Have you considered appointing a person dedicated to fund-raising on behalf of your club? Some clubs have a "social committee" that have responsibility for fund-raising.  Your club may wish to ask a group of parents to take on this role.  Whoever takes on the role, it is important that they know:

1. What makes your club worthy of support
2. How to tell people about the value of your club
3. How to identify various people and organisations that might donate to them
4. How to reach potential supporters
5. How to get an immediate and helpful response

Hold a Fund Raising Event (including a sponsored event)

A good way to raise money is to organise something that people will enjoy doing, popular suggestions include:

1. Gymnastics: sponsored marathon/competition
2. A "favours" auction - parents donation a "favour" and people bid for that particular item. Things that can be donated could include: use of a holiday apartment/caravan; a meal for 4; housekeeper for a day; garage organiser for a day; handyperson to do odd jobs; the list is endless and only limited by the skills of your group!
3. Barn dance with raffles and dance competitions
4. Car boot sale
5. Disco
6. Dry Cornflakes/Cream Cracker-eating contest
7. Fairs, fetes, bazaars, etc
8. Themed parties - consider celebrating a different religious holiday instead of an Easter/Christmas.
9. The 100 club - 100 people pay £1 per month into a club account. Each participant is given a number and a draw is held each month for cash prizes of £10 or £20 with larger prizes offered every quarter. If you don't have 100 members, have a 50 club!
10. Football cards - available through sports shops/stationery shops; there are usually 80 squares per card with a winning team hidden behind a foil covered panel. Participants purchase a square for anything from 25p to £1 and when the card is full the name of winning team is revealed. The winner receives half of the takings with the remainder going to the club.

Increasing Income from Membership

Raising money from individuals is worth thinking about as part of your fundraising plans as this can be a very flexible source of income. Individuals can respond quickly to emergency appeals or can commit to giving regularly over a longer timescale. To attract individual donors, you need to develop a campaign.

You need to think through your approach to potential supporters:

1. State your case clearly and how much money you need.
2. Target your appeal carefully to those individuals you feel are most likely to support you.
3. Set up a file or a database to help you to manage your appeal and keep records.
4. Develop a relationship with your individual donors. Say thank you, invite them to events or send them newsletters. This will encourage people to support your group in the future.

The Institute of Fundraising publishes ‘Codes of Fundraising Practice' which are standards set for fundraisers in the UK. There are separate codes for each fundraising technique. They give guidance on best practice, areas of the law and on the techniques themselves. The codes are available from the Institute's website www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk or telephone 020 7627 3436.

Donations

Donations can come in all shapes and sizes, and don't have to be limited to cash!

If you are running an event, you may want to ask area businesses to donate items or gift certificates, or ask restaurants, bakeries or caterers to donate food and/or drinks for your event. You may need equipment - from tables and chairs to sound and lighting - which could be donated by an equipment rental or event supply company. Likewise, you will need help promoting your event and sponsorship from a newspaper, TV or radio station is priceless! They can help you get the word out through public service announcements and popular personalities can act as honorary Event Chairs.

Selling Merchandise

From aprons to Yo-Yos, you can have almost anything ‘branded' with your club logo and then sell it for a small profit to your club members and at your events. Here are some ideas:

1. Clothing - t'shirts, hooded tops
2. Wrist bands
3. Tea towels
4. Pens
5. Key rings
6. Water bottles

The list is endless! Just use your imagination, better still - ask your club members what they would like to buy!!

Sponsorship

Sponsorship can help your activities or events become great instead of just good! When done correctly, sponsorship can get your club:

1. More money
2. Extra equipment or clothing
3. Additional help in kind
4. Enhanced credibility/raised profile
5. More members
6. A better chance of gaining future sponsorship

What can be sponsored?

Sponsorship doesn't have to be limited to an organisation giving your club money to buy club clothing with their logo on, although it is a great starting point for many. Sponsorship can be flexible and it's up to you and your potential sponsors to be creative with the ideas. You may wish to consider:

1. Money for team kits
2. Equipment
3. Use of a venue for meetings and events
4. Competition prizes
5. Printing (flyers, tickets, posters, leaflets, banners, newsletters....)
6. Transport to and from events
7. Food and drink
8. Event goodie bags
9. Volunteers e.g. organisations providing staff to help out, for example as event stewards

When you've got your ideas and know what you'd like to get sponsored, you need to decide who you are going to approach with your winning smile and negotiating skills.

Who can be a sponsor?

