Looking for interactive, inventive fundraising ideas for a charity sporting event? Take a cue from a 12-year-old in Florida.
Seventh grader Torii Robertson hosted the first Bumps for OCC, a volleyball tournament to benefit Operation Christmas Child, the Seminole Chronicle reports. The non-profit organization provides shoeboxes filled with gifts for children in need across the world. The charity sporting event was held in late August. During the 12-hour tournament, participants raised money for the number of hours they played.
Torii’s strategy for conceiving the fundraising idea and planning the event was based on a few principles:
1. Get inspired. Torii was motivated to organize the event after hearing the story of a fellow adolescent in Arizona. Austin Gutwein was 9 years old when he started Hoops of Hope, a basketball free-throw marathon to benefit African children orphaned because of AIDS. Since he started the charity 5 years ago, Austin has raised more than $1 million.
2. Tap into your talents and interests. Torii’s favorite sport is volleyball, so it was the natural choice for a charity event. Torii was actually playing the sport when she was hit with the idea, according to the Seminole Chronicle article.
3. Utilize all available resources. Torii already had a history with OCC. Her parents are regional coordinators for the charity. That influenced her decision to choose OCC as the fundraiser’s benefactor.
4. Know what you want, do your homework and ask for it. For the tournament’s venue, Torii had her sights set on the Oviedo Aquatics Center, which could accommodate 2 full courts. Knowing that she needed permission from the city council to use it, she presented a PowerPoint slideshow during a council meeting. Beyond giving Torii permission to use the facility, the council waived half the cost of renting it.
5. Determine your goal. Torii met the goal she set to raise $5,000. But she also recruited more than 100 players, as well as player sponsors and event volunteers. Additionally, she received donations for food, drinks, T-shirts, a DJ and raffle prize donations.
Improve a Charity Sporting Event With Audience Interaction
Charity sporting events like Torii’s volleyball tournament are perfectly suited for interactive participation in order to maximize success. By engaging spectators at sporting events, organizers not only gain their interest, but also monetary donations.
The next time you’re searching for fundraising ideas for your charity event, try incorporating audience participation:
- Allow spectators to pledge donations during the tournament or game, not just before. The Pledge function on iml audience response keypads allows for that.
- In addition to a door prize raffle, incorporate a silent auction. Spectators can bid on items from their seats while they watch the sporting event. That can easily be accomplished with the Communicator audience response keypad from iml.
- Keep spectators entertained with interactive quizzes. Include trivia about the charity, the event and the sport being played. iml can even create customized interactive quizzes on keypads for your event.
- Encourage spectators to vote on the player who will outlast the rest or on the winning team. Interactive audience response and voting systems from iml allow for immediate and accurate results.
How would you rate these ideas for incorporating audience interaction in charity sporting events?
Thanks for the great blog. It was helpful indeed,for sports can bring very much fun.