HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMS · 2 HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMS: A Guide...

A GUIDE CO-WRITTEN BY EDCO AND THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMSHOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR

2 HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMS: A Guide co-written by Edco and the National Speech & Debate Association

PART 1: Create Your StoryBefore any fundraising can happen, your team needs to create its story. You can think of this like your team’s brand. What makes your team unique? Why do your members invest so much of their time and energy into the program? Letting your team’s passion and personality shine through will be what ultimately hooks people into supporting you and your students.Some things to include in your team’s story:

• Team demographics: How many members does your team have? Who are the team captains? What does each member enjoy most about speech and debate?

• Team history: What are your team’s past accomplishments? How successful have the students been in the past?

• Team goals: What are your team’s competition goals for the season? What are the non-competitive goals for the season (e.g., honor society recognition)?

Fundraising is a key part of success for any extracurricular activity, and speech and debate is no exception. For your team to experience all the amazing benefits that speech and debate has to offer, you need money to pay for registration fees, to travel as well as to afford room and board at different competitions, and to hire coaches and assistant coaches. With these different costs, speech and debate teams can have an annual budget of $9,000 or more!

This might seem like an intimidating number. Fortunately, the National Speech & Debate Association has partnered with Edco, an online fundraising solution for K-12 schools, to develop this guide to help you break down the fundraising process into manageable chunks. Use these tips to plan your upcoming fundraising and lead your team to success!

f WHO’S ON KING S&DThe King High School Speech and Debate team has approximately 100 members who compete in 7 different speech and debate events. Students attend practice once or twice a week after school in sessions designed and planned by the captains of each team to best cultivate the skills of each individual competitor.

f WHAT’S A TYPICAL KING S&D SEASONThough most students compete against other schools in the area on the local circuit, the most dedicated and competitive students on the King High School Speech and Debate team travel the country to compete against other top-ranked speakers and debaters at universities including Yale, Emory, Harvard, and Berkeley.

f KING S&D HISTORY The team has had students reach elimination rounds at many different invitational tournaments including Yale, University of Florida, Nova Southeastern University, and Emory. Four students from King also won the district championship in their events, which qualified them to participate in the National Speech & Debate Association National Tournament.

f WHY STUDENTS LOVE KING S&D“My teammates make me so proud to be the President of the Speech and Debate team. We know that a win for one of us is a win for the entire team, so we push each other to always work harder and do better each time we compete. Our team has been so successful at so many different levels of competition this season that I can’t wait to see what we take home from the national championship!” -Mariah, Team Captain

STORY SPOTLIGHT: KING HIGH SCHOOL

EDCO: hello.ed.co/nsda NSDA: www.speechanddebate.org 3

PART 2: Budgeting and FundingTo be successful in fundraising, it is important to know how much money your team needs to raise! Tracking your team finances and creating a budget is therefore a crucial step in the fundraising process.

HOW TO MAKE A BUDGETWe know that “budgeting” may sound difficult or complicated, but we promise it’s actually a fairly easy process, and a very important one! In order to ensure a successful season, you must be aware of how much money you are going to need. Most of the budgeting process can be boiled down to three easy steps.

The 3 Steps of Budgeting: 1. Determine your costs. Or, in other words, what do you need to spend money on? Examples of costs include tournament fees,

transportation, hiring a debate coach, and snacks.

2. Determine your income. What money does your team have? Does your team have money leftover from last year, does your team require a membership fee, or does your school provide financial assistance? Add these to your income sheet.

3. Subtract your costs from your income. This final amount is how much you need to fundraise! Your income should balance out your costs to make sure you can accomplish your goals for the season. In the best case scenario, your team would have more income than costs!

We’ve included a sample budget here to demonstrate how the process works.

SAMPLE NSDA MEMBER SCHOOL BUDGET:

3. SUBTRACT YOUR COSTS FROM YOUR INCOMECOSTS ($2,683) - INCOME ($1,650) = $1,033This is the amount this team needs to fundraise!

Things to consider when planning your fundraising1. Determine how many fundraising efforts to host throughout the season. Decide if you would rather have one big campaign to

raise all the money at once or if it makes more sense to run several smaller campaigns throughout the season. There is no one answer; it just depends on what works best for your team and community.

2. Consider the timing of each event. Scheduling fundraising efforts during your state tournament, district competition series, or other significant competitions during the season may not make the most sense. Additionally, if the drama club hosts their large fundraiser the first week of December, choose another week for your team’s fundraising efforts, perhaps even a different month. Brainstorm what days or time of year would make the most sense for your club to base their campaigns around, like #GivingTuesday, National Speech & Debate Education Day in March, the presidential debates, etc. Don’t be afraid to be creative!

