Bitten off more than I can chew? LOL

[Deanna]

Well, this will be Kadee's second season on team. So, only having one year under my belt as a "team mom" Im still new to things.
We had our first parents meeting of the year, and they were looking for people to head the fund raising committee. They already had 3 people, but said they needed 4. (something about needing so many votes ect to do things..dunno..probably should have been listening closer..lol). They kept looking at me...:whistling:. "We need a 4th person..anyone else want to volunteer?" :reading: "DeeDee, your great at fundraising...you would be perfect for our 4th person." :wide-eyed:
So that being said..I am now on the fund raising commettee. Yay for me .
We are trying to come up with some ideas and are going to present them to the parents club on the 12th.
Somethings we did that really worked well, were a scratch off ticket. Each kiddo was given a ticket (or how ever many they wanted). Each ticket had a value of $100. On each ticket was a bunch of places to scratch off. Under each scratch off area was a money amount, ranging anywhere from .25 to 2.00. People could scratch off as many as they wanted and then would donate the amount that they scratched off. It worked really well. And Kadee cleared 2 whole cards.
We also did a stand in at a local store. Just standing with cans and signs ect. saying who they were and that they were raising money for comps. Actually did much better than I expected. They girls would do round offs, cartwheels, ect. (things they could do saftley on concrete), to draw in "attention".
They also did a t-shirt sale. They were exact duplicates of the "team shirts" worn by the girls, and parents to the meets. People could "donate" money to the parents club. For donating money their name/bussiness was advertised on the back of the shirts. The donator also got a t-shirt.
They also handed out "coupons" in front of a restaurant, and they would donate a dollar to the parents club for every "coupon" that was brought in.
Between these 4 raisers Kadee had enough money in her "kitty" to pay for all her meet fees last season..with 40 bucks left over.
Before anyone says anything. They club manages all the fund raising money in the proper way. The money sits in the parents club account, but the president, treasurer keeps a running tab of how much of that money belongs in so and sos personal kitty persay. 90% will go to the gymnast, 5% goes to funding other fund raisers, and the other 5% goes to getting things/repairing things for the gym. (then "donate" the repairs/equipment).
My thing now is..they are wanting new ideas.
I went back through old posts (i searched..yay me..lol) and saw some good ideas. I will list them below. But just wondering if anyone else has tried something new lately that worked well.
*A 5K
*A golf tourney (one of the other ladies on the FRC sister owns the local golf course/country club). Besides the golf tourney it self..maybe have a cartwash..ball cleaning station (im such a dork..i cant even type that without giggling..lol)..bakesale..ect.
*50/50
*Movie and Dinner (sell tickets for yadda yadda) and then draw like 5 or so tickets to win this. (say a 25.00 card to restaurant, and 10.00 for movie house?)
*Bingo night..again can do consession?
*Pancake breakfast/skettie dinner

Any other ideas?

Im really not complaining and I dont mind doing this. I just want to make sure I do contribute too, you know?

 

[gymgurl]

Tombola Lots of fun, every gymnast brings in two jars, a "good" jar and a "bad" Jar, The good jar may contain lollies or chocolate or scrunchies or scratchies or something like that and the bad jar might be rice or cotton or buttons or something of the sort. each ticket is assigned a jar and you buy a raffle ticket which you draw like a lucky dip and you must take the jar that matches your ticket.

Lucky Dip: this could be done along with something else

Sell your old leotards: get everyone to bring in old leotards that are too small/never wear and sell them with all profits going to the gym

Disco: Use the gym or an old hall and each gymnast pays for a ticket which will pay for entry and party food and then have one of your coaches DJ to save money

Clothing sale: Like leotard sale

Entertainment Books: Not sure if you call them the same thing in america but you pay $x and get a variety of discount coupons for local stores and restaurants

Second hand book sale:

Competition: Something like a colouring competition for the gymnasts to enter with a small entry fee

hope i helped!

 

[Gymdad2]

Deanna,

I am not sure what you mean by 'personal kitty', but if your club is registered witht he IRS as a non-profit 501(3)(C) organization, then the club is required by law to share all funds raised at a club function such as the ones you have described, to be shared equally among all members of the club. It is not legal to allocate funds based on the amounts raised by indivual members. Please be sure to check with your club's lawyer or tax account to make sure that you are not in violation.

 

[sogamom]

our gym did a softball tournament charging 100 a team get 10 teams and your at 1000.00...only cost was 60.00 for tshirts that was the prize.....concessions made about 100.00 and it was a fun day!!

