Fundraising Tips/Ideas

[Trevor3]

Quebec still has a few of those old beauties in remote areas.

Assuming you may get the skate sharpening how large of a hockey playing population do you have? Where do the figure skaters and speed skaters go for sharpening?

As long as you have a fairly competent staff of sharpeners you with basic traffic you should do 4,000 pairs a year. A serviceable
used or portable should do the trick. Check to see if there are product categories that are hockey related, offer good mark-ups and terms, that the canteen does not carry.

Between minor hockey, mens rec league, womens rec, and us, there are probably 500 players. Figure skaters have to go out of town because the stadium can't do them, so there is an opportunity there, plus general skating, and other groups that I don't know a whole lot about, like 55 plus league and others.

There is another rink in the area about 20 mins away that doesn't do any sharpening and they've got more rec leagues, a small minor program etc... So we're probably at 800 or so potential customers.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Good Chance

Between minor hockey, mens rec league, womens rec, and us, there are probably 500 players. Figure skaters have to go out of town because the stadium can't do them, so there is an opportunity there, plus general skating, and other groups that I don't know a whole lot about, like 55 plus league and others.

There is another rink in the area about 20 mins away that doesn't do any sharpening and they've got more rec leagues, a small minor program etc... So we're probably at 800 or so potential customers.

If the stadium cannot do figure skating chances are that they offer a run of the mill service. The elite sharpeners in the Montreal area, the sharpeners that will draw a radius that covers multiple arenas with competition do the other skating related sports.

If the hockey specialty stores in the area that sell skates do not offer the "10 free sharpenings" deal with each pair purchased there is an opportunity. Even if they do and the job is done by clerks who are not consistent, long term it will work as long as quality work is done at your end.

 

[madmutter]

If the stadium cannot do figure skating chances are that they offer a run of the mill service. The elite sharpeners in the Montreal area, the sharpeners that will draw a radius that covers multiple arenas with competition do the other skating related sports.

If the hockey specialty stores in the area that sell skates do not offer the "10 free sharpenings" deal with each pair purchased there is an opportunity. Even if they do and the job is done by clerks who are not consistent, long term it will work as long as quality work is done at your end.

I think it's important for anyone who is going to sharpen skates as a business to realize that it has to be right every time. You screw up one hockey game for me and I'm never coming back.

 

[Trevor3]

If the stadium cannot do figure skating chances are that they offer a run of the mill service. The elite sharpeners in the Montreal area, the sharpeners that will draw a radius that covers multiple arenas with competition do the other skating related sports.

If the hockey specialty stores in the area that sell skates do not offer the "10 free sharpenings" deal with each pair purchased there is an opportunity. Even if they do and the job is done by clerks who are not consistent, long term it will work as long as quality work is done at your end.

Like madmutter said, you have to be good if you get into sharpening, we all seem to agree there. Actually, there are no hockey or sports shops around, so aside from the rink the only option is Sportchek an hour away in Corner Brook. The more I think about this the more I think there is a market for it.

 

[Elizabeth72]

Hockey Fundraising Ideas

Hello Trevor,

Perhaps I can help you out. My husband and I own Hockey Spirit Fundraising calendars. We traveled to Newfoundland in 2009 to add some east coast flare to our hockey artwork for our fundraising calendars.

As a result, the cover scene on this year's 11-12 Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendar is a scene we created in a precious little old fishing village called Little Port, it's a small town just outside of Lark Harbour. I'll try to include the image into this message for you if I can.

Here is what I'm thinking. When we were in Newfoundland shooting for our calendars, CBC Radio One covered our story 'Hockey in July'. We were also interviewed by Down Home magazine. I wonder if your team was to fundraise with our calendars, if by chance these media outlets might pick up on the story as a follow up to promote your fundraiser? Just a thought, I can definitely look into this and help you in this aspect.

I have a few more ideas too, but maybe I should start with letting you go to check out our Hockey Spirit Fundraising calendars first, and then if you think it's a match - please call me. 1.888.333.0090, toll free, or send me an email.

Best of success to you and your team as this is definitely a challenging fundraising target. Please just say the word if there is anything I can do to give you a hand with your hockey fundraising ideas for the new season.

You can also check out my favorite fundraising ideas and tips to help you with any tournaments you may be hosting or if you are planning to set up a fundraising booth at the arena. I hope my collection of handy hockey fundraising ideas can help your club.

Yours in hockey,

Elizabeth
Hockey Spirit Fundraising Ltd.