1. DETERMINE YOUR COSTS

ITEM COST

High School Membership Dues $149

Resource Package for the team $199

Lifetime Student Membership Fees (from students) $20 x 10 Students

Judge for a one-day tournament $85

Tournament entry fees $600

Transportation $1,000

Food (snacks/meals during tournaments) $450

TOTAL COST $2,683

2. DETERMINE YOUR INCOME

ITEM TOTAL

Membership Fees $100 x 10 Students

School Financial Assistance $450

Citrus Sale $200

TOTAL INCOME $1,650


Once you’ve figured out how much money your team needs, the next step is to start reaching out to your community to raise the funds. You may be wondering:

“How do I make my community aware of my fundraising needs?”

Great question! And luckily for you, the act of spreading awareness is simple through online fundraising.

Online fundraising can come in many forms, but generally refers to using the Internet to raise money. Many online fundraising sites have popped up where you can create your own webpage about your cause where anyone can learn more and share with others! There are lots of sites out there, each with a different focus. Edco specializes in fundraising for K-12 schools and school programs. We’ve designed everything with teachers, coaches, and students in mind.

COMPARISON OF ONLINE FUNDRAISING PLATFORMS

Company Name K-12Focused

Customer FocusDonations

Directly to a Non-Profit

WithdrawFunds

Anytime

Automated Thank You

NotesFee*

Edco ✔ Team ✔ ✔ ✔ 4.9%

GoFundMe ✘ Individual ✘ ✔ ✘ 5%

DonorsChoose ✔ Teacher ✔ ✘ ✔ 15%

CrowdRise ✘ Team & Individual ✘ ✘ ✘ 5%

Snap-Raise ✔ Team ✘ ✘ ✔ 20 - 30%

*Represents service charge by each company and does not include credit card processing fees

So now to address the big question: how exactly does online fundraising work?

1. SET UP A GREAT FUNDRAISING GOAL Setting up a good fundraising goal is crucial to your success. Your fundraising goal is the first thing that potential supporters see when they come to learn more about your team’s needs. When you create your fundraising goal, keep in mind the 3 C’s:1. Clear - Be transparent about where the donations are going! Include details about how the funds will be spent to reassure

supporters that their donations will be well used. 2. Concise - Details are good, but make sure not to go overboard. You want to convey your needs quickly and clearly to your

potential supporters. 3. Common Sense - We’re all about pushing yourself to reach your financial goal, but make sure to choose an amount that you

believe is attainable.

2. BUILD A STRONG SUPPORTER NETWORK This is the key to success: sharing your story with the right people. You may not realize it, but your team has a large number of supporters readily available! Take a moment to think of how many people you can ask to support your fundraiser. Now, multiply that number by all of your students and parents in your group who have their own networks. Imagine if just ten parents and students asked ten of their friends and family. Voila! Your supporter network just grew to 100 potential supporters!

One approach we highly recommend is to ask specific individuals who are most likely to give for their donation before promoting it to the masses. After this is done, when you start your broader promotion, there will be donors already in place. Individuals are more likely to give if they see peers they respect donating to the cause.

PART 3: Raising Money from Friends, Family, and the Community


Keep in mind that your group is not limited to just you and your students! Don’t forget to include alumni of the program, other school faculty and staff, and school community members at large (including local businesses!). These groups are often overlooked in school fundraising. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake.

Checklist of People to Ask Family members Teachers and mentors Coworkers of family and friends Alumni Neighbors and church members Social media networks

3. DEVELOP A STRONG ASK Finding your supporters is only half the battle —the more important part is reaching them effectively! There’s a rule of thumb in fundraising: the more personal you make an ask, the more receptive your potential supporter will be. An in-person, one-on-one ask will always be stronger than a tailored email, which will always be stronger than a Facebook post, etc. Though this may take a little longer, it will likely result in more contributions. Remember, you’re not simply asking people to contribute their money—you’re inviting them to be a partner in your success.

It’s also very important to keep your supporters updated and informed about your progress. Email and post on social media regularly about fundraising progress to remind potential supporters of your campaign and ongoing needs. Adding visuals like pictures and videos is a great way to make your supporters feel more personally connected. Most people are very busy and appreciative of reminders, as well. This is where more emails and social media also help. Want ideas of what to say? Check out the appendix for sample emails and social media posts.

