YouTube makes sharing video easy. Creating a YouTube account for your club, you can help showcase the work of participants, benefactors, and volunteers. Filming, editing, and posting videos takes time and energy but there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit -- simple videos that booster clubs can make. What’s great about YouTube is what’s great about online video in general. Ditto for what’s not so great. PROs Easy to digest. Videos grab attention in a way that an 800 word blog post with … [Read more...]
posted on March 3, 2014 by
Sunscreen for Supporters: Encouraging generosity with voluntary donations
When it comes to fresh fundraisers, pay-what-you-will donation drives can be an exciting twist on classic events. Voluntary donation fundraising can be a great way to update old and tired fundraisers, or utilize new opportunities. We’ve discussed the science behind the model’s success — donors feel proud to choose donating of their own accord, as opposed to purchasing goods in exchange for their support, and tend to be more generous in their giving. Booster clubs have applied this thinking to … [Read more...]
posted on February 20, 2014 by
Facebook for Booster Clubs
In many ways, Facebook is a lot like Google: an agglomeration of distinct social media services offered under the same big name. Facebook rebranded tools like websites, forums, blogs, and Twitter, incorporating them into one massive site. The end result is some slightly confusing vocabulary. The Internet, With a Different Name Both Pages and Groups can be used as a platform to share basic information, documents, and photos. They also act as web forums; a place for supporters to … [Read more...]
posted on February 18, 2014 by
5 Things You Should Know About Mobile Concession Stands
These days, a snack at the ballgame is a whole lot more than peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Concession stands are stepping up their game, serving fresh, hot meals, and making a bundle in doing so. In Ohio, the Lowellville Rockets Booster Club relies on the money they make from serving up wedding soup and stuffed pepper sandwiches to buy uniforms for all of the school’s athletic teams — their concession stand is so profitable it’s “really the only fundraiser [they] do,” according to club volunteers. … [Read more...]
posted on February 14, 2014 by
30 Things to Tweet your Booster Club
You understand Twitter, you want to make it a part of your booster club's social media strategy, but you're hitting some writers block? Don't dismay, we've got a huge list of things to post. Photos of your participants doing things Rainouts Photos of sponsors and/or their business Playoff schedule Arch rival updates Articles about your club in the local paper or segments on local television Photos of volunteers doing things Updates on alumni (Did they get a music scholarship? … [Read more...]
posted on February 12, 2014 by
Twitter for Booster Clubs
You probably know that Twitter is a public texting service that distributes 140-character posts to subscribers*. Twitter has facilitated national protests and broken the 4th wall for Justin Bieber's fans (see the hilarious video at the end of this post). But you don’t have to be a revolutionary or a belieber to benefit from Twitter's speed and openness. Booster clubs whose members own smartphones can take advantage of Twitter’s lightning updates. Booster clubs might gravitate to Twitter for the … [Read more...]
posted on February 2, 2014 by
Valentines Day Fundraisers for Booster Clubs
Be Mine? Before you get all excited about how to entice donors with a Valentine’s-Day-themed fundraiser, here’s a piece of advice: make your donors your Valentine. Send them love letters, chocolate, and flowers (okay, maybe just e-cards with flowers and chocolate on them.) Seriously, show them some love and shoot arrows through their hearts. Be playful. How can you do that? Here’s an example of a Valentine’s day thank you email from UNICEF Australia, which we found in a blog post by Mary Lynn … [Read more...]
posted on January 28, 2014 by
Fundraising Spotlight: #GotTurf?
In Southern California, one high school booster club has taken on an ambitious task. The Scorpion Athletic Booster Club (SABC) in Camarillo began fundraising this fall for their Turf Field Project, a $1.7 million plan to install artificial turf on the Camarillo High School athletic field and resurface the track. While not alone in the scope of their donation, the SABC is one of a small number of booster clubs that have taken on projects of such size. In December, we discussed the club’s first … [Read more...]
posted on January 23, 2014 by
Donor Retention: How active commitment leads to long-term loyalty
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to work to inspire active commitment in your supporters. Donors who are actively committed care beyond just a sense of obligation — these are not the people who give once a year to out of a sense of guilt. Actively committed supporters care about the club’s future, and very clearly see their own part in it. Fundraising expert Adrian Sargeant breaks the drivers of active commitment down into three parts: trust, concept of risk, and … [Read more...]
posted on January 21, 2014 by
Donor Retention: Identification as a driver of loyalty
Booster clubs often focus on the basic ties between their supporters and the club — having a child at the school, being a former member of a team or club. Studies continually show a strong connection between donor loyalty and identification with an organization. However, some studies have found that a basic connection — being a parent of a student, for example — isn’t enough to inspire loyalty (or donations). Rather, communities of participation, based on a supporters’ active participation, … [Read more...]
