Club fundraising tips: The Coffee morning

The table quiz is a time-honoured method of raising funds for GAA clubs, but there's more than one way to skin a cat. In AIB GAA's first in the series, we look at how you can pull together some funds to help your club push ahead for the new season.

Coffee morning

It might sound a little too simple to just bring people together for coffee for a couple of hours, but it's a surprisingly effective way to fundraise.

How to do it

Families take turns to host a coffee — or tea, and any other refreshments — morning at their house. Should you charge ten euro entry, a simple meeting of 20 people raises 200 euro. Should this happen ten weeks in a row at different homes, that's two thousand euro, which is not to be sniffed at. Not only that, but it's very achievable.

Advantage

One plus is that you do not need to buy any form of insurance for a social gathering such as this. Low-key, low-pressure, and easy-going.

Food

Provide some scones/cakes/other bites of food. In many cases, you will find that people do not come in with their two hands swinging — that is, they will bring some treats with them. People may donate to the cause for these items.

How to spread the word

Word of mouth is a great start. But another way to let people know is to print up some simple fliers, and drop them through letterboxes in the area. For those with a keen online presence, post up the details on the community Facebook page.

Fresh faces

A lot of GAA fundraising goes on down at the clubhouse or the local pub, which in some parishes might be the same establishment. Not everyone likes to spend their time in this environment, so a coffee morning at someone's house is a different atmosphere that will appeal to many people. It's also a day-time event, and you might have neighbours dropping by that might not normally attend games. All in all, you will find that fresh faces get involved and contribute, which is always a boost.

Raffle options

A very simple added extra. A signed jersey is an obvious raffle prize, but feel free to use your imagination. Perhaps a local restaurant might offer a voucher for the coffee morning. All proceeds go back to the club.

Variation

Should a coffee morning not float your boat, perhaps a wine evening might be to your taste.

Keep it going

Agree beforehand on the order of the coffee mornings. Have a schedule done out and you will quickly find that families will support each others' event. The added benefit is that it is going to be an enjoyable pursuit.

Funds

After each event, simply count the funds, hand it over the the club treasurer, and reflect on a job well done.

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