4. SAY THANK YOU AND KEEP IN TOUCH! You’ve made your fundraiser and you’re earning donations, now don’t forget the most important step of the process: to properly thank your donors. You could not succeed without their support, and make sure they know that! The people that contribute to your campaign do so because they care and believe in you and your students. Don’t leave them hanging!

Some of the best ways to show your appreciation include: f A personalized thank you note f Regular updates about the group’s activity and accomplishments f Photos showing your group having a great time!

These small acts of reaching out will go a long way with your supporters, and are a crucial part of keeping your donors engaged and eager to help again in the future.

We’ve seen teams develop various strategies for thanking sponsors. For instance, some have established tiers that indicate which type of thank you an individual gets, based upon the level of support they provide. Teams can choose to publicize these tiers, which may entice people to give more than they were initially thinking. Be careful not to promise something to a donor and then not deliver; remember, you’re working to develop long-term donors.


Did you know that advertisements for Super Bowl 50 set a new record at $5 million dollars for a 30-second slot?!

Why would companies pay such an outrageously high amount of money for such a short period of time?

Because the Super Bowl reached nearly 120 million people in the United States.

Reaching new customers and staying top-of-mind is of big importance to companies, and they are willing to channel quite a bit of funds to achieve that. Business sponsorship is not a new way of fundraising for school groups—many sports teams have turned to sponsorship for years by designing uniforms with large logos included—but we’re here to tell you that business sponsorship is also a possibility for your team! Let’s go through how to find potential businesses as well as what the “asking” process should look like by breaking it down to the who, what, and why.

WHO TO ASKDetermining which businesses to ask is probably the hardest part of the process. The good news is you have many options!

Here is our recommendation for a quick and easy way to create your initial list of businesses:1. Start close to home. Sit down with your team parents and ask if anyone has a personal tie to a business. Does anyone have

any family or close friends they could turn to? Do any parents have employer matching programs that could benefit your team?2. Extend the circle to local businesses in the neighborhood. What types of businesses surround the school? Are there any

that students or teachers frequently visit?3. Round out your search with the entire community. Visit your local community’s guide to businesses found on the Chamber

of Commerce page. Also be sure to look in local magazines and newspapers to see which local businesses advertise the most. They’ll be among the most receptive to your pitch!

Make sure to keep track of your list in a spreadsheet. Important details to track include:• Business name• Business address (it’s good to ask in-person!)• The contact information of the manager• Team member responsible for outreach• Date of last outreach• Level of Interest (Rate businesses 1 - 3 based on the likelihood of sponsorship, or 0 if they’re a definite “No”)• Any other notes or relevant information

WHAT TO ASKOnce you’ve gathered your list, the next step is to, well, ask! But before you start calling and emailing away, you need to plan out what you’re going to say.

How much money should you ask for? What would the business like in return?These are great questions that we’re here to help answer.A sponsorship pitch should boil down to one of two things: an in-kind donation or a monetary donation. With an in-kind donation, the business provides either goods or services in order to help you reach your fundraising goal. Do not underestimate the power of in-kind donations! A restaurant could donate food, for example, that can be used either in a concession stand, judges’ lounge, or team dinner. Or, a printing service could donate its services by offering to print ballots, provide printer paper, or more. The possibilities are endless!Businesses are usually quick to offer an in-kind donation if they can. Asking for a cash donation can be a longer process.

How much should you ask for? If the business says no to your initial amount, should you ask again with a smaller one?These questions can be avoided with a sponsorship level sheet. Sponsorship levels allow you to showcase all the ways your team can help promote the business—from T-shirt mentions, to website banners, to ads in performance brochures. We’ve added a basic example of what sponsorship levels could look like below, but definitely add some spice to yours! A little personality (i.e., naming your sponsorship levels after the team name or based upon the NSDA honor society degrees) goes a long way.

PART 4: Raising Money from Local Businesses


SAMPLE SPONSORSHIP LEVELS: DIAMOND SPONSOR - $500-$999 RUBY SPONSOR - $100-$499 EMERALD SPONSOR - $25-$99

o Team T-shirt: Name/Logo of individual business in medium font

o Banner: Large name on banner (displayed at events and tournaments)

o Website: Picture and link to sponsor’s website on sponsorship page

o Team T-shirt: Name/Logo of individual business in small font

o Banner: Small name on banner (displayed at events and tournaments)

o Website: Name/logo of individual/business on sponsorship page

o Website: Name/Logo of individual/business on sponsorship page

HOW TO ASKLet’s stop and reflect for a moment. At this point, we’ve gone over how to create your list of potential sponsors, and what you should ask of them. Now, all that’s left is for you to go out and ask!