 

[Deanna]

Thank you everyone. They do split it equally..amoung the ones that participated in the fund raiser. If they didnt participate in the fund raiser they dont get money towards their "personal kitty". This is how it is in the bylaws they have. One of the ladies on the boards husband a lawyer and has guided them through this. This is why I said "Before anyone says anything. They club manages all the fund raising money in the proper way. The money sits in the parents club account, but the president, treasurer keeps a running tab of how much of that money belongs in so and sos personal kitty persay. 90% will go to the gymnast, 5% goes to funding other fund raisers, and the other 5% goes to getting things/repairing things for the gym. (then "donate" the repairs/equipment)." Everything is on the up and up...everything is legal. This is how they are able to split the money amoung the children who participate ONLY. Im sorry but, if it wasnt done this way, I wouldnt waste my time or energy raising money...just so kids that never even go to these fund raisers get as much in their kitty as Kadee. The way they do it is perfectly legal. The money NEVER is in Kadees name, its always in the clubs name..they just keep track of how much money they child raised by themselves (the shirts sponsers...ect.) and their portion of what was raised as a group. (devided equal amoung those who worked fund raiser..but not the ones who didnt).
It was also to my understanding that the money could never be in the childs name..because it can mess them up later..as havnig been a "paid gymnast".
I dont know personaly the law. But they have the advice of one of the gym dads who is a lawyer. He has guided them through this and this is the "loop hole" persay they have founed. No money is ever in a childs name. The money is split equally amoung the team girls (any raised as a group) that took an active part in the fund raising. If they didnt...they dont profit from the fund raising event. Any money they raise on their own (the t-shirt sponsors..ect) the full 90% of that is theirs alone. The money sits in the parents club account. And there is a note on the announcement board that says X amount is for so and so..and so forth. When it comes time for a meet fee to be due..you tell the parent club you need so and sos meet fee paid and they pay the meet fee out of the kids "personal kitty". Maybe Im explaining it wrong..to where its not understood right. But they have the laws..which they had us all read and then vote to put it into action again this year the way it was handled last year.

 

[gym law mom]

Were you given a budget for the next meet season as a guide on how much you would like to raise? Thats always helpful when planning for the next year. Lousy economy and with gas prices going through the roof, its just not a great time to be overly successful asking for money.
On anything like bingo, you need to check the state's gambling laws to make sure you're in compliance. That could end up costing more than its worth if you only plan to do it a few times.
Golf tourney can be very lucrative. You probably don't have time to get one set up for the summer---might try early fall, but need to get a committee working on it NOW.
Used leo sale is easy to do and should make some easy money. Could try a large garage sale--get all the team families to bring stuff, have a bake sale and carwash on the side. Not alot of overhead---mostly profit.
Personally I would go for a few quality type events rather than the monthly sell something.
Good luck!

 

[Deanna]

No, we dont have a budget yet. Weve only had one parents club meeting so far. Thats where I got wrangled into being on the fund raising commettee. The 4 of us on the FRC are supposed to come back to the next meeting (May 12) with "ideas". Thats when we are supposed to get the proposed budget..and decide if our ideas can or will be used.
The golf tourney sounds wonderful..and something that could bring in alot of money. But I do worry about the timing of it all. Plus they just bought the golf course/country club..so are they themselves really going to be ready for something like that to go on so soon after taking over? It maybe something we need to take a full year planning and organizing..then hit the road with it next year. If it works well..it could be something that is done yearly.
Im guessing all the ins and outs of things will be discused at the next meeting.

 

[maddiemei]

There are some restaurants that do fundraisers. Panda Express is one. You get 20% of the sales of whomever brings in a flier for that particular night. Also maybe have a raffle for gas cards. I know that sounds silly, but with the way gas prices are I would donate a $1 or 2 for a chance to get a $50 gift card . You could also get each level to donate a themed basket and have it sitting in your lobby for a chance to win.

 

[Mariainlv]

Deanna,

This is not what you want to hear but I feel it should be said. Your booster club is NOT on the up and up per the IRS. They are very clear on this point. If you share profits, it CANNOT be based on parent participation. That much is clearly spelled out. It is supposed to be a charity and the IRS says that if you base it on participation, its not charity. It doesnt matter thats its not in her "name", only that a specific gymnast benefits based on participation rather than dividing the profits with all the members.

