Fundraising: Alumni Basketball Tournament
If you're looking for an event that will be a popular fixture at your school, organize an alumni basketball tournament.
The tournament will not only produce favorable publicity for your school and help you locate alumni contacts, it may also become an annual fundraising event for your program.
How to Organize
The key to the tournament is that the players on each team must be alumni from a particular school (not just your own). They need not have played varsity basketball for that school, but they must be former students. Restricting the tournament to former varsity players will reduce your pool of participants.
Contact the media and organizers of local basketball leagues and fitness organizations. You might also send a notice to the physical education heads of your local schools, since they often maintain contact with alumni.
This publicity will certainly get the telephones ringing, as former schoolmates contact each other about this chance to relive past glories and rekindle old inter-school rivalries.
FundRaising Possibilities
Charge each team a set fee (i.e. $200-$400 dollars), so the amount each participant pays depends on the number of players they recruit.
You can make additional money by soliciting donations from local businesses for awards, program advertising and other promotional considerations. Sales of T-shirts and concessions are also possible money-makers.
Time-Saving Organizational Idea
If this sounds like too much work, you could reduce your workload by making the tournament a real-life credit project for the students in an advanced physical education class. Your local university or college might also offer a sports administration program with students who are looking for a hands-on project they can complete for credit.
Concept Can Be Used in Other Sports
While basketball is sure to be popular, you could also use this idea with other sports: alumni volleyball, touch football, hockey, softball, ultimate frisbee and soccer tournaments could also be successful.
Reference: Idea from Doug McKay, a retired teacher from Lo-Ellen park Secondary School, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Article updated, April 2024.
