Money is not everything, but it’s hard to run a great club without it!
Your club is in the business of supporting your members, so it makes sense to run it using sound business practices. Remember, being a not-for-profit doesn’t mean you can’t make a profit. The more profit you make, the more you can invest in your club and your sport, improve your member’s experience and ensure your club remains viable into the future.
Setting financial targets
All clubs benefit from preparing an annual budget, which can simply be based on actual income and expenditure in recent years, as well as known or likely changes for the coming year. It is wise to be conservative when estimating your income and realistic when estimating your expenditure.
It is also important to maintain financial stability by regularly monitoring actual financial performance against the budget. Any significant variations between the budget and your actual financial performance will raise a red flag which may require further investigation and possibly action from the management committee.
Read more about budgets in the section: Setting financial targets, including six tips to help create a successful budgeting process for your club.
Membership fees
Setting membership fees (calculating the cost of providing services to members) is a job for the management committee and will take into account your budget, expenses and various other income streams.
While this is always a balance between trying to just break even and pricing members out of the market, your fee structure shouldn’t undervalue the benefits your club offers the community, nor the efforts of your volunteers.
The section: Membership fees will help you make informed decisions when setting your fees. You can also use the Member fee calculator to help you determine your optimal member fee amount.
Fundraising
Fundraising can be an effective way for your club can generate more revenue, so it should always be approached with a business mindset. This means paying close attention to the costs of fundraising as well as the dollars raised. The Planning on fundraising section will help you get underway on your fundraising journey.
Sponsorship
While sponsorship brings significant benefits to clubs, the most successful sponsorship arrangements involve an equitable exchange, where both parties gain value. Clubs enjoy financial support and access to products or services, while sponsors get the opportunity to expand their reach, tapping into the club’s members and event attendees to boost their sales.
Sponsorship is a privilege that is underpinned by the club asking, ‘How can we help our sponsors sell more of their products or services?’
The Sponsorship section will help you secure long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with businesses.
UQ Sport reinvests all profits into services, facilities, and programs, and is supported by funding from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to benefit UQ students.
UQ Sport Ltd is a division of UQ Holdings.
