Now that you’ve targeted your Spring Sports and they are underway with their season and you’ve reached out to your Fall Sports to try and line up some Sprint options for the off season, now it’s time to look at the summer. No, sorry - not plan a vacation, but rather focus on the SUMMER non-school sports groups and other summer activities.
Youth Baseball - there is a huge variety of youth baseball leagues all across the country = Cal Ripken, Little League, Dixie Youth, and the list goes on and on. Usually, these leagues include travel ball (serious players) and rec leagues that have a variety of skill levels and ages. Some teams will have a tournament trail which will require league fees, tournament entry costs, travel costs (depending on where the tournament is being hosted), and uniforms. While you are only talking about 12 to 15 players - there are quite a few expenses or financial requirements to be a part of the team - especially travel teams.
Softball is similar to baseball - travel and rec leagues including slow-pitch and fast-pitch. The swim teams are limited by facility locations with swimming pools, but they still have lots of meets, some travel expenses and other needs (uniforms). Other groups might include Church sports teams, summer camps, sports teams at the local YMCA or other non-profits that need to raise funds for summer activities - not just sports. Try to think outside the box and go after these non-traditional groups.
School libraries need funds, too! Use the National Reading Month (March) as the reason to approach the media center director, the librarian, or the PTO/PTA. Helping stock the library with new titles, reading materials, and resources will benefit ALL students in the school. This would be ideal for an elementary school wide fundraiser. Get the principal involved with prizes and incentives (i.e. pizza party for top class; top seller = Principal for a Day; 30 extra minutes at recess; eat lunch with your favorite teacher, etc.). Another non-traditional group that is an excellent target who needs money!
Closeout Forms / Email Needed Just a reminder that when you save the information entered into the closeout form, it does not automatically update the Enterprise system, nor does it alert the Group Relations team to do the same. So, when the closeout is completely updated and finished, send a quick email to grouprelations@savearound.com to let the team know it’s updated. This will alert the Group Relations Team to update Enterprise to match the closeout information, ship any needed books, and officially close out the group.
Steve Foster is an I.C. serving the Omaha market & has been in the industry for over 38 years. He did an outstanding job working with a travel team (13u Mavericks) this Spring. Hopefully this interview with Steve will reveal some great insight & spark some creative new ideas.
Q: Tell me about some of the creative ideas the players used to sell coupon books this Spring. A: They went to the actual location of the coupon merchant in the book and did a video outside the establishment. The videos were posted to their parent’s Facebook page or on YouTube. The player highlighted the coupon in the book while standing outside the restaurant or store. Lastly, the player asked potential customers, friends, and family to contact the player (or player’s parent) to place an order for the Omaha book as part of their fundraiser.
Q: Did the players have a minimum # of books to sell per player? A: No
Q: What are some of the expenses the players and their families incur by being a part of the Mavericks 13u travel baseball team? A: To participate as part of this travel ball team, the cost per player is $2000 each. This covers uniforms, tournament fees, travel expenses, meals, lodging, etc. for the season. It is also limited to 12 player spots for the
team.
Q: Any advice for other IC’s as they target travel teams or larger sports organizations? A: Travel baseball and travel softball teams are great prospects because they need money. Fundraising with the coupon is a great option because it’s a great value for the money. The customers will receive a great value in using the coupons in the book while supporting the sports team and player at the same time. A specific merchant in the Omaha book are local batting cages which is a perfect fit for this
baseball team. Definitely a win-win!
Q: What incentives were used for the coupon book fundraiser? A: The coach divided the team in half with a blind draw selecting Team A and Team B at random. Whichever team (A or B) raised the money money through the coupon book sales, earned a pizza party. The losing team had to clean out the dugout for the first month of games.
Q: Describe some of the unique commercials and videos the players used to sell books. A: A player who earned over half of his $2000 requirement through the coupon book fundraiser did a commercial for the fundraiser while featuring the participating merchant and their coupon at the same time. The Facebook post below is by the Dad of the player. Below is the link to the facebook page where the Dad is pitching the book
outside the Bruegger’s Bagels and features the coupon as well. It’s a push for final sales and it put him well over 100 books.
