By Rosie Stallman & Cherri Mankenberg

Rosie Stallman has served as the NCAA Director of Education Outreach and Athletic Director at Eastern New Mexico State University. Cherri Mankenberg is a former Associate Athletics Director at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The two have partnered to form the consulting group Project Fundraise and can be reached through their Web site at: projectfundraise.com.

If you are an athletic director today, you're involved in fundraising. Whether it's working with a staff of development officers to endow scholarships or helping your booster club bring in enough to pay for new football uniforms, securing more dollars for your athletic department is somewhere on your to-do list.

But for many of us, fundraising is not our expertise or our passion. We were never trained in this difficult endeavor, and we have trouble finding the time to develop a detailed fundraising plan. What's an athletic director to do?

The keys to making fundraising work-- at any level--are to form a team, go through a "discovery phase" to figure out a direction, and examine the many ideas out there. You also need to get your coaches involved in this important area of athletics.

TEAMWORK
An ideal fundraiser is someone who is creative, organized, a people-person, great at details, realistic, and fun. Since few people have that complete package, the best way to organize your fundraising efforts is to develop a team.

Your lead-off hitter needs to be a talker--the type of person who has never met a stranger. These are the people who speak in elevators when no one else will and who will say something, anything, to others while waiting in the checkout line.

He or she will be critical to opening doors and getting communication flowing. Find a staff member, coach, or supporter who loves to talk to folks, and get them on the team.

Up next, you need a creative type. Fundraising ideas can be copied, but really successful events are tailored to the local community and your specific cause. You don't have to re-invent the wheel, but you need someone who is creative enough to brainstorm unique twists that can make the project your own.

Sometimes, creative folks work best as a team. Take three creative people to lunch--or invite them over for dinner--and throw the idea of a fundraiser out to them. It's amazing to watch what happens. When the environment is safe, they will come up with wonderful ideas. These people can be your "team within a team."

For example, how did anyone ever come up with Cow Plop Bingo, which is now a highly successful fundraiser? (You find a large grassy field, draw four-by-four foot squares, number each square, sell the numbers for $10-$25 apiece, let a cow graze on the field, and whoever owns the square where the animal drops a "cow pie" is the winner.) Can you imagine the people who first created this fundraiser? It must have been a group having a lot of fun brainstorming together.

Your lineup also needs someone who pays attention to details. It's the little things, if forgotten, that can ruin an event. For instance, if you use toxic paint to draw your lines on the Cow Plop Bingo field, everyone's fun time could turn into watching a cow get very sick.

Your detail person needs to be someone who can see red flags, construct a timeline, develop financial goals, break duties into smaller tasks, and think through all the steps of the fundraiser. Make sure this individual is involved every step of the way and is someone the whole team trusts. With just one person responsible for the details, others are free to accomplish their own tasks without worrying about the minutiae.

At clean-up, you need someone who is fun. If fundraising is a chore, it's very difficult to recruit help and keep folks motivated. There must be an individual who keeps meetings light-hearted and jokes with all the volunteers. Think about the meetings you enjoy most--they usually include someone who knows how to keep everyone smiling.

Finally, you need a voice of reason. This person is responsible for helping the group set realistic goals. Fundraisers fail most often when a group bites off more than it can chew. Your voice of reason will figure out if you can really pull off the idea that the creatives have come up with. Do you have enough people to run the event? Will you be able to secure enough community members to attend the program or make donations? Do you have enough time to plan everything well in advance? In the above example, do you have access to a cow?

So where do you fit in as athletic director? You may be the creative or fun one, or possibly the voice of reason. Maybe you're the person who is great at details. Regardless, you will also need to be the coach in the dugout who provides support and motivation, reminds everyone of their roles, and makes sure all team members are appreciated. Don't forget to say thank you and give credit where it's due--say it in private, say it in public, and then say it again.

You should also be the one who keeps everyone focused on the ultimate goal. No matter what you are raising money for, you are doing something to make things better for student-athletes. So remind people frequently: This is not about us, it's about them!

DISCOVERY PHASE
Sometimes, an eager group wants to jump right into its first fundraising project. However, figuring out the best fundraiser for your athletic program should be a deliberate process. We call it the "discovery phase."

This is not a time to just throw out ideas and see what sticks, but a time to really examine whether an idea will work for your particular program. Consider asking the five W's before setting the wheels in motion:

Why? The specific purpose of a fundraiser needs to be clearly spelled out, and it needs to be a cause that will get attention from the most people possible. For instance, raising funds for a new softball dugout is a worthy cause. But can you clearly articulate why it is important?

Who? Exactly who will you ask to support your cause? This will depend on your answer to the "why" question. If the softball dugout is part of your strategic plan to boost women's athletics, you might target advocates of women's sports as your donors. If the dugout will benefit anyone who plays softball in the community, you might tap into the adult softball leagues. If the project will also honor past softball players at your school, you should make appeals to alumni.

