Sports Fundraising Sports and Fundraising

Sports Fundraising

Sports and fundraising are no longer separate endeavors. Today, the modern trend is for amateur sports programs at every level to be self-supportive. Scholastic, community, and recreational sports programs must be able to generate funding to support their needs apart from any funds available from organizational budgets. Successful fundraising is a means to an end that resembles an art in some respects and a science in other respects. Some of the fundamental defining elements of sports fundraising events include different types of sponsorships, profit centers, promotional avenues, applicable time frames, permissions, compliance issues, matching of themes and prospective sponsors, and the talents and capabilities of the available staff responsible for organization and implementation.

The Article

The reviewed article, "Fundraising: an essential competency for the sports manager in the 21st century" by William F. Stier and published in the Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business on June 1, 1999.

Article Summary

The author explains the three reasons for the modern shift from sports programs funded by organizational budgets to self-supportive sports programs: inflation, the increasing popularity of sports, and the large numbers of people interested in sports. According to Stier, the contemporary sports manager must therefore be adept at conceiving, planning, and implementing fundraising activities in addition to their skills that are directly related to sports management.

The author suggests that the most effective approach to sports fundraising is to conceive of it as an opportunity rather than an obligation and also to maintain the perspective that fundraising is always a means to a worthwhile end rather than an end in and of itself. The article details the four types of fundraising sources, consisting of individual solicitation, corporate sponsorships, profit centers, and special projects, in conjunction with which it also describes the three types of sponsorship agreements, consisting of non-exclusive, semi-exclusive, and exclusive agreements.

That analysis further details the manner in which successful fundraising depends on advertising, promotion, and cooperation with other organizations and entities. Further, the article outlines the differences between various time frames associated with fundraising activities such as one-time events, periodic events, and repeated events. The author also provides an explanation of the importance of securing necessary permissions, ensuring compliance with formal legal and regulatory requirements, and for assessing the capabilities of available staff. The article concludes with examples of both good and bad choices of matches between sports programs and sponsors, an approach to understanding the psychology of sponsorship, and an outline of a 12-step plan for effective sports program fundraising and sponsorships.