Ottawa Titans Water Polo
Fund-raising

updated Jan.17 2004

Titans Water Polo is placing a larger emphasis on fundraising in the 2003-2004 season,given our rising pool and coaching expenses. Several suggestions from the 2002-2003 year-end survey were considered, new ideas were proposed and additional research on the web produced a long list of fund-raising ideas. Here is the list of suggestions from club members submitted with 2002-2003 year-end questionnaires:
   - Approach large companies for support donations
   - Get sponsors to advertise in the tournament programs
   - Sell flower bulbs (Breck’s of Holland has fund-raising package, 50% of profit goes to club)
   - Sell chocolates (50% of profit goes to club)
   - Car wash
   - Bottle drive
After reviewing the list and deciding not to bombard club members with fund-raising overload, we selected a few ideas for potential fund-raisers for the club. We also consulted several club members – almost everyone had a different fund-raising idea or preference! As well, we discarded some ideas due to licensing requirements from the City of Ottawa (eg. raffles) as these involve significant of work and incur additional cost. Here is an overview of the options selected as of Jan 2004.
 
FUND-RAISER for MEMBERS

Competitive Program
Swim-a-Thon and Water Polo Skills Challenge (Mar 6, 2004)
   - Athletes can earn money for their water polo accounts, asking friends, family, neighbors to sponsor them to swim laps or qualify in top 5 at shooting speed, shooting accuracy and/or passing accuracy.
   - All competitive members will be encouraged to participate and have fun regardless of their fund-raising efforts
   - Sections of pool will be devoted to different WP activities (measure shooting speed with radar gun), shooting accuracy, passing accuracy, laps completed in measured time, etc. and may include a unique water polo game  if extra pool time can be obtained
   - Volunteers will be needed for the various activities    
   - Contact is Connie Nuyens, needs a co-organizer    
NOTE: The fund-raising group initially proposed a Scavenger Hunt / Car Rally instead of the Swim-a-Thon and Water Polo Skills Challenge, but were recently reminded that while May might be an ideal time for a car rally, it is too late for members who want to raise funds to offset current year tournament costs.
 
CLUB FUND-RAISERS
REQUIRED TO OFFSET POOL AND COACHING EXPENSES

ILWP Swim-a-Thon and Water polo Skills Challenge (Feb 29, 2004)
   - Very similar format to the Mar 6 competitive fund-raiser
    - Due to lower-than-projected ILWP registration
   - Fund raising target is $2000 - $4000
    - A volunteer is required to run this event ; ILWP coaches and parents will be needed to help at each activity

Hockey Pool ( Oct – May)
   - Growing in popularity – lots of fun – easy to play and easy to run
   - Other clubs have raised $2000 plus  
   - Sanctioned by City of Ottawa (no license required)
   - Contact is Bob Tibbo (hockeypool@titanswaterpolo.ca)
 
Tournament Program Sponsorships
   - Club members are encouraged to find sponsors to place ads in Tournament Programs
   - For Titans Cup, Jan 2004, the target is $3600
   - For Youth Nationals, May 2004 - target is $4200
   - Contact is Bob Tibbo

Tentative (see last bullet)  Social Dinner and Dance
   - no date determined yet
   - families, coaches, general water polo community (senior players, university players etc)
   - Details on date, format etc to be finalized
   - Contact is Ken Cartier - needs a co-organizer !

Grants / Sponsorships (Businesses, Public Organizations)
   - Has huge potential but often stipulate where funds can be spent; don’t often help with operating costs (pool & coaching expenses); requires much follow-up to ensure that funds are spent properly; reporting is required  
   - City of Ottawa, CIBC, BMO, Sears have fund-raising web sites  - probably many more
   - A sponsorship package prepared Nancy Snihur was updated, sent to executive, needs minor revision
   - Contact is Brian Stagg

Scavenger Hunt - Car Rally
   - Connie Nuyens to organize for Oct 2004 if at least 30 club members would like to participate
   - Like a golf tournament, members sign up friends, family, co-workers who pay an entry fee which is credited to members’ water polo accounts
   - A Hamburg / Hotdog sale held at the rendezous point can help raise funds
   - Doesn’t have to replace the Swim-a-thon / Water Polo event but can be a fun way to offset tournament expenses
 
 FUND-RAISERS for TEAMS
   - Teams are encouraged to try their own fund-raising options
   - Team fund-raisers should not require subsidies by club funds   
   - Raffles are discouraged due to City of Ottawa licensing requirement
   - Team fund-raising initiatives in Titans name should be reviewed by the executive;
   - send ‘logistics’ to Connie Nuyens who will forward them to the executive
   - Funds collected in Titans name should be deposited in water polo accounts

Ginette Sharp has volunteered to organize chocolate bar sales for the Academy Girls Red team.
She is also investigating a BBQ Hamburg / Hotdog Sale, partnering with a LOEB’s or other grocery store.  
There are many other fund-raising ideas to be explored. For example :
   - Scratch cards you sell to friends, family, neighbors where businesses offer discounts  (see attachment at bottom of this document0
   - Just prior to Christmas: purchase extra Loblaws gift cards to sell to  neighbors, family, friends
   - Canadian Tire and Home Depot may offer similar programs to Loblaws, lots of potential prior to Christmas.

PAST EFFORTS
Grants
   - Trillium grant (very significant)
   - City of Ottawa grant (substantial)

Loblaws
   - This fund-raiser incurs no costs and normally raises substantial funds for the club

Merchandise
   - Diane Mitchell has been selling t-shirts, towels, caps, bags, etc for the last 3 years and this effort has brought a steady stream of funds to the club.  

Corporate Sponsorship
   - Usually one-time sponsors from members work-place, donations between $100 and $1000
   - Extensive sponsorship material prepared by Nancy Snihur

Bingo
   - The club ran a Tuesday afternoon bingo at Side Door for 2 years
   - Extremely hard to find enough volunteers (thousands of hours are required annually)
   - Significant funds were raised in the first year but dropped about 25% after the smoking ban

Chocolate Bars
   - Sales of chocolate bars have been tried; some members liked this fund-raiser and some didn’t want to sell anything

Silent Auction
   - Successfully held at year end Awards banquet in 2000/2001 and 2001/2002

 
FUND RAISING CONTACTS
Connie Nuyens
   - Has a copy of City of Ottawa Licensing information
Bob Tibbo (hockeypool@titanswaterpolo.ca)
Ken Cartier
Brian Stagg
Ginette Sharp
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   1. "Our little league of 438 players raised $35,000 in 1 day." Todd Meyers,
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