Here are the basic steps to reaching out to your list of businesses, if you don’t already have a contact there you’re working through.

1. Look online for the business contact information (phone number, address, email).2. Reach out via phone or email and ask to speak with the business manager.3. Set up a time to deliver an in-person business pitch.4. Deliver your amazing pitch and snag the deal!5. Follow up with a personalized thank you and be sure to keep in touch with the business as you move forward with the sponsorship.6. Keep notes of the feedback you receive and whether they say yes or no to a donation. Perhaps they said no because their

policy is to award all donations by X date, and after that, no further donations are permitted. Knowing this would enable you to get your ask in earlier the following year.

If you want to learn more about how to secure business sponsorship, visit http://library.ed.co to view Edco’s resources including a sample business sponsorship pitch. Or, take a look at the end of this guide for a sample letter.

Getting local press coverage is a great way to reach a large number of people in your community and create some hype for your team! And trust us, it’s not as difficult as it seems. As with most things, it’s all in the way you ask. Here’s how:

1. Research the various local media outlets and find out who reports on schools or education. (Hint: Calling the paper or the station is the best way to do this.)

2. Once you know who to talk to, email them a press release. Always add your phone number and email so they can contact you! Take a look at our example press releases in our appendix and find more templates at www.speechanddebate.org.

3. Then, one day after sending the release, try to call the media outlet and “pitch” the reporter. (If you’re lucky, they’ll call you first.) “Hi, this is Juan at George Washington High. Did you receive a press release from our speech and debate team?” Try to engage the reporter in conversation, and invite them to attend one of your meetings or a competition!

Not sure what stories to pitch? Here are a few ideas. • Your club’s achievements • Community service work your club does • Using crowdfunding as a new way of fundraising and connecting with your local community

Nervous about your press release? The NSDA is happy to review a press release, or even assist you in developing one. Email [email protected] for support!

Here are a few Edco users who have done a great job of reaching out to their media. Use their stories as inspiration for your team’s press release!

• Clovis North’s Robotics Team Uses New Website To Raise Thousands – http://goo.gl/KaZfY4• Concord Speech Team Third In State Tourney – http://goo.gl/vH2FFw• BHS Students Qualify for National Speech Tournaments – http://goo.gl/QYRHcM

PART 5: How to Get Press Coverage


Hosting a speech and debate tournament can be an impactful way of giving back to the community, creating free opportunities for your students to compete, and raising funds for your team.

When hosting a tournament as a fundraiser, it’s important to think through all of the potential costs involved in hosting:

Will your school charge you any custodial or security fees?Some schools cover these fees for events, while others charge. Be sure that you know the answer to this question.

What is your budget for trophies? Tournaments need to give out plaques, trophies, medals, or other awards. You can provide quality recognition at affordable rates. Think about what other tournaments in the area offer. What is most common? Are there differences between the cost of the tournament and the quality of the awards? As a member of the National Speech & Debate Association, you are also eligible for reduced rates through our trophy shop as an added value to your membership. Don’t spend more money for less quality. Check out what we can provide for you at www.speechanddebate.org/tournament-services.

How will you feed the students? Will you provide a meal with the cost of the entry fee? Will you offer concessions and just let students order? There are pros and cons to doing it either way. Some tournaments add $6 to the cost and use that as a budget for planning a lunch for each student in attendance. You can make $6 go far, and if you’re smart, get a total lunch for under $6 so you come out ahead. Others prefer to go the a la carte route and sell concessions. Figure out a plan and determine what will be best for you, your team, and your community. If no tournament in your area does pre-sold meals, it may not be the best option. However, if that’s common, you may want to plan accordingly. Tournaments can get great bulk orders from pizza or sub places. Call around and pit companies against each other to try and get the best price.

How will you feed the coaches and judges?Each tournament should offer a judges lounge. Refreshments, snacks, and then a meal should be available. Coffee is a must in the morning, and some light continental items make sense. Between breakfast and lunch it’s nice to put out some chips, pretzels, and nuts, but not necessary. During lunch you can serve the judges what you’re serving the students, arrange a potluck, or get it catered.

This could be completely free and cost you nothing if you’re able to plan far enough in advance. Could your team parents make food to serve in the judges lounge? Could you get donations to cover the food from local vendors? Some teams are able to get casseroles made for breakfast, crock pots of soup for lunch, and more. Others are able to get local chains to donate sandwiches, pizza, or salads.

