Hockey Team Fundraisers

Hockey and skating season is now upon us, and that means that busy hockey moms and hockey dads will be waking up at the crack of dawn, on Saturday, to cart junior and all of his or her gear to the game. But not only that, hockey team fundraising will be a large part of your responsibility for this year’s skating season. It will help cover the costs of travel to away games, uniforms, hockey jerseys and old equipment. And we know that all you need is a strong plan and a little organization to score big fundraising success for your son or daughter’s team.

So to help you out, we’ve put together our six “most valuable parent” (get it MVP) tips for this year’s season of hockey team fundraising:

1. Always Plan Ahead

This is great advice when it comes to hockey fundraising, and well, fundraising in general. As a parent or coach, you should be approaching potential business sponsors up to a year in advance to ask if they would help support your hockey team fundraising efforts. Why? Because large companies strategically outline their budgets as far as one year in advance. They are always looking at next year’s budget and businesses will already have specific events planned for in their budgets—like other teams that they always sponsor. So when it comes to sponsorships, plan in advance because we’re saying: the early bird gets the worm!

2. Always Call Ahead

You would never dream of showing up to a job interview before you made an appointment with the employer, would you? No that’s just bad manners. Well the same goes for making an appointment to arrange donations for your hockey team. Most large corporations have a person who’s been put in charge of making donations. So rather than showing up unannounced to talk to the wrong person, call and request 5 minutes with the person who can actually write and sign a sponsorship check.

3. Educate Your Volunteers

Be they players, other parents or hockey fans from the community, before sending out teams of volunteers to knock on doors, make sure that everyone is clear on what the requirements are, for example:

• Are they looking for fundraising auction items or cash donations
• What exactly is their donation going towards? New uniforms, new nets, jerseys, etc.
• What is the significant value to the business for giving? Free publicity, sponsorship credit, tax deductions, etc.

4. Always Keep Your Promises

If your volunteers claim that the business or individual will receive sponsorship name recognition for their donation, than be certain to deliver on that promise.

5. Look To Your Community For Support

Business owners in your community understand fundraising. They’ve all done it in the past and they all know that it takes community support to succeed. When you fundraiser for hockey, you are essentially asking local businesses and individuals to support local children's recreation and health! With this community focus in mind, your fundraising suddenly has a cause that is close to home for everyone.

6. Partner With An Expert

This could be veteran volunteers or a professional charity such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, your local Children's Hospital, the Diabetes Association, etc. Many of these worthy causes have one thing in common that you don’t—many years of experience in the fundraising trenches. And they can provide a reliable name and resources in exchange for a small donation (minimum of 10%) of all funds raised while the rest goes to your hockey team. This fundraising strategy not only helps teach your kids how to contribute to a bigger cause; it will also help you raise more money by tying your hockey team needs to a larger charitable organization.

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