10 ways to increase your club's revenue [free eBook]

In these times, it is imperative that you make good use of the resources you have and figure out how increase income!  I'll explain 10 ways how you can do it.  I’m sure there are several that you have never encountered ???? This is just a summary, feel free to download our free eBook to have all this information much more developed!

1.Organize new activities for your club's athletes

There are many clubs that, as a parallel activity to their day-to-day activities, organize events or specific activities. I'm not telling you anything new. I am talking about summer, Christmas and Easter camps, tournaments, courses, clinics, etc.

And it's not just "to break the routine". Occasional activities are one of the most interesting sources of income for a club. Although we do not have real statistics, there are several clubs that have confessed that the profitability/hours invested of these activities is superior to any type of fundraising that there is: membership fees, sponsorships, grants etc...

Anyway, what I want is for you to think about organizing these types of activities. The most suitable dates are the breaks in competition. Easter and Christmas are times when many people have vacations and can participate in organized events anywhere from 1 day to a week as "Clinics", "Tournaments" or "Mini-campus".

2. Get recurring revenue from partners

Did you know that 54% of the club income in Spain comes from membership fees?

I want to explain how you can maximize the income of your athletes, without the change having a negative impact on your club.

• The first solution is to increase your athlete fees.
• And my favorite option, recurring income!

(In the ebook you will see these options fully developed)

3. Launch new membership campaigns

The first thing to do is to organize the new season, even if it's only for the first few days. Facilities, monitors, schedules, prices.... When you have the information, it's time to take the next step, you have to start a membership campaign. Here's the possible types of athletes you can get. Below I categorized the types of members into 7 different types:

• The lifelong ones.
• Referrals.
• Schools and extracurricular activities.
• Summer camp.
• Web.
• Social networks.
• Traditional media.
• Traditional media.

4. Discover how to obtain grants

An alternative for many clubs is to look for grants. There are different types of subsidies: local, provincial, regional, state and European. There may also be grants from federations, confederations or other organizations. Criteria varies from case to case.

It is possible that in your locality clubs with more than xx members are subsidized, while at the regional level the criterion is that the club competes in the first national division, for example.

Applying for a grant is not a very pleasant job, but once you "get the hang of it", year after year it will cost you less to do it. And remember that it can represent an important part of the annual budget.

Although each grant has different requirements, most require you to meet a number of conditions for the grant to be awarded. Typically, you will be asked to:

• Be registered in the Registry of Sports Entities.
• To be up to date with all payments and responsibilities.
• To have a team/athlete competing in leagues or competitions at a certain level.
• To be competing in the events of the calendar of the corresponding Autonomous Federation.
• You will probably be asked to provide a report and proof of competitions, expenses, etc.

Depending on the subsidy, the eligible expenses will be one or another. There will be cases in which you will be granted facilities, money to hire, sports equipment... Anyway, here are the most typical eligible expenses, so that you can organize your budget:

• Federation licenses
• Renting of facilities
• Sports insurance
• Entries in official competitions
• Expenses for referees, coaches, and competitions
• Transportation, per diem and lodging
• Salaries of employees
• Sports equipment or auxiliary material

5. Create an online shop

Regardless of the fact that it serves as a new source of income, it will also allow you to streamline the processes as club manager, to the athletes, members and fans. Sounds great, doesn't it?

The most notable advantages of an online store are as follows:

• The store is open 24 hours a day.
• This allows your club to reach new customers.
• Reduce your costs
• Increase your profit
• Increased customer loyalty
• Greater convenience for the customer

Come on, now you're talking. I'm sure I've convinced you. However, just as "just about any club" can consider all other sources of revenue, having an online store is more complex. And it's not for every club.

To approach this source of income, the following points have to be very clear:

1. You have to have a business mentality.
2. Study your environment and competition
3. Estimate the profitability of your online store

6. Increase the value perceived by sponsors

I’m assuming that you already have sponsors. Well, sponsors, collaborators, affiliated companies or whatever you want to call them. In short, people or entities that contribute to the club financially.

The objective of the sponsor, in some cases, is to help the club. To provide facilities, offer material, or money, discounts... But, honestly, in most cases, whoever sponsors a club wants a return on their investment.

1. List potential sponsors
2. Create different "packages" for each type of sponsor.
3. Visibility in facilities
4. Sponsorship on your team's equipment
5. Digital presence
6. Your club's website is the first place where most of your audience goes, so it's an attractive proposition for sponsors.
7. Innovative solutions to deliver new value

7. Rent facilities and other assets

If you have assets in your club, it's probably a good idea to use them. Not all clubs have their own facilities. In many cases, the facilities are ceded by the municipality, or rented to a private entity. In that case, it seems difficult to "operate" the facilities. However, if these facilities are owned by the club, you are in luck.

Think of it as a diamond in the rough. Of course you have the necessary facilities to practice the sport. But, is the facility occupied for 24 hours a day? Here are some ideas that can help you to open your mind, and to consider different scenarios.

Rent by the hour to other clubs in the area.

8.  Throw a crowdfunding campaign

Crowdfunding can be defined as micro-patronage. It is a form of crowdfunding in which collective cooperation is carried out by people, called co-funders, who use a network in order to raise money or other resources to develop a project.

In return, the co-financiers receive non-monetary rewards that can range from a public thank you to other things depending on the amount they contribute to the project.

Campaigns are usually carried out through specialized platforms that launch the campaign and promote it in order to make it as successful as possible. It is important that you have an outline of the steps to undertake before you publish anything:

1. Define the objective of your campaign: how much do you need and what for.
2. Define the time frame: when are you going to start the campaign and how long will it last.
3. Define the rewards: considerations that you are going to offer to the co-financiers.

One of the keys to a successful crowdfunding campaign is this last point: the rewards. These rewards must be related to the project you intend to carry out.

9. Exploit non-sporting economic activities

In many clubs, it is typical to not exploit all the ways that sports practice (and related aspects) has, but to opt for alternative ways. Among these are the following:

1. Lotteries, betting, raffles.
2. Lunches, dinners, fairs
3. Travel

10. Design a referral campaign

Technology companies, with a B2C focus (on the customer end) are used to making referral campaigns. On the one hand, you encourage your current customers to recommend the service or product by offering a reward, while on the other hand, you encourage new customers to sign up or buy it by offering another kind of reward.