High School Sports Fundraising 101: What Are Email Blasts?
Bianca Javate - Blog Writer
Contrary to popular belief, some people do not want to purchase products in exchange for their contribution to a high school sports program’s fundraiser. Why? There are a couple of reasons that come into play.
For starters, most product-based fundraisers resort to selling cookie dough, discount cards, calendars, mugs, and other similar items. But as much as people would like to help out, they do not see the value of what is being sold. The products might be useful every now and then, but ultimately, they would either perish or sit in a pile along with other items bought for the sake of helping. In addition to this, the quality of the products are more often considered average at best and cannot be justified by the price attached to it.
Another reason why going the product-based route might not always be effective is because there is a growing preference for making direct donations. Donors and sponsors would rather know more about the teams that they are helping, their notable achievements, what financial support can mean to their team’s growth, and give them directly the monetary help that they need. Not to mention that when making direct donations, they do not have to adhere to a set price; they can donate to their heart’s desire.
Now, you might be wondering: aside from door-to-door solicitation, how can direct donations be implemented—and done in a much faster way? This is where a digital fundraising idea called “email blasts” will come in handy.
What Are Email Blasts?
Email blasts are pretty self-explanatory; you send out emails to people and organizations who you believe can help your team raise funds through monetary donations. The body of your email can contain information about your team along with what the money would be used for. It can also include a link to where the money can be transferred, lot of teams may use a GoFundme page or something similar.
Remember: telling your story is an important factor in ensuring the success of your fundraiser.
How Do Email Blasts Work?
Your team can do either of the following: (1) Manually send emails, or (2) Work with a company that can assist you in the email blast process.
While the first option can save money as you do not have to engage with a third-party service, it most certainly will not save time. From looking for contacts, to creating a database of email addresses, and emailing each of them individually, doing this method on your own might be counterproductive.
If you opt to do the latter, there are companies that offer support in doing email blasts. Snap! Raise and Vertical Raise are two popular 3rd party donation sites. They set up everything for you, handle the backend, and they can even assist in creating enticing visuals that you can send out along with your email. The visuals can be in the form of a video featuring members of your team talking to prospective donors through the camera, thereby personalizing the outreach.
After the company has sent out the emails, they can help you keep track of the donations along with their corresponding donors either through an app or a website, and this can help you figure out what additional steps you should take to reach your monetary goal by the deadline set.
Once the fundraising is done, you can update your donors through a follow-up email in the form of a newsletter detailing what your team has accomplished thus far, how much you have raised, photos of the team, and a thank you note expressing your gratitude for their support. By doing so, donors feel more connected to the high school programs that they helped and they can see the direct impact of their donations.
What Makes Email Blasts A Great Fundraising Idea?
By using this method, not only do you eliminate the tendency toward wasteful consumerism, but you also expand the scope of where you can collect donations. Since this is a digital fundraiser and no item will be exchanged, you do not have to consider geographical limitations. The internet can connect you to anyone, anytime, anywhere—so make the most out of it!
What Are The Drawbacks Of An Email Blast Fundraiser?
But since this is a digital-centric initiative, you have to be careful when considering email blasts for your high school sports fundraising.
Security concerns might hinder prospective donors, so you have to ensure that your team has established a safe and secure place for where the monetary donations can be sent.
You also have to craft your emails professionally and authenticate the email address that will be used for sending to avoid having your message moved to the recipient’s Spam folder. If you are unable to do so, your efforts might be for naught and you might miss out on funds just because a prospective donor missed your email.
Email blasts also fall short with providing real value to those who donate. Yes, the donors no longer have to purchase junk but they still aren’t getting much in return other than knowing they helped support your team.
What Are Other Digital Fundraisers That Can Be Considered?
While email blast fundraisers can be tailored to create a more personalized interaction between the donor and the high school sports program, the partnership ends there.
Sustaining the relationship is important, because not only will these donors continue their support if they feel a connection, but an actual sense of community will be forged. If this is something that your team would like to pursue, then Story of the Season can help you.
Story of the Season creates unique media guides for high school sports programs that will include embedded videos, social media links, podcasts, and more digital features that can help parents, alumni, fans, and recruits to stay connected with your team. These digital magazines are accessible through scannable QR codes found in the stands and sporting venues. Funds are raised through selling advertisement spots in these weekly media guides.
Partnering with Story of the Season is beneficial for all parties involved: for the businesses and companies that will sponsor through ads, they can gain more media mileage and exposure; for the high school sports teams, they are able to raise money while having a digital archive of their entire season. Having these professionally-done digital assets can help with boosting the players’ recruitment profiles and can boost their media coverage to gain more supporters which could eventually translate to more donors.
Whether your team plays football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, or any other sport, Story of the Season can help your fundraiser succeed in the digital world. Click here to learn more about their services and its benefits.
