Committees Can be a Good Thing
Getting and Keeping Sponsors and Donors
I
would suggest keeping a separate file with all sponsors, their phone numbers
and addresses, and anything they’ve given you, such as menus or business
cards. This will come in handy at the
end of the year when you write a thank-you letter to the editor of the papers,
and/or put them in as sponsors on the web site.
Keep
track of each response you receive to requests so you can have a better idea of
who to approach the next year, and what to approach them for.
For
example, the restaurants this year were more than happy to buy a $15 ad for the
programs, but they said they are approached constantly for $50, $100 donations,
and they can’t do that. If you get
enough donated ads for 3 per program, 10 programs per season, that is $450.,
and if they are sold at .25 or .50, that is more profit, plus if a business
would donate printing costs…. Anyway,
you are looking at a constant source of roughly $500. each season.
For
t-shirt ads I would approach the larger businesses and physicians’
offices. Be careful, however. For example, Plaza Drug has been a terrific
supporter, so I would consult them before approaching another pharmacy. We need to be aware of our sponsors and
support them as well.
It
may be a good idea to have a set date for every year, such as the 2nd
Friday following state finals.
NEEDS: the coach needs to have
players vote on trophies before that.
There is a list of trophies bought for this season in the folder, and as
long as the trophies being purchased matches the ones being voted on, there’s
no problem. (players names are not put
on trophies, except for senior trophies.)
There
are few restaurants that seat 100. (100
chosen because 25 players bringing one sibling and two parents.)
Golden
Corral doesn’t. Charcoal House, Azul
Grande does. Also need to decide
whether to cater or dine in. Sonny’s
and Shiloh’s caters, as do others, but it adds the necessity of clean-up
volunteers.
Come
to a meeting with perhaps two catered possibilities and three dine in
possibilities for voting. Give everyone
three weeks notice for time of banquet, or have it set in stone for each
year: 7pm, 2nd Friday
following state finals.
Beginning the Season on the Right Foot
We
need a team atmosphere not only for the team, but the parents as well. Some kind of welcoming for new players would
be helpful. Maybe a tailgate session
for the first pre-season booster meeting?
Every parent should sign up to volunteer on at least one aspect of the
season. All players benefit, all
parents should contribute. A sign up
sheet on the first day would be needed.
Call out committees and have people raise their hands, so if they don’t
know each other, they can get together that first day to begin planning what
needs to be done with their particular group.
Before
the end of school, and the week before first practice, put up posters at the
high school, middle school, and East Bernstadt, inviting girls to try out. Have it announced as well. Although an announcement is put in the paper,
many don’t read the paper.
Put
up a poster or announce it via Optimists?
Organize Committees First Thing
Committee
heads will be needed for the following traditional soccer activities:
Chicken
Festival, JV Invitational, Senior Night, End-of- Season Banquet, Concessions
Committee
heads ensure there are enough volunteers to successfully complete the
activities. They make sure the
fundraising requisitions are turned in to SBDM on time. They work with the Booster officers and
coaches to coordinate activities.
Chicken
Festival:
We
have two booths at the CF. Last year CocoBongo used both booths. Our girls worked at the booths in pairs, a
few hours each day of the CF. We earned $4700.
This committee needs to coordinate athlete workers with CocoBongo. They need to meet with the owner to accept
the money before and after the Festival.
They also need to discuss whether they will go solely with CocoBongo, or
try to get another booth to sell items, or if any other changes are warranted.
JV
Invitational:
This
committee is responsible for having volunteers to sell tickets at the gate,
make sure the referees are paid, ensure traditional 11 All-Tournament trophies
are on time, and coordinate any fundraising that may be done in conjunction
with the Invite. This may mean
obtaining ads for t-shirts and selling the shirts, raffles, jailing
(handcuffing a person to the gate) for $X per 5 minutes, buy a chance to score
a goal from midpoint, bingo.
Senior
Night:
This
committee oversees the decoration of the field, purchasing of traditional
gifts, music, and other activities associated with traditional Senior
nights. This may include foliage,
balloons, streamers, posters / blown-up photos of seniors, hoops for seniors to
break through, etc.
End
of Season Banquet:
This
committee arranges reservations at a suitable restaurant or catered hall. Traditional trophies must be purchased. Decorations need to be taken care of. Any special activities associated with
seniors or players who have had exceptional circumstances are coordinated. They may decide on gifts for coaches
(usually left up to seniors), team t-shirts or district / regional winner, jv
invitational winner recognitions.
Concessions:
This
is undoubtedly an on-going committee.
They must ensure the proper amount of supplies are there, decide whether
to change traditional items served, coordinate volunteer workers, account for
funds, set-up and clean-up stand, and liaison with other teams who also use the
stand.
Since
the sole purpose of the Boosters is meant to be fundraising, there is no
“Fundraising Committee,” but for each individual fundraising activity there
needs to be one person in charge of making sure everything is done in a timely
and legitimate fashion. All fundraising
must be first approved by SBDM, then the BOE, before any monies can be
solicited. This means that fundraising
requests should be turned in well before the activity itself needs to begin –
ideally eight weeks beforehand, because it has been known to happen that
requests are not even looked at until the NEXT meeting.
I
would advise anyone working on any of the committees to look at the associated
information in the binder, to get an idea of what has worked in the past and
what has failed.