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A Family Affair

My son plays for a football association that is not affiliated with the school system in Wildwood, Missouri. Every year, they raise money for uniforms, field updates, insurance, etc. And every year, the results are lackluster. I think a lot of the poor results are because the fund raising takes place in August, which is usually miserably hot in Missouri. And because all of the public schools send their students out for fundraisers around mid to late August--so homeowners are just plain broke.

But two years ago, the football association came up with a great idea that was very appealing to the kids. The player that sold the most would be awarded an Ipod. I'm not sure which "model" it is--but its the one that can play movies on a small screen. Anyway, that year, our son was 11, and we felt he was too young and irresponsible for us to buy him an Ipod. But we told him if he won it, he absolutely could have it. Then, we told our daughter, who was 9, that if her brother won the Ipod, and she helped him, then she could share it with him.

So many a hot August evening or Saturday or Sunday, some or all of the family set out to raise money. We tried every marketing approach known to man. Sometimes our son wore his uniform jersey and carried the money in his helmet. Sometimes our daughter put on a jersey or a football t-shirt and carried pompons. Sometimes my husband came along and he and my son made a big show of throwing the football in between every house. And sometimes we even brought the puppy along, with a color coordinated bandanna, as our mascot.

Between the "cutesy" selling approach, and bribing our son with an award he really wanted, we sold enough to win the Ipod. And as a whole, that year was the best we ever had for our association.