Road to Success: Funding

Money makes the world go 'round as they say. One of the biggest plagues for any team in the NCDA is funding. Dodgeball itself is a fairly undervalued sport, and with a league that is relatively young compared to others it can be hard to get recognized and get money from your respective university. Once your program starts to become more established, the process of receiving funding from your school should become easier, but that is no guarantee, and sometimes it takes more time than you have in your collegiate career. That is why finding money from any and all sources is important to make sure your team can afford the necessities to compete at the highest level.

Hold Fundraisers Early & Often

Unless your school already throws you stacks and stacks of money, you're gonna need to raise some money if you don't want to pay out-of-pocket. The key is making sure that your team jumps on fundraising early. Having money now is better than having money later, and knowing what you have to work with at the beginning of the year is better than estimating an amount later in the future. Doing fundraisers early in the year also makes it easier to get participation from newer members and provides a great chance to bond with your teammates. By starting early as well, it will help make sure that your team can focus on dodgeball exclusively in the middle of the season, instead of having to worry about money.

Find Local Sponsors

Businesses are always trying to find ways to reach new customers and markets. Your dodgeball team covers both of those areas. By establishing a relationship with other businesses in your area, they can help provide your team with funding in order to help jump start the season. The key is demonstrating that the business has a reason to invest in your team, whether that be holding team dinners at their restaurant, buying their equipment, or offering extra promotion for that business. Any way to demonstrate a mutually beneficial relationship helps your club with getting sponsors. This helps not only in terms of financing the team, but it also may help your team with recruiting by having a bigger sense of legitimacy.

Any Fundraising Option Is A Good Option

People sometimes get discouraged from wanting to have fundraisers because they don't believe that there will be a big turnout or there won't be a lot of money made. Avoid thinking like this. Any money is better than no money whether that is $10 of $100. Restaurant fundraisers are a popular option even though they don't typically make a lot of money because they are pretty easy to set up and perform. Online fundraisers are also very effective in helping promote the team. Using websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter to help fund your team is easy to set up and provides a great way to promote your team on social media. Some businesses also provide group fundraising opportunities where if you bring your team to volunteer at an event they compensate you by donating to the team. Anything goes when trying to raise money, because even a little money is better than no money.