How will you thank people who help the tournament?Will you write thank you cards, get small gifts, or do something else? Think about how you want to thank the volunteers who help run the tournament (you can’t do it alone!). Will you do anything for the custodians, administrative assistants, administrators, or teachers at the school? Plan that out.

How will you get extemp questions or impromptu prompts for your event?Tournaments that offer extemp and/or impromptu events need to figure out how they’ll get these prompts/questions ready for the tournament. Will you write them yourself or contract out the work? The National Speech & Debate Association offers extemp questions and impromptu prompts at very affordable rates. Check out www.speechanddebate.org/tournament-services for more information

Also, when hosting, it’s critical to know the average value of a local tournament in your area. What do other tournaments charge? The more expensive your tournament is in comparison to other tournaments, the more likely participating schools are to pass on attending. Set a reasonable entry price.

There are other ways to make money from the tournament:

• Ask parents, alumni, and local volunteers to judge. If a team cannot meet their judging obligation, you could charge a hired judge fee. If it’s a one day tournament you could charge anywhere from $50-$100, and if it’s two days you could charge anywhere from $75-$200. Think about what is common locally and stay within that range.

PART 6: Event Fundraising - Hosting a Speech and Debate Tournament


• Get businesses to sponsor the tournament or specific events. Offer incentives such as their name on awards, in a tournament program, or on special signage throughout the tournament.

• Create a tournament program and sell ads to local businesses —they can even donate directly through Edco! Running a tournament is a lot of work; however, you can make a substantial amount of money from the event in exchange. Start planning early, get a mentor to assist, and take good notes so that future tournaments are easier from year to year. Check out our appendix guide to hosting a tournament for more complete information about planning the event!

SCHOOL BASED SUPPORTBefore you can get broader support, be sure that you maximize the recognition and awareness within your school building. Here are some strategies to increase awareness:

• After a tournament, provide morning announcements that highlight the success(es) of the team.• Create a bulletin board in a public place that has pictures, rankings, your tournament schedule, team meeting information,

and more. Keep it fresh and updated throughout the year. Don’t let it become stagnant!• Give your principal a trophy from a tournament to display in their office or the front of the school.• Ask for a trophy case to display your awards.• Complete Academic All American applications through the NSDA so your administration gets notified of those students’ high

success inside of the classroom, while doing speech and debate!• Take advantage of professional development opportunities through the Association and coach service citations, which trigger

communication to your administration about your commitment and accomplishments.• Induct members of your administration into the team’s honor society. Public recognition goes a long way, so don’t just do it

privately. Call them on stage at your tournament, your banquet, or in front of the school board.• Consider nominating your principal for the National Principal of the Year Award offered by the Association.• Have students write thank you cards to the school administration at the end of the year for their support of the team.• Show appreciation for the Administrative Assistants in your school and district. They have the ears of your administrators

(and, it’s just the right thing to do!).• Upload photos and videos of debates and great events and give shout outs to team members on the Edco platform.

SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPPORTOnce you have the support of your school, go bigger! Here are some strategies to increase awareness at the school district level:

• Submit press releases (use district services if they exist).• Always recognize administrative support at the school and district level publicly.• Invite school board members to be guest judges at tournaments you host or attend.

PART 7: Getting Support From Your School and the District


• Request recognition at the school board meeting at the end of the year to celebrate your season’s successes (qualifying to nationals, state success, etc.).

• Work with your registrar to get information like the average GPA of your speech and debate team and compare that to the general population and other populations (sports team, other clubs, etc.).

• Track what percentage of students on your team graduate high school and/or attend a college or university, and compare that to the general population.

• Have students write thank you cards to the school board and superintendent at the end of the year for their support of the team.

LEVERAGING SUPPORT THAT IS GAINEDSome of the strategies suggested for your school could be used for the district and vice-versa. Once you’ve developed a network of support, it’s fair to consider how you could leverage that support to benefit the team. Basically, identify how the support can translate to a better experience for your students.

Request an increase in your budget. Money is tight, and that’s why it’s important to fundraise as much as possible. However, if you grow your team and show how speech and debate makes a positive impact on the school community, you’ll be on better grounds for requesting a budget increase. When making the request, consider the following:

• How much has your team grown? How does this impact the budget?• How much fundraising are you doing?• What successes have you attained? Why are those going to continue and why does that increase the costs? • What is the budget of surrounding schools in the area, state, or even nationally?

