September  2009

 IMPORTANT Message to LWP Competitive Parents

 Re : Fundraising/ Sponsorship Commitment for the 2009-2010 Competitive Season

 From: René Kirmse , Club President

 Fundraising is a necessary part of our Club’s efforts to manage the financial aspects of offering a quality water polo program to our athletes. We are proud of the successes that this club has achieved, but pride does not buy pool time and lifeguards, replace and maintain equipment, and develop and retain quality coaching and support staff.  If we were to try to cover our club budget through player fees alone, it would require about a substantial increase to each member. As we try to keep fees at a reasonable level, we have to accept the fact that there will always be a budget shortfall between fees collected and the costs associated with running the club. So, it is critical to our financial health that we find other sources of income.  

 As part of the 2008-2009 Registration Package, all competitive families will be required to submit a post-dated cheque committing to fundraising $250 per player.

 A number of parents have asked if they can ‘buy out’ the fundraising commitment. The answer is YES! You simply need to write a cheque for $250, payable to London Water Polo.

 If you would rather participate in some fundraising events or sponsorship efforts then you will be able to partially or entirely offset your commitment through one or more of the club’s fundraising efforts. We have a number of potential Club-wide fundraising ideas that could be open to anyone if they choose to participate.  (The one proviso is that we require a parental support to organize each one on behalf of the Club. If we don’t have the volunteers, then these events won’t happen.)  Here are some examples of potential Club-wide fundraisers where we need organizers:

• Vesey’s Spring Bulb Fundraiser- we take orders for spring bulbs. They are delivered to one location where parents pick them up. The club makes 50% on each order. This fundraiser could be done easily by one or two parent volunteers.

• Pointsettia Sales:  –  When the holidays arrive, it will be time for you, your neighbors and your friends to think about decorating their home or office with a beautiful poinsettia plant or plants!  And what better way to ring in the holidays, and support our club than by purchasing one or more of the  Poinsettia plants that we will have available to sell.

 • Swim-A-Thon: - a low organized event that could be orchestrated by a couple of parents,with voluntary participation by players (and parents, if they wish!).

 • Elmira Poultry Products: - Elmira Poultry gives you a fresh, unique fundraising alternative – quality products that people really need and use. Their fundraising program includes 12 different top quality chicken products ( Chicken breasts, chicken nuggets, Swiss melts etc.) . Participants earn $5 on every box they sell!  Again, this fundraiser could be done easily by one or two parent volunteers.

 • Recruitment fundraiser: - Recruit a new player to the club and get a credit to yourregistration fees/fundraising commitment! Available to any competitive player/ family who recruits a new player to one of our programs ( Rec or Competitive), who isn’t currently (or was previously) registered.  ($50.00 per Competitive player/ $10.00 per Rec. player)

 • Sponsorship Donations: - we would encourage you to go out into the community to ask for team sponsorship donations. A $500 donation is often affordable for a small business. Why not ask your local dentist, chiropractor, grocery store owner, orthodontist, etc.?  We have a sponsorship letter already in place for you to provide to a business or organization- if you wish, this letter can be personalized. We don’t have charitable status and can’t issue a charitable receipt, but we can issue a receipt acknowledging receipt of the donation, which the organization can use for accounting purposes. The letter outlines the benefits we can provide to the donor. This would be ideal for a family with multiple athletes. You can share the donation between athletes in more than one family. If you have already succeeded your fundraising commitment of $250, any additional funds will be put towards the general ‘pot’ funds that we need to raise for things like new nets etc.

 We are open to other ideas as club-wide events, or as activities for small groups of athletes and their families to work on. All activities should be vetted our club executive to ensure they fall within ‘reasonable’ ethical considerations. We would not want to take on any events where there is a financial risk to the Club (i.e. where there is a considerable financial outlay required prior to the event and there is not a guarantee of recouping these fees). You can reach any of us by e-mail at info info@londonwaterpolo.ca.

 Some easy small group activities include:

 • Bottle drives

• BBQs at participating grocery stores (many stores do this for not-for-profit organizations, and do much of the organizing for you, as well as providing the equipment, advertising and product. All you have to do is be there to cook and sell the goods).

 Please help us to continue to support the success of our programs by actively supporting this season’s fund raising efforts.

 René Kirmse

 Club President