 

[Deanna]

As I said before. I personaly dont know laws. I know that they were advised by their lawyer (whos a gym dad) that as long as it is not given (physicaly handed) to the gymnasts..that the booster club can choose how the money is spent (persay). Just like they cant hand the money to the gym..but can "donate" a new beam ect. They can "donate" a childs meet fee. (this is where the personal kitty business comes in).
This is my understanding on how they are doing it. I will ask and see at the next meeting and see what details i can get as for the inner workings of it.
Im def. interested in finding out how it is they are "loop holing" this. I truely believe they are doing it legaly..but not sure how. I will do my best to find out and get back to you guys on it.

 

[Gymdad2]

I suggest you consult a non-involved tax lawyer - not a gymdad who is also a lawyer. That is getting into the area of a conflict of interest. If your booster club is registered with the IRS as a 501-3C organization and it files its tax returns under the auspices of a 501-3C then it is bound by the tax laws as they apply to such an organization and the officer(s) whose signatures appear on that tax return are liable. Marianlv's advice is right on. I was booster president for several years and we were informed by our tax accountant about the IRS rules and we did obey them. I also understand that it frustrating to the members of the club who do the fund-raising when there are members who do nothing but still receive equal benefit. However, if your club is ever audited by IRS you may find yourselves in a bind. Check with an outside source before you take any formal action on this. It is the IRS after all and they don't play around.

 

[coachmolly]

It sounds like you've had some pretty successful ideas in the past and the other posters have made some great suggestions. I really have no idea about tax laws and the like, but I feel like in my gyms growing up we had a system very similar to the one Deanna mentioned where funds were disbursed based on participation. This was many years ago though, not sure if changes have been made.
As for ideas, a few that come to mind:
Community yardsale/Family day- If your gym has a big enough parking lot section out "booths" and sell each one for $25-$50, whatever would work in your area. In their space families could set up yard sale items, homemade crafty items, their Mary Kay/Avon/etc. products, you get the idea. At the same time you could offer a bake sale, drawings for a free month of classes or open gym time for a small fee, other raffles for items local businesses or gym families donated, have team members set up games for kids for a small fee (or buy tickets to be used on the games) and offer inexpensive prizes, gymnastics demonstrations, face painting, cake walk, and utilize any other talents gymnasts and parents have to offer. If the gym parking lot is large enough, the only cost would be the donation of a free class or similar to raffle, supplies for games, and prizes. But if each level is assigned to come up with a game and prize, it could help break up the costs. I feel like lots of families have stuff lying around that can be turned into makeshift games in a pinch. And of course time, but with lots of help and if your gym is in a good location, it could bring in enough money to be worthwhile.
Do you have a local minor league sports team? I know of some clubs that have sold concessions at local minor league baseball games and earned money for their effort. I don't know the specifics though.
Our gym (super small team) had a cute idea a few years ago. They designated a Saturday afternoon for an open gym time and each team gymnast was given coupons with their name to pass out to friends. If the friend presented the coupon, they got a discount on the open gym time and the money went directly to the team members account. It worked largely because the coaches were willing to volunteer their time, but you could also do something where the gym gets 50% to go towards paying coaches and the gymnast who passed out the card gets the other 50%. I'm not sure I'm explaining that clearly, though.
See if any local restaurants offer team nights as a fundraiser where they hand out flyers and get a % of the final bill for each person who brought in an order. I know a few of the major chain restaurants do this (Applebee's, Chili's) and I think some fast food places.
I've seen a lot of places sell gift cards as fundraisers, so I assume they must be decently profitable. I know someone else on here has mentioned it and can probably give details. They are more flexible than selling a specific product and can be bought for places the buyer goes frequently. Better than selling something silly.
Good luck!

 

[kflipz]

well, every year in my old gym we would put off a dinner and show in our local hockey arena. the show would be about 2 hours, consisting of a dinner, with all choreographed routines to music sometimes telling a story. We would charge $25 a ticket, and advertise on the radio and with flyers etc. It was a GREAT turnout and we managed to get enough for some new equipment! Also, we have hot dog stands at local stores on sunny saturday afternoons, where we set up at the exit of a store such as kent, and would charge a dollar for hot dog and 50 cents for a drink. Also, we have parents who would do up some baskets such as easter baskets with assortments of chocolates, and easter eggs, and candy, and even gym stuff we got on ebay for cheap! sell tickets on it $2 each or 3 for $5. just some ideas, hope this helps!

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

Best fundraiser our club ever did was a silent auction. Parents went around asking for donations from stores, and the owner of every store that provided something as a donation got 2 free tickets. We sold tickets at $10. If was an adults only thing as it was at a local pub. It got announced on the radio and everyone sold tickets.
It brought in $13,000 for our club.
We also had a 3 day garage sale at our gym that brought in about $600.