Getting more time. Teachers who coach have significant responsibility and it can become overwhelming. By garnering more support and increasing awareness of your team, as well as your individual growth and accomplishment, you are in a better position to be granted requests for an additional planning period, release time for administrative tasks, etc.

Hosting a tournament. If you host a tournament, there are things you wish the school would do to make your life easier. If you don’t host a tournament, you realize the potential fundraising benefit it could have on your team. Leverage your support to try and get more from the school. Perhaps the school will cover custodial or security charges. Maybe the principal will give you access to more rooms than before.

There are numerous ways that you can think about leveraging the support to uniquely benefit your team’s needs. Getting more from a school and district is possible, but it takes work! Administrators face what they perceive to be endless requests and challenges. Be someone who makes their life easier, not harder. Support their vision, goals, and objectives in all that you do. When you do, it’ll be easier for them to support you and your needs!

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, what matters is that your students are able to participate in the unique and stimulating activity of speech and debate. In order to provide this opportunity, however, your team needs money. Fundraising is the backbone of success, and though it can get frustrating at times, it doesn’t have to be. Edco and the NSDA are here to simplify and speed up the process for you. We hope this guide will make fundraising easier for you, and we have many more resources available to help.

The NSDA wants every one of its teams to do well, and actively creates educational materials and provides support for you. Edco also strives to alleviate the stress by becoming your partner in the online fundraising process. We’ve designed our fundraising platform to be as simple and compliant with the school system as possible. Additionally, we have a Customer Success team dedicated to working one-on-one with advisors, a library full of fundraising tips, and NSDA teams. We’re here for you!


SAMPLE FACEBOOK POST PDFhttp://library.ed.co/Facebook_Post_Guide.pdf

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE PDFhttp://library.ed.co/Press_Release_Helper.pdf

SAMPLE EMAIL 1:

Hi [Friend’s name],

I’ve got some big news: Our high school speech and debate team is incredible, and we just qualified for the big national competition with teams from all around the country.

We’ve had this dream all year, and now we’re in! But to actually get there, we need to raise money from our friends and families, and I thought you might be excited to help out by making a tax-deductible donation.

Will you chip in $50 (or whatever you can afford) to help? Here’s the link to our fundraising page:

[Fundraising page]

Thank you SO MUCH -- we are incredibly grateful, and I’ll send you some pics from the competition! :)

[Your name]

SAMPLE EMAIL 2:

Hi [name],

We’re working hard to achieve great things. Our success depends on the support of our friends, family and community. You can help by:

1. Making a donation:

Your contribution will have a direct impact on sustaining our school activities.

2. Sharing our page:

Help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your network of contacts.

Learn more about us: [Fundraising page]

Thank you for the support! :)

[Your name]

APPENDIX:

SAMPLE BUSINESS LETTER

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is [Name], and I am a student with the National Speech & Debate Association team [team name]. I’m writing today on behalf of my team to inquire if your company might be interested in sponsoring our speech and debate team for our 2016-2017 season!

Our team is comprised of highly dedicated and competitive students who travel the country to compete against other top-ranked speakers and debaters at universities including Yale, Emory, Harvard, and Berkeley. We have had students reach elimination rounds at many different invitational tournaments including Yale, University of Florida, Nova Southeastern University, and Emory. We also recently saw four of our students win the district championship in their divisions, which qualified them to the National Speech & Debate Tournament in June!

Throughout the year, we train as a group and participate in local competitions to qualify for our district events. To find out more about the National Speech & Debate Association program, please visit www.speechanddebate.org!

We would be very happy to come out and do a presentation on the NSDA, the learning and leadership opportunities our program provides, and the potential for our team to serve as community marketing for your company. Our previous sponsors have included [X Company] and [Y Company].

For more detailed information about our team, you can visit our websites at the following links:

www.highschool.com/SpeechAndDebateTeam (Club website)

www.facebook.com/SpeechAndDebateTeam (Facebook page)

You can also support our club online by visiting our fundraising page and learning about our latest project:

http://school.ed.co/SpeechAndDebateTeam (Fundraising page)

Thank you very much for your consideration, I look forward to hearing back from you soon!

[Name]

Student, Speech and Debate Team

CONTACT US!

[email protected]

PHONE(920) 748-6206

FACEBOOKwww.facebook.com/speechanddebate

TWITTER@speechanddebate

[email protected]

PHONE(646) 798-8183

CHAThelp.ed.co

FACEBOOKwww.facebook.com/weareedco

TWITTER@weareedco

HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMS · 2 HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR SPEECH & DEBATE TEAMS: A Guide...

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