Sponsors could be:

1. Organisations that are looking to promote a better image or to generate a greater awareness of themselves.
2. Organisations that are looking to raise awareness amongst a target audience so they can sell a particular product or service.

In order to decide which type of organisation you want to approach, you need to decide the following:

1. What is it you need, or what is the event/activity you are planning.
2. Which items or aspects can be sponsored (in money or in kind).
3. What can you offer to the potential sponsor and what is the deal worth to them; ie brand awareness, their logo will be on team clothing, used on flyers, a web link from your club webpage.

Remember, anyone can be a sponsor - the Yellow Pages is full of potential sponsors!

What's in it for the sponsor?

There are a number of benefits available to organisations when they sponsor clubs, it is important that you make them aware of these. Sponsorship for organisations can:

1. Help them get their message across
2. Enhance or change their image and lead to positive publicity for them
3. Enable them to target specific groups of people
4. Be a more cost effective method of advertising
5. Lead to more marketing opportunities for them.

When approaching organisations, you need a keep in mind that they might have certain standards and ethics they aim to maintain. You have to make sure these fit in with your plans.

With regards to design work, the organisation you choose to work with might have strict brand guidelines, which can affect how you can use their logo (if you have to do any artwork for you) this can be both either positive or negative factor. Might save you money, but might be longer process.

1. Their logo has to be in specific colours, will it be visible on your kit or planned artwork.
2. Their logo can't be used next to any other logos, did you plan on having more than one sponsor?
3. The logo has a minimum size, is that still too big for what you want to use it for?

Putting together a successful application

Reasons why the work you are doing/service you are aiming to provide is important and why the sponsor will want to support you. What is the organisation going to get out of sponsoring you? Who will see their support and why are these people important to the sponsor?

Use any research statistics and/or figures that help you to demonstrate the importance of your club and any event that you are planning to run. Be specific about how many opportunities there will be for your sponsor's support to be seen.

Positive statements or endorsements from other people can enhance and add value to the importance of your club, and what you are aiming to achieve. Titles like "largest" or "most active club" enhance your credibility. You should also include information on your clubs past history and successes. You could include awards you've won; events that have run flawlessly, as well as examples of other successful sponsorship partnerships (always remember to keep evidence of worthwhile sponsorship deals, photographs and testimonials).

It is important to know their previous experience in sponsorship, what the sponsor is interested in and consequently the level of support you can ask for.

Any other information attached to your application that could improve your proposal. This could be examples of high quality publicity, newspaper coverage, photographs and letters of support and thanks.

Keep a copy of your letter with you so that you can refer to any details and write a checklist of things you would like to discuss in the phone call. Remember this phone call might be the best used to check details and arrange a time to meet face to face. Your letter might have interested them, but its not going to be their priority, it is worth chasing but do not become a nuisance. Initially ask whether they have received your letter and ask what they thought of your proposal.

Handy hints for a better sponsorship application

1. Try to avoid addressing the letter "Dear Sir/Madam". Ring the company beforehand to find out the name of the relevant person you will be writing to
2. Make important aspects of the applications stand out. Use bullet points and keep it short, simple and to the point!
3. Sell yourself and your club.
4. Stress your past achievements. This is no time for modesty!
5. Do not ask for a specific amount. Even if you have the greatest idea in the world, asking for too much will put sponsors off. Good negotiation at a later stage could lead to a bigger sponsorship deal.
6. Stress the benefits for the sponsor.
7. Show off the extent of your club's work, provide information on or highlight other projects both present and future. Your potential sponsor could also be attracted to another project you have planned and a longer term agreement might seem more attractive to them.
8. Get other people who might be able to add a valuable insight to read through your application.

Once you're sponsored

1. Establish at the beginning how involved your sponsor wants to be.
2. Don't make any false promises to your sponsor; make sure you can adhere to any terms and conditions that you might have agreed.
3. Keep your sponsor up to date with any achievements.
4. Send your sponsor photographs and/or evidence of their logo visible at events. For example a sponsor's banner at a gymnastics event or their logo on your website.
5. Invite them to any key events (for free).

Putting together a contract with your sponsors

First thing to remember is that a contract is a legally binding document on both sides, if your club or your sponsor doesn't fulfil their promises, aid or money can be withdrawn, asked to be returned and legal action taken.

In order to protect any sponsorship you've been offered, get it all down in writing and signed for.

Template - Sponsorship Letter 

C lick here for an example letter you could use to gain a sponsor .