common shortcuts and pitfalls of uniform buying.

PART 1: “INTEGRATED PANTS”

Obviously there are a lot of uniform questions we can go over but I’d like to focus on integrated pants today. It seems all the rage lately has been for custom integrated youth pants. Leagues want the bottoms to match the crazy tops and for good reason, it looks really cool.

Are custom Integrated pants a good idea for your league?

 

Offshore companies like Pakistan, Philippines and Mexico have recently started making cheaper sublimated integrated pants and it’s caught on like wildfire but is it a good idea?  Before you jump headfirst into integrated pants and custom top for $59.99 you have to ask yourself why it’s so ridiculously cheap.  The danger zone in all these uniforms is that the integrated pants are not equipped with approved pads so if one on your boys gets a compound fracture in a game and they open them up what they will find is a double layer of cheap foam in the sewn pocket. I made a decision a few years back not to sell anything like this but instead sew the pockets in the hip and butt so you don’t need a girdle.  What this allows the league to do is put approved padding in the thighs, knees, buttocks and hips and avoid a potential massive lawsuit.

(Extra ribbing on the thighs and very stiff for maximum protection)

(These are approved pads for youth football)

 

(vs unapproved overseas foam pads)

 

( It’s clear to see that these are just two piece of foam glued together with a little plastic to hold the shape)

 (Ridiculously bad quality and dangerous)

( These are actual pads pulled from overseas integrated pants.  They are cheap, flimsy and glued together to make them appear like the approved pads…. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen)

Is it worth it?  I guess that’s the million dollar question. Since these overseas companies have no oversight or regulations they have cut corners to a very dangerous level. Blocks of cheap foam is not an approved pad and it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens. Custom integrated pants really became popular just a few years ago so most people, leagues and officials have yet to realize how dangerous these foam pads are for the kids. So I guess the answer is if potentially ruining a kids career before it starts or even losing your home to save a few dollars on these cheap pants is worth it to you then go for it. With all the added safety rules that the football industry is coming up with to protect our kids, I would think that it should be a huge priority for leagues to ensure they are wearing the proper safety equipment.

 

If you are a parent of one of the players I would demand to have the league open up a pair of game pants and inspect the padding yourself. It’s dangerous and could potentially ruin your kid’s life.  It’s time to put a stop to this new dangerous trend and protect the kids from potentially lifelong injuries..

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a  sportswear business based in Orlando, FL that sells custom basketball uniforms, custom football uniforms, custom baseball uniforms, custom softball uniforms, and custom flag football uniforms and one of the founders of iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on consistent and sustainable support for foster homes, homeless assistance and natural disaster survivors.