Posted on 11/13/2020 7:55:25 AM PST by RayBob
Please excuse the off-topic, personal post. I am looking for some suggestions and ideas. My son's 12U baseball team will participating (hopefully) next summer in the Cooperstown Dream Parks Baseball Tournament. For those unfamiliar with this, it is a big deal in youth travel baseball. 130 teams from all over the country (and even international teams) travel to Cooperstown, NY to play in this tournament. The kids will play in a minimum of 6 games. They live in barracks at the campus (with their coaches), and eat together, live together, etc. for the week. It is a once in a lifetime experience for these kids and very often marks their transition from childhood.
The tournament has a very large cost. The tournament fee itself is over $20,000. With all the other costs, such as uniforms, equipment bags, etc., the costs mount pretty quickly. (This is all on top of what the families will have to pay themselves for travel costs, hotel/house rental/food etc., which is not included in the team costs.) So teams hold all sorts of fundraisers to raise the money to go. Usually, it's events like cornhole tournaments, spaghetti dinners, Monte Carlo Nights, etc. Unfortunately, in this age of Covid-19 and associated restrictions, many of those options are not available, especially here in Tom Wolf's Pennsylvnaia and the very blue Allegheny County.
We are trying to fill the gap with raffles, and seeking sponsorships, but with a lot of businesses shut down or hurting, there aren't many looking to sponsor a youth baseball team and you can only hold so many raffles before people stop buying tickets. We tried a GoFundMe account, but again, people aren't as interested in helping a bunch of kids play baseball when the competition for their dollars is the 3 year old who needs a transplant, etc.
There are 12 kids on the team. A couple of the families can afford to kick in a few grand to cover their kid's share of the cost, but the rest of the families are not able. Some are struggling and are going to have problems covering their own travel costs, let alone kick in funds for the team expenses.
So I am looking for some suggestions for things that we could do to fundraise in a world where we can't have gatherings of more than 50 people. Hopefully someone here has been through a similar situation and may have some potential solutions that we have not thought of at this point. I would appreciate any (serious) suggestions. Thanks.
This reminds me of Dagney Taggert in Atlas Shrugged, constantly “adjusting” to the ridiculous new federal rules until she finally moved to Galt’s gulch.
Any response I give is from Galt’s gulch. That is, I think this will be the least of your problems next summer. We live in a new world now, and who wins the election really doesn’t change it all that much as far as I’m concerned.
But my advice is probably not that helpful.
How about a car wash? All you’ve got to do is find a business willing to loan you a bit of parking lot space.
As I side note, I don’t mind washing my own car. But I hate waxing it. So I’d gladly pay someone to do that job for me.
Wal Mart gives money to things like this...the girls high school softball team also sets uo outside and gives out information and takes donations..I do not know if walmart allows that now with the virus..
10 Virtual Fundraising Ideas:
https://www.mobilecause.com/blog-10-covid-19-campaigns-from-mobilecause-customers/
20 More:
https://bloomerang.co/blog/virtual-fundraising-ideas/
Start a Go Fund Me page!
Quite simple, get each kid to go to apartment complexes in Georgia. The Dem precinct captain will give them $1/ballot.
Since it looks like we’ll be wearing masks for another 6-12 months, maybe some of the parents or even players can sew masks and sell for profit?
Auction off some 9mm ammo.
We are doing the hoagie sales. We make $3 per hoagie. Every bit helps, but it is a lot of work for a small reward.
“This is a big deal in youth travel baseball.”
This may be a good time to step back and ask yourself if you (and your family) are spending their time and money wisely.
I apologize if you are insulted, but sometimes one gets caught up in races and never contemplates the larger picture.
Bingo - some of us will donate a box
Start a shooting club instead. Teach your kids gun safety, hunting techniques, and American Heroes of the past like Alvin York, Audie Murphy, and Chesty Puller. Teach them to shoot center mass
We tired the Go Fund Me page, but haven't raised very much.
I don’t like the mask mandates, but....
You could personalize mask for the team parents that they could wear to the game or everywhere they are mandated. Team logo and maybe sell them in multi-packs for more profit. Put their logo or team name on them.
Or go to amazon and buy the plastic shields for $.80 each and sell them for a few bucks or $10 for 3 of them.
I hate the idea of masks but it could be a fundraiser.
We make $3 per hoagie.
*************
That is a damn good profit.... Sell a hundred
and you have $3,000 profit.
Only if you're Hunter Biden
“This may be a good time to step back and ask yourself if you (and your family) are spending their time and money wisely.”
This is just one event in travel baseball.
What Is Travel Ball?
Youth travel baseball falls under moneymaking organizations like USSSA baseball and others to provide weekend tournaments for teams.
Anyone can start a travel team and meet the requirements, pay the entry fees and sign up for the travel baseball tournaments usually play at least two travel tournaments per month.
Teams often travel up to a few hours for travel ball tournaments and some even travel across the country from state to state and play. Others will play in local metropolitan areas and not have to stay overnight.
Travel teams play at least four games over the weekend and even more on three-day weekends.
Baseball teams are formed by like-minded dads who end up coaching the teams so they can make sure their kid gets to play on the traveling teams. They get other baseball moms and baseball dads to buy into their team group, pay the fees, buy the baseball uniforms, and make up a name and presto-we have a travel baseball team.
Some groups are multi-layered and often have a series of up to 5 or 6 teams at all different age groups.
I spend most of my free time (time away from the office) working with my kids, including coaching their baseball teams. I am happy to do it and enjoy working with the boys. I will gladly use my time and talents to help these boys. Cooperstown is a big deal for these kids and I want to help them get there. The money I spend for the boys are discretionary funds. Sure, I could use it to buy something for myself, but I have all that I need, and really all that I want. Since watching my sons play the game they love brings me great pleasure, I really am getting a personal benefit from it.
You may not see that as wise use of funds, but for me, it is. We are entitled to our opinions. You were respectful in how you presented it, so I was not insulted.
Whoa, whoa, hold on there! I’d be willing to pitch in a kidney from one of my kids, but the ammo is off limits!
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