A Guide to Fundraising: 3 Tips to Reach the Next Level at Your School
Whether you are a small college or a high school program, sponsorship in sports is becoming increasingly more competitive. Schools only dedicate a small portion of their budget to athletics and activities. So how do teams generate enough revenue to support their program needs? There are many options when raising funds to support your school, and schools have to provide a benefit to find sponsors. In an article written by Ohio University they reported the most common incentive is an advertisement on stadium signage, as done by nearly 89% of schools. With the NCAA leading how financial compensation may be awarded to athletes from athletic programs ( ‘Alston 5980’ ruling ), it should be no surprise that we might see a trickle-down effect on all levels of athletics. After all, the pool of money is only so big. So how do we increase our sponsorships in our athletic programs to help our teams stay competitive? Here are a few suggestions on how to increase sponsorships:
- Start in-house first. We often overlook what is right under our noses. Local business owners may already have a connection to your school and the athletic department. Contact your alumni and reach out to the parents of your players. Ask if they would be interested in supporting your athletic program. ScoreVision offers various ways to advertise your sponsors, including an in-venue experience with different ad variations displayed on the scoreboards. We provide a packet with sponsorship information to support schools’ efforts, including the number of impressions expected and potential revenue when advertising using ScoreVision tools. Schools can use the packet to share information to gain interest from sponsors for their programs. Our fan app also allows sponsors to advertise out-of-venue as fans hop into the app to check score updates and watch live streams. You can reach fans both near and far and increase your sponsor’s impressions.
- Creativity is key. Advertising goes beyond the scoreboard and extends past the game time. Be creative with how your sponsors can contribute to your program; it boosts their exposure and may also increase your school’s spirit and excitement around game day and school pride. ScoreVison provides a standardized advertising packet for teams, but creating a personalized package can add a special touch to ensure your sponsors stay engaged. We have seen a few ideas from various schools: theme nights, tailgate arrangements, promotional item toss-outs to fans, and sponsored movie nights. Your school and your sponsors are one community, and building opportunities for connection will benefit each party involved.
- Unlock potential with social media. If you’re not using social media to increase your sponsors' impressions, you should be. Social media is a powerful tool, and your school has the opportunity to come up with creative ways to increase sponsor appearance and show how much you care about their performance. Be creative when coming up with ways to promote on social media. You could provide a backdrop with sponsorship logos in the background for players to take photos with fans after a game. Ask them to post pictures using hashtags and tag your sponsors. You can also use our SV Announcements feature to automatically post score updates directly to the Fan App and Twitter with an image containing the sponsorship logo. Sponsors can then reap the reward in social media impressions while your fans stay informed.
We want your school to succeed, and having a healthy budget is a significant contributor when advancing your program. ScoreVision is here to help you unlock your potential. Grace Preparatory in Arlington, Texas, is one school that has been able to generate revenue using ScoreVision’s advertising features:
Fundraising for your school or district is a daunting task with the responsibility on the shoulders of key players who are usually already stretched when it comes to availability. It’s important to remember every program may vary. Grace Preparatory uses the software to generate revenue for their school. At the same time, small communities like Poudre Independent School District in Colorado and Moore Public Schools in Oklahoma have launched district-wide fundraising efforts using only one facility with numerous schools. Regardless of the scale, ScoreVision’s dynamic software is here to help you with your fundraising initiatives by supplying you with the tools necessary to create advertising opportunities beneficial to your sponsors and your community.
Resources
Tips for Getting Coporate Sponsorships for Your High School Sports Program - Ohio University
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