Tennis West

Fundraising Ideas

Developing successful fundraising ideas is vital for many WA tennis clubs. There are many factors, however, that are critical to your success. These include publicity, advertising, telling the story of your club and working with volunteers – the lifeblood of every tennis club.

There are endless ways to raise funds, but here are some ideas to get you started!

1 A Recipe for Success  

Cookbook Fundraising – Ask each member of your club to submit their own best loved family recipe to a central coordinator at the club. It is common to include the name of the person along with their personal story about the dish and why it is so delicious. The central coordinator is responsible for collating the recipes, and putting them together in a book-style format. The cookbook can have a theme (ie. Desserts, Christmas, healthy eating) or can include any and all types of cuisine. Once the cookbook is complete, the next step is to sell the book to club members, contributors, family, friends and local community members. The cookbook can also be sold at any tournaments or events hosted by the club.

2 Eyes Down!

Bingo Nights – Bingo is always lots of fun and very easy to organise. You can charge for the evening in various ways. One option is to charge an all-inclusive price for the evening which will include a card for every game and refreshments. Another option is to charge per game, and have drinks available for purchase on a consumption basis. It is always important to offer the option of purchasing extra cards as a way of boosting the night’s takings. It is important to make sure that usual fundraisers such as items for sale, club dinners, raffles and/or silent auctions are available on the night.

3 Building Blocks of success

Brick Fundraising: Supporters are asked to buy or sponsor a brick to be put towards a particular project. Usually some building works (a new clubhouse, change room etc). This method of fundraising is very successful as many people prefer to donate to a cause this way. It is easy to understand the cost, as the progress and the goal are all nice and clear.  Your club can also incentivise the volunteers who will be selling the bricks by having a prize for the volunteer who sells the most. 

4 Spread the Christmas Cheer

Club Christmas Cards and Carols by Candlelight – If your club has a group of crafty or IT-Savvy volunteers, why not get them to make Club Christmas Cards with a tennis theme or your club logo on the front. These cards can then be sold to club members, family, friends and the local community. In keeping with the Christmas theme, hosting a Carols by Candlelight event at your club is also a great fundraising i  dea. Funds can be generated through selling candles and song books, as well as refreshments and a sausage sizzle.

5 An Oldie but a Goodie

Quiz Nights – Quiz nights are a simple, popular and profitable way for your club to raise funds. The best part is, they are easy to organise, can be themed or tailored to suit a particular audience, and require very little equipment. There are millions of quiz questions available on the internet, and Tennis West also has a selection of questions which are available to clubs. Quiz nights are a good source of income when combined with a club dinner, refreshments, games, raffles and auctions.

6  Chocoholics Beware!

Cadbury Chocolate Fundraisers – Who doesn’t love chocolate?? Cadbury® provides fundraising committees with a wide range of top selling Cadbury® products to cater to most consumer needs. Products have a recommended sell price at $1.20, $2.50 and $4 price points to suit a variety of budgets. The minimum order is 15 carry boxes – you can raise up to $30 profit per carry box sold (based on the recommended retail price). For more information visit www.fundraising.com.au

7  Raise a Glass!

Wine Tasting Fundraiser:  Over the last few years wine tasting fundraisers have become a popular and successful addition to many club’s annual calendar of events. Nearly all wine tasting fundraisers are run in partnership with a wine merchant. They will usually offer the sample wines, the tasting expertise and the opportunity for your members to buy wine at a good price. It is usual for the club to receive a percentage of sales from orders taken at the event. It is normal to charge for tickets to a wine taster fundraiser. This can include light refreshments/nibbles and one free drink on arrival. Once you have people at the event, extra money can be generated through other fundraising initiatives such as raffles and silent auctions.

8  Half the takings!

50:50 Raffle: This is a really simple idea that fits in perfectly with all types of events. There is only one prize – half the taking, so some lucky person will win half of all the money taken. The other half goes to your club. So the more tickets that are sold, the bigger the jackpot!

9 Pack your bags

Suitcase Dinner:  A weekend travel package is donated to the club (or is bought at a discount price). Tickets are sold to a dinner, and included in the price of the dinner ticket is the chance to win the weekend travel package. Everyone attending the dinner brings his or her suitcase ready to leave for the airport/destination  that night.

10 Hit a ball to the Aussie Open!

Club Hit-a-thon: The basic idea is that the keen sportsmen or women at your club are going to hit a ball all the way to the Australian Open. Of course they are not actually going to go there….instead they are going to make the ball travel the equivalent distance! The event takes place at your local club with those taking part hitting the ball to each other enough times to have covered the distance. Money is raised through sponsorship.

It is important to do the sums and work out what is possible given the time available and the abilities of those taking part. Factor in the distance of the average hit and time how many of these you could fit in an hour. Using the calculated figure you can work out what might be possible for your club depending on the time and the number of participants. This fundraising initiative works well if you tell a good story to your sponsors.

More fundraising initiatives can be found at the following websites:

       www.fundraising.com.au

       www.dsr.wa.gov.au

       www.better-fundraising-ideas.com

       www.myfundraisingideas.com/sports-fundraising-ideas