New Club Needing Help!

[S_Miketa6]

Hello everyone, Im a freshmen in college and just this past year there was a bass club started and now I am going to be fishing with them this upcoming year and Ive been working hard to come up with ways to gain some recognition. We need help gaining some sponsorship and any ideas as to how to raise money for the club and get it really up and going. Right now we have been helping at a few local tournaments and have a car dealership that has let us use a car to go to a few tournaments. We have tossed around some ideas but don't know where to start. They placed 2nd in a tournament and had a few other top 10's which wasn't to bad for a first year club, so we haven't been doing to bad and hope to continue the success this year at the regional tournament and hopefully the national championship. If you could throw out any ideas as to how to raise money or how to approach future sponsors it would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks

[Big Fish Rice]

Hello everyone, Im a freshmen in college and just this past year there was a bass club started and now I am going to be fishing with them this upcoming year and Ive been working hard to come up with ways to gain some recognition. We need help gaining some sponsorship and any ideas as to how to raise money for the club and get it really up and going. Right now we have been helping at a few local tournaments and have a car dealership that has let us use a car to go to a few tournaments. We have tossed around some ideas but don't know where to start. They placed 2nd in a tournament and had a few other top 10's which wasn't to bad for a first year club, so we haven't been doing to bad and hope to continue the success this year at the regional tournament and hopefully the national championship. If you could throw out any ideas as to how to raise money or how to approach future sponsors it would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks

From someone who fished FLW College Fishing for a couple of years, I know what you and the club are going through. The hardest time for you and the other members are the first 2-3 years simply because of what you've stated: raising club funds.

First thing is first - you should have a club contact with the college who will be able to help with applying for club allowances. These are budgets allocated to official member clubs through the school. Your "club counselor" or mentor should help you make contact with the appropriate person within the administration. There's no guarantee you and your team will receive any type of support from the school, but it can't hurt to ask or to expose the requirements.

Second, you need to (and should have been) raising funds through raffles. Chances are, you might be struggling to attract new members. Offering prodcuts (lures, reels, rods, free pizza, anything) will help get new bodies to the meetings. The raffle prizes can be anything from a bag of soft plastics all the way up the line. The point is making the meetings fun for new prospects. Free pizza or sub sandwiches can be very helpful. It's one thing that college kids don't want to worry about. May I suggest that the Club President work on speaking with your nearest pizza company to help provide food on meeting nights? Depending on the size of your meetings, that's not a bad way to advertise for said company.

Third, start your own "public relations" committee, or have it be a rotating responsibility between members. Handing out flyers on campus (if it's allowable), starting a Facebook fan page and engaging potential members with club details and future goals will help prospects feel like they're part of a team. Not everyone wants to start a club because it's a lot of work, but most people are willing to help with responsibilities once the organization is structured.

Lastly, the inevitable.....sponsorships. Without knowing your team and what the members have accomplished, college fishing sponsors will show up if your results are evident. Strong finishes, consistent performance and members who speak professionally, look professional and are knowledgeable of the sport, will get approached. Sponsors are not a quick buck. They're not just discounted products. It's real work and it takes strong leadership to maintain those "sponsorships" for the entire club.

Focus on the raffles and gaining new members, then with a little bit of luck and A LOT of hard work, the rest will fall in to place. Congrats on your new direction - it's a ton of fun

 

[S_Miketa6]

Really appreciate all of the help and I will definitely bring a lot of this info to the club! We are just starting to get things organized and hope to have a lot done by the time we are done with winter break. Like you stated raising funds isn't easy and luckily we have made a few contacts where we are going to be able to make some money for the club! Thank you for your help, it will go a long way!!!