What? Don't rush past this question. It takes hours to research the pros and cons of hosting a new event. It takes even more time to obtain input from enough people so that you'll be prepared for as many potential obstacles as possible. Addressing the challenges early on will save time and frustration as the coordination moves forward.

When? In choosing a specific date, do a thorough job of realizing any conflicts. Start with the obvious: Check the school's team schedules--all teams! Next, make sure all your coaches can be there, especially the popular ones. The absence of coaches makes a strong statement that the event isn't very important. Finally, take a look at other school events planned and check with your local chamber of commerce for the dates of community happenings.

Where? Pick a place that will maximize participation, access, and visibility for your program. In many cases, your basketball arena will be best. It's indoors (in case of bad weather), most people know where it is, and it gives the community an opportunity to visit your home--where they'll hopefully attend games in the future.

IDEAS & CHOICES
The big question most athletic administrators ask us is: What fundraising projects provide the greatest return on investment? There is no one answer to this question, as so much depends on your athletic program, community, and team of volunteers. But here are some ideas to get you going:

Do something fun and different. In one fundraiser a school conducted, the main entertainment was the donors themselves. School officials determined that a dinner fundraiser with entertainment would work well in their community. To make the event a little different, without incurring a lot of cost, the entertainment consisted of a microphone and karaoke music. Participants bid to get local community leaders to sing.

As it turned out, attendees were willing to pay good money to see someone else sing in front of the group. The community leaders were brave, embarrassed, and scared to death, but it was for a great cause so they were also good sports.

It helped that we staged the first bid and song, by having a booster club member bid a large amount to get a favorite coach to sing. This showed participants how to get involved and broke the ice for the community leaders.

Find a new demographic. Over and over again, we target families in our fundraising projects. And they get tired of going to another event or donating to another cause. Instead, reach out to a new demographic. How about retired folks? Singles? Women's groups? Think about what they might be interested in--or ask them!

For example, a school in Minnesota surrounded by a large aging population spread the word that its student-athletes would help people move from their homes to assisted living or retirement homes--or wherever they needed to be moved--for a fee. The seniors loved getting to know the student-athletes and many of them starting coming to games. They didn't mind paying young people, especially when the money was going to a good cause.

Work for money. There are many other ways your student-athletes can work for fundraising. Many businesses and organizations need help quickly at times, and they are willing to pay young people for a good cause instead of hiring expensive professionals. Team work-a-thons can also be a bonding experience.

One athletic department helped with packing and moving part of a library. Another served as waiters for a banquet. A third helped park cars at a concert.

Another idea is to have your student-athletes bring a car wash to a business' parking lot. Many people don't have the time to go to a car wash, but if a group of athletes washed their cars while they're busy at work, they'd be happy to hand over five dollars.

Honor and fundraise at the same time. People are more apt to donate to a cause if it honors someone or something they hold dear. And they are even more apt to open their wallets when the honor is something tangible that will last a long time.

We recently discovered a project that will raise money through a "Legends Wall." The idea is to honor outstanding female community leaders with an image plaque permanently displayed on a beautifully landscaped brick wall, and ask for donations for each individual plaque. Donations were secured from friends, family, businesses, and foundations that were interested in honoring each legend, and proceeds went directly to enhancing opportunities for female athletes at the school.

The value of this project went beyond the fundraising dollars, as it improved community connections and networking with the athletic department staff, coaches, and the community. It also did wonders to increase the female donor base and cultivate new relationships with community and campus leaders.

A PROGRESSION
The events we strongly recommend to all schools are those that build relationships with alumni, people from your community, and folks on campus. The more interaction you create with those who have a genuine interest in your program, the more support you will receive down the road.

Show your supporters a good time, and they will bring a friend or two next time. They'll tell two friends, and so on. Fundraising is a progression, and the first step is simply to start a great tradition.

Sidebar: COACHES ON BOARD
How many of your coaches spend most of their time behind closed doors? Whether they like it or not, they need to get out and market themselves. Coaches who ignore public relations opportunities and networking are often the same ones who complain about a lack of fan support at their games.

Today's coaches must be visible on campus and in the community--they must be friend-raisers. One way to accomplish this is by requiring each of your head coaches to conduct a fundraising event annually. Beyond bringing in money for the program, this will offer tremendous exposure to coaches and their student-athletes. Here are some examples of fundraisers coaches can conduct on a yearly basis:

Mini youth clinic: On a Saturday morning during the school year, put on a sport-specific clinic for youth in the community. Set up eight stations that the student-athletes can run and rotate the kids every 15 minutes for two hours. Charge participants $50 and get some corporate sponsors to bring in even more money.

Lift-a-thon: During the off-season or preseason when you want your team in the weightroom, conduct a lift-a-thon. Student-athletes ask people to sponsor them, giving donations based on how much weight they lift over a set period of time.

Golf tournament: Ask your local golf course to partner with you to put on a golf tournament that reaches a targeted group. Participants pay a fee to enter the tournament. Student-athletes can serve as caddies or other helpers. And if golf fundraisers are over used in your community, how about a miniature golf tournament?