WAG How to get more money for the club?

[gymisforeveryone]

Hi!

I was wondering if you have any good ideas that I might not have thought about making money for the club/team?

We are in Europe so things are slightly different here. We have non profit clubs, not private gyms. We practice in a facility that we don't own and we pay rent for the space. And the city government only assigns us X amount of hours in the gym. There are other clubs, schools etc that use the space as well. We also have some classes (mostly rec) in a school gym that is equipped for gymnastics.

So, we really NEED to make more money to cover all the raising expences. What kind of events could we run? Preferably the events would need minimal staff, require only 1-3 hours in a gym and make tons of money, LOL. They don't necessary have to happen IN the gym.

Currently we have summer camps in the summer for a few weeks (not in the gymnastics gym) and then just regular rec classes. Two competitions host in a year. One Spring Show. Nothing extra.

I was going to suggest the club board OpenGym sessions. But I'm not sure about the liability issues and if it even would be legal to have that kind of "pay as you go" type classes where the kids are not club members. But we need to figure that out. Also, we could only squeeze in 1 hour at a time OpenGym session at this time so what are your thoughts about that? Not worth a red cent? If anyone of you have any tips about organizing OpenGym session, please give your input!

What kind of other events could we run? Some kinds of rec gymnastics olympics? Other thoughts?

I was also thinking about adding a day time Mommy and me class or two for the parents who stay home. We have many coaches who are free in the daytime and would definitely coach those classes. But are they very popular?

Our location is good so it could work for stay-at-home-parents. But I don't know if we have enough of them here to make this kind of class full.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

Have you thought about raising fees?

We have a church nearby and since we are a Christian sports club (although almost nobody actually is Christian) we host events with the church, and we get paid for those. Something you can look into? Maybe also possible at an elementary school, give a gym clinic. Might also get you more members.

Your coaches have the day off, preschool classes maybe? Then parents don't have to join in.

It's hard to be in a situation like this. Good luck!

 

[bogwoppit]

I agree on the fees. That is the way clubs like that work here. The total costs are paid by the actual gymnasts.

 

[Aussie_coach]

If you have access to the gym during daytime hours (school hours) and coach availability, there are a few types of classes you can offer.
Baby gym
Mummy and me
Pre school gymnastics
Ladies fitness classes
Home school classes

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

Home school classes

Home schooling is not a thing in Europe though, that's probably out of the picture...

 

[coachmolly]

Raising fees is the most common means of getting extra income. Either raising monthly tuition or instituting a yearly facility/equipment fee for your members.
I have worked places where Mommy & Me/Preschool classes are very popular and others where they could not get enough participants to make it work, so I guess it depends on how many stay at home parents with little ones you have in your area with an interest. But it could be worth trying.
I'm not sure how popular they are where you are, but after school programs are pretty big here. A safe place for the child to go immediately after school where they are supervised and offered some type of organized recreation until their parents get off work. You could offer 45min-1 hour of gym time (either structured or open gym) and then provide a space for snack/reading/homework time until pick-up.
Could you send a survey out to current club members? Ask them what programs/activities they would like to see the gym offer and maybe a space for them to note any things they have to offer the club (a business willing to sponsor a new beam, a printer who can help with advertising, a teacher willing to plan a school age program, etc.). Parents who love the services being provided to their child are often happy to help contribute their skills to making it a success. At my old gym we had parents take initiative to set up bake sales, run open houses, teach dance classes, help coach, etc. because they wanted to see the gym be successful.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

We are already raising fees, for team and rec. We do that pretty much every year. Just trying to find some other sources.

The city already provides after school care and they are pretty cheap, and usually only 1st and 2nd graders use that kind of service, so I doubt that could work for us. Maybe an early class for older kids who could get to the gym without parents could work. We could book a class time 3.30 pm once a week. At other times the gym is full of competitive gymnasts so we don't have the space needed.

We don't have home school kids here so that is not an option.

Pre school classes could work and also the idea about gym clinics for schools. But I have no idea if the schools have money to pay for those

Thanks for all the ideas! Keep them coming!

 

[raenndrops]

What about a cartwheel-athon?
Don't know how it would work over there, but here, gymnasts ask their family and friends to pledge an amount PER CARTWHEEL (or BWO / BHS / RO) and there is a time limit of 30 minutes or 1 hour.
Somebody keeps track of the number the gymnast does (It is easiest if coaches and older gymnasts do the counting. The one I saw, the gymnasts traded off after 30 minutes... with the partner counting) and then the gymnasts collect the money and turn it in.

 

[kiwi2406]

Aside from raising fees, we do little fundraisers throughout the year, like quiz nights which bring in a lot from club members and the wider community, as well as raffles (club members donate items to place in the basket and tickets are sold), and we have sponsors who donate things like heat lotions and merchandise etc which can be either raffled off or sold in the office.

 

[Outsider]

It sounds like you are from the same flat country as I am. I truly love the fact that we manage to keep the costs low, giving all children the possibility to do sports, but there is a downside to it all, not having enough (good equipped) gyms is the biggest issue.

Parent/child classes, especially on wednesdaymornings or early weekend could work. Also during the day classes for 3-year-olds, that (it is all about advertising!) do not just teach gymnastics, but also prepare for school; following rules, working together, waiting for your turn, ect. might work pretty well.

Another thing that usually does bring in money; birthday parties. You could use the school-gyms for these. For children up to 6/7, it can be games and a bit of jumping, climbing. For older kids you could make packages, like Ninja-Warrior style or real gymnastics (girls love it!). A party could be 1,5 hours; 1 hour in the gym and half an hour to eat and drink something (have them bring their own!) and hand out presents. You could charge at least for 75-100€ for this, including 10 kids, charge 5-10€ per child that is extra. The parties will also attract children to camps and open gyms. If it comes to insurance; check what diploma is required, but I am quite sure you could work around it.

Bringing in more money without the hassle; you could try a ‘club van 100’ that includes people who donate100€. you could mention the members on a website or invite them for in-house competitions. You might have (grand-)parents and local shops that are more than willing to join.

Supermarkets do sometimes help out in a way that people could donate their ‘empty-bottle-vouchers’ to the club, these little bits are sometimes more than you expect.

Good Luck!

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Oh hello, nice to have fellow countryman here!

We are having a meeting today about all the different ideas that were brought up and then decide which ones are feasible. We are considering many of the suggestions. Time, space and coaches available are the biggest issue. We would seriously need more rec classes. The rec classes that are now available are already pretty much all full and the season hasn't even started. We are now considering adding more rec classes to the school gym at the same time with pre team classes, they would share the space. I know that the pre team coaches would not love the idea but something really needs to be done. And we are also considering adding a late night class for older kids that focuses on core strength, basic tumbling skills, agility and body control. That class could be a great class for kids who seriously train other sports like ice hockey or football. And if everything works out we will also add many classes during the daytime for under school age kids.

That bottle idea is great! I have actually heard some clubs use that. Do you know if we would have to make a contract with a supermarket for it to be legal? Is it tax free?

The birthday party idea is great but our gym facility already rents the space for that kind of use and yes THEY make a lots of money out of it. And unfortunately those hours are out of our possible training time. I don't think we would be able to use the school gym for that use because you are not allowed to eat or drink anything but water there. I hope we will one day have an own gym that we can use for that kind of activities too without asking anyone.