In order for a non-profit sporting organisation to be successful, they need to have as many sources of funding as possible. Every non-profit organisation needs to explore which opportunities for funding are feasible, achievable and profitable for the organisation.

Some opportunities for non-profit sporting organisations to raise money are:

1. Grants
2. Donations
3. Sponsorship
4. Crowdfunding
5. Membership
6. Events
7. Sales

Grants are a very important source of funds for most not-for-profit organisations. Billions of dollars are provided each year by local, state and federal governments, as well as philanthropic, community and corporate trusts and foundations. In order for your club to obtain their share, they must participate in the grant process by applying for a grant and then lobbying their elected officials to get the grant approved.

In order to maximise the club’s ability to raise money from grants, it is encouraged that your club submits for every grant, every year. This requires a bit of work and planning but is worthwhile. Ensure the applications for grants include all communities within your organisation. This means having a focus on minority groups, women’s participation/growth and First Nations involvement.

A list of grants available by the Federal Government, State's and local Governments can be found on the Clearinghouse for Sport:

National – Australian Sports Commission and Clearinghouse for Sport

Clubs often think it’s too hard or they’re not the type of organisation to get donations. That’s not true – if you have supporters, then you have potential donors.

An attractive part of donating to sporting clubs is the donation may be 100% tax deductible, if you set up a project with the Australian Sports Foundation. Rather than asking for straight out cash, setting up a project will outline to the donor where the money will be spent once received e.g., purchase of a new scrum machine, renovation of the clubhouse, purchase of new equipment.

Sponsorship is the life-blood of community rugby clubs. These relationships can provide a win-win situation for the club and the business involved. While obtaining businesses who are capable of sponsoring large sums of money are great, it is also important to offer smaller, logo placed sponsorships for local businesses. Not only are these smaller supporters/sponsors of the club likely to return year after year, every dollar counts towards the financial success of the club.

Having a clear plan in regard to sponsorship, will ensure the club can maximise any sponsorship opportunities and reduce any breakdown in the relationship between the club and the sponsor. It may take a bit of work to get a new sponsor on board at a club but it takes very little to keep them as long as the club makes them feel included.

Some things to consider when setting up sponsorship opportunities for your club:

• Create, if possible, an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for each industry e.g., real estate, banking, accountant, plumber, electrician etc. This will give each sponsorship exclusive rights in their industry and in their community. It will also enable you to obtain a range of sponsors across many industries.
• Consider monetising your sponsors with exclusive “naming” opportunities within your club. Rather than just asking for a cash payment, offer a sponsor exclusive naming rights on products within your club e.g., kit, equipment, balls etc.

Sponsorship does not have to be in the form of cash only. Substantial benefits for the club by obtaining non-monetary sponsorship in exchange for logo placement at the club. These may include the following:

• BBQ – Discounts obtained from local Bakeries or butchers for the purchase of bread and meat
• Kit – Discounts from local dry cleaners for the washing of playing jerseys
• Alcohol – Free or discounted beer/wine from distributors
• Cleaning – Discounted or free cleaning from a local cleaning company
• Catering – Discounted food from local businesses to provide catering for functions, clubhouse events etc.

It is important that the sponsorship is cost effective for the club. This means, make sure the monetary value you get from the sponsor is more than the cost to the club for the sponsorship e.g. if the sponsor gets free access to events and home games catering, calculate the cost of their attendance and compare this to the money received for the sponsorship. A good rule of thumb is to spend 30% of the value of the sponsorship on looking after the sponsor.

Manage the on-going relationship with your sponsor. It is very difficult to get a new sponsor on board, and it is very easy to lose a sponsor if the club does not manage the relationship effectively. Things to consider in maintaining a great relationship with the sponsor:

1. Communicate. Make sure you email sponsors a regular newsletter, say every 2 weeks during the season. Keep them up to date on how the club is performing, numbers, special announcements, upcoming and past events.
2. Invite them to each home game and special event the club is holding. Even if they choose not to attend, they do appreciate being invited.
3. Speak to the sponsor directly. Sending a regular email is not enough. Make the effort to speak to the sponsor directly either on the phone or at a home game. They do appreciate being singled out and personally updated on the club.
4. Have a special day on a home game for sponsors. This is not only a great opportunity for the club to thank the sponsors but it is also a great networking opportunity for all the sponsors of the club. The more business opportunities the sponsor can generate, the more likely the sponsor will continue supporting the club.

Crowdfunding is a great way to raise money and support a member of a club’s community e.g., fundraising for an injured/sick player/coach/volunteer or player/coach/volunteers family member. You establish a target for a specific project and money is only released to the beneficiary when the target is reached. Clubs can offer incentives (e.g., free home game entry for every donation over $20) for people who donate.

Crowdfunding can easily be setup online with platforms such as GoFundMe and chuffed.

Memberships are a huge part of revenue and the foundations of a rugby club. There are many reasons why people should be a member of their club:

• You get to go to the game and watch your club play live and support your team
• Money saving. Memberships usually provide discounts for attendance/merchandise/food beverage.
• Seat reservations
• Keep up to date with all the recent news and updates
• Voting. Have a say in how your club is run.
• Support your club financially.
• Exclusive benefits e.g., merchandise, reserve seating, functions

There are many different types of membership a club can provide. These may include the following:

• Life – For recognition for long term support of the club. Life membership may also include a club cap or lapel pin
• Grade – For regular players in grade. May also include training shirt, playing shorts and playing socks
• Colts – For regular players in colts. May also include training shirt, playing shorts and playing socks
• Women – For women players. May also include training shirt, playing and/or training shorts and playing socks
• Student/Junior – Players currently enrolled full-time in education. May also include training shirt, playing shorts and playing socks
• Social – For past players or supporters of the club. May also include free home game entry, supporters scarf/shirt, discount on food/beverage

Events are a major part of rugby clubs and are a great opportunity to engage the community and also raise funds for the club. These events may not be very profitable and consume a lot of time and energy, but the added value to the club in the community as well as amongst their members is very valuable.

Events may include ladies day, back to club day, sponsors day, alumni day etc.

Sales of products through your club’s bar, canteen, online store or even sponsors’ stores can be a handy way to earn extra cash. Not to mention a great marketing exercise when your club’s colours are on display throughout your community. You can typically work with your apparel supplier to conduct a one-off sale where orders are placed in advance of any production, meaning you don’t have to hold stock. However it is often worth maintaining a little stock on high volume items such as caps, stubby holders, water bottles and even t-shirts, jumpers and beanies, depending on where your club is located.

A meat raffle is also a great opportunity to raise funds for a club and also gets its members involved in fundraising for their club. Meat raffles can be done on home games or on Friday night at their club’s venue sponsor. To increase enthusiasm for these tasks, try and dedicate all funds raised to social events for the players e.g. end of season presentation night or rugby tour.