Pay or Fund raise ?

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Would you rather pay an extra $100 to $200 dollars up front and be Done with fund raisers, or would you still want to sell candles,pizza cards,scratch offs, hold'ems,car washes, ect. ?
I have found that about 90% of parents from teams I have coached would be more than happy to pay the extra $100-$200 to avoid the hassle. So... would you be happier paying $500 to have your DD play on a travel team with no fund raising or pay $300 and sell stuff and / or wash cars, ect. I am NOT going to bring up team names, but a few teams charge $1000 and up to play for them Plus they do fund raisers. Makes $500-$600 sound like a bargain huh ?? Any Thoughts ? I suppose this post is more for parents than anyone.

 

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I would personally rather pay up front, I'm not good at selling things so most of the time I buy all the stuff anyways, plus it can be a hassle.

 

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If your team has 5013c status the Kroger gift cards are an excellent fund raiser. IT doesn't require ANY out lay of cash, no selling or anything. All you have to do is do what you normally do....buy groceries. The team gets 4% of the reloads. They calculate it every 4 week period. If your team has reloads in the amount of $5,000 then a check is cut for the 4% amount. If you didn't make the cut off, no biggie it rolls over to the next 4 week period.

 

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CDMX, I am not understanding what Reloads is. It's early in the morning for me so please bear with me. Does the team get 4% of all groceries bought? $5000 for groceries is a lot of groceries. 4% of that is only $200 dollars. That is not much when you consider the expenses of a travel team.

 

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CDMX, I am not understanding what Reloads is. It's early in the morning for me so please bear with me. Does the team get 4% of all groceries bought? $5000 for groceries is a lot of groceries. 4% of that is only $200 dollars. That is not much when you consider the expenses of a travel team.

Our HS softball team is using this with quite a bit of success. What happens is that the organization pays $10 a card up front for a specially coded $10 gift card (we recoup that up front when the player's parents sign up for the program). The player/parent then takes the card and loads (or reloads) the $ amount to whatever balance they are comfortable with. Then this card is used to pay for groceries at Krogers (or gas at their pumps), and the 4% comes back to the organization. Good thing about it, is that once they get used to using it is a continuous cash flow. Works pretty good for the HS boosters, but you'd have to think on how to apply it to a summer team comfortably.

PS - With my son $5K in groceries doesn't go real far... ;D

 

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FPITCHDAD: Actually, $5,000 for a team of say 11 or 12 isn't too bad. I failed to mention that also with groceries, you can use it to pay for gas and pharmacy prescriptions. We are currently using this as a fund raiser for my DD's school softball booster program. Let's say for argument that each family spends $500 for groceries in a month. That in itself is more than $5,000. Add in prescriptions and gas and there is even more. A reload is the amount that you choose to put on the card to be used for the above type purchases and yes you get 4% on all groceries, prescriptions and gas. What I do is prior to the cashier scanning my groceries, I put X $$$'s on my card. This can be done by either cash, check or credit card. I then use the card to pay for my groceries or prescriptions. We have also given the card to grandparents and other family members. I like it too because I can give a card to my oldest for gas and running the ever needed errand

This can be done throughout the year. So yeah, $200 (the amount will be more if reloads are more than $5,000 too)doesn't sound like much, but on an on going basis it adds up. I would suggest telling each family that they will recieve a credit on their fees for all or a portion of the % they earn. That is where giving to other family members like aunts, uncles and grandparents can be very beneficial.

Hope I didn't confuse you further. It's early for me too and the brain isn't quite functioning

 

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One other point. You can also get $1 cards. The initial order has to be (I think) $200. That's alot of cards for a travel team, but it is an option especially if you are giong to give to people outside of the organization. We started off with a mixture of both type of cards. Our coach took a bunch to hand out to teachers too. We also have a Senior Citizen Pep Club type organization and they are using the cards. They used them quite a bit at the pharmacy.

My favorite part of this fund raiser is that you aren't asking anyone to do anything that they aren't already doing. It just takes a little discipline to remember to use the card, but once in the habit it's no biggie.

 

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Will a Kroger Manager be able to explain this to us or who do you have to talk to? Being a new organization from a small community, funds are at a minimum. We like to look at all areas of funding to see what works for us. I know that the parents would love the % back to them idea and it would give everyone an incentive.

 

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Will a Kroger Manager be able to explain this to us or who do you have to talk to? Being a new organization from a small community, funds are at a minimum. We like to look at all areas of funding to see what works for us. I know that the parents would love the % back to them idea and it would give everyone an incentive.

That's who we talked to initially. Meijer and Giant Eagle run similiar programs I believe (lower % though).

 

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Fundraising is part of the whole experience. I believe it works to further the commitment to the team and organization. I think the amount of the fees has a lot to do with whether fundraising is the right way to go.

Our fees this year are $300 and for this each girl gets: 3 complete uniforms, visor, helmet, batbag and 9 quality tournaments. Fundraising is the answer for us.

We're having two events prior to the season, a Reverse Raffle (completed) and a Texas Hold'em Festival. These two will fund our season and provide money for nationals.

Doug

 

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Bearmay: Just out of curiosity, how long has your HS been doing this? Have you been able to raise significant funds? We started in November and have been pleased with the results. I think reloads will pick up significantly once teams are "officially" formed. Do the players get an incentive for participating, ie., does a portion get credited to their $$$ owed for Spirit packs etc....

 

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Started it at the end of last season, so that the girls would have a chance to accumulate enough to pay for the trip to Florida this spring. We earmark a certain % (higher in years we take a spring trip) to go their expenses and the remaining goes to the general fund for field improvements, etc. Was able to generate enough out of this fundraiser since June to pay for the DD's trip to Florida and our booster fees... Did a few other fund raisers too, so she still has a "balance" to draw on if she wants/needs additional spirit wear.