Panhandling fundraisers....

[JAD]

Dang. Sorry I didn't catch the typo. It was $5,500 last 2 springs. The first year it was $2,300 but this last year it was $3,200. I was able to get the coolers donated so no cost made it straight profit.

Still a great ROI!

 

[canyonjoe]

There are a lot of poker players in our area and paying $50 to play in a tournament where they could win $500 is a fun evening for them...plus the $50 is considered a donation to our booster club.[/QUOT

When you live in NV there's a chance to play poker every night so it's a little tougher sell.

 

[grcsftbll]

We're doing the poker night this year. And raffling off a Yeti most likely. Our organization is doing a gun raffle. I do not like raffling guns to raise money for kids' sports. But I'm a blue person in a very red state and nobody cares what I think, so...

 

[corlay]

I will gladly pay $2 for a $.50 candy bar, a ticket to a barbecue or some other product/event along that line, but I will not just give money for the asking.

I have a different take on this:

"Hey kid, keep the (candy bar, candle, cookie dough, etc.) and here's $20."

At least that way, the club isn't losing a major % of your donation to the crappy merchandise vendor;
and 100% of your donation is helping the team.

 

[quincy]

I do not know why but I will not give anything to people on the street, knock on my door and give your speech $20.

 

[The Maj]

I do not like the "panhandling" aspect of fund raising but I do understand that there are some times when it is the only option available to some teams on a short notice type event... Those are normally relegated to the rec all-star team that won the State tournament and are headed to the world series - basically two weeks later... I can understand resorting to panhandling for those type of events for two reasons: Not really a big enough window to put together enough of a fund raiser AND most of the rec kids/parents are not used to the expenses of traveling (at least that is the case in my area)...

That said, if the kid is out there standing in front of Wal-Mart or on the street corner in their uniform trying to raise money, I rarely pass them by without donating... The way I see it, I am blessed and I can write that check but through my years of coaching I have seen plenty of kids with plenty of talent that belonged to families that could not afford to write the check and I always hated to see that kid get left out because of finances...

However, if it is a travel team, I do think there are other avenues, like what have been mentioned that should be utilized to raise money... Raffles, sponsorship signs/banners, bake sales / BBQ, car washes, etc, etc always work...

 

[CoachChristine]

I do not like the "panhandling" aspect of fund raising but I do understand that there are some times when it is the only option available to some teams on a short notice type event... Those are normally relegated to the rec all-star team that won the State tournament and are headed to the world series - basically two weeks later... I can understand resorting to panhandling for those type of events for two reasons: Not really a big enough window to put together enough of a fund raiser AND most of the rec kids/parents are not used to the expenses of traveling (at least that is the case in my area)...

That said, if the kid is out there standing in front of Wal-Mart or on the street corner in their uniform trying to raise money, I rarely pass them by without donating... The way I see it, I am blessed and I can write that check but through my years of coaching I have seen plenty of kids with plenty of talent that belonged to families that could not afford to write the check and I always hated to see that kid get left out because of finances...

However, if it is a travel team, I do think there are other avenues, like what have been mentioned that should be utilized to raise money... Raffles, sponsorship signs/banners, bake sales / BBQ, car washes, etc, etc always work...

That's what happened to dd's 10u LL All Star team this summer. We won sectionals on a Saturday. We had to be at the state tournament on Friday, so we had to have $$ raised by Thursday. We had a hit-a-thon and stood on the corner for two evenings. The girls raised over $4k with those two fundraisers. Our small Little League sent three softball and three baseball teams to state at the same time. You couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone fundraising that week. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And even though I am fortunate to be able to pay our way wherever we need to go for sports, I was still out shaking the can for those families who couldn't.

 

[Sweet Lou]

I know teams have to fundraise, but not a big fan of panhandling...run a carwash or something that take a little effort. If you want to just solicit donations do a raffle.
View attachment 10881

Gotta disagree. We did a "Pan Handling" fundraiser for the "Brain Bowl Team" back in High School. Most awesome fund raising experience ever for me. Of course the school administration unfortunately put the kibash on it pretty quick.

And yeah, we looks quite a bit like that dude in the picture, minus the blacked out face.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I'm NOT AT ALL a fan of panhandling, but my values are not your values. (I also do not like watching coaches/parents doing all the basic field maintenance either.)

In some of the poorer sections on Chicago's south side, one will occasionally encounter street performers at intersections who will dance for tips during red lights. But while traveling through one such neighborhood a few years back, we came upon a group of folks who were fundraising for a local LL baseball team. The boys were all clean-cut and in uniform. No, they were not dancers, but instead were selling washcloths. Now, these things were about as thin as paper, but at $3/bundle, I figured why not take a few off their hands. I know how lucky I am, so I felt good about the purchase and being able to leave them a little extra. When you're IN the neighborhood and can see firsthand the general conditions in such a place, man, it really hits home just how important a silly little game can be for some people. And you're also smacked in the face with just how blessed you are, because you happened to be born somewhere else and into a completely different situation.

Would I have felt differently about making a donation if they'd only been panhandling? Most definitely. But after seeing what I did, would I have given anyway, hoping that a small contribution could do some good? I will confess that it's possible.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

We have been doing a drawing for a soft Yeti cooler for the past 2 years. Tickets sell very well and the parents of the kids on the team usually buy several as well because it is really nice to use yourself on tournament days. That's pretty much all the fund raising we have had to do and total cost by the parents was reasonable. Made around $5,500 last spring. My wife actually won the last one! She was very excited. And no I'm not a coach nor did we have any part of the draw down. Ha


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Great Idea for sure.........