Fundraising and Sponsorship Policy

BC Fire Soccer Club is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization.  As such, certain IRS rules apply and must be adhered to in order to enable any charitable donor to deduct the donor’s monetary contribution on tax returns.

This policy establishes BC Fire guidelines for the collection of funds from club parents and outside sources. The club has identified three types of activities used by the club and teams to collect funds for various reasons.

Collection from Parents

Parentson individual teams may coordinate with other parents to collect funds for use by the team. Most often these collections are for specific purposes. For example, parents may come together to “chip in” a small amount each in order to buy a team tent. Because these types of collections do not use the club name or utilize club resources, BC Fire does not govern this type of collection. We do encourage parents wishing to organize or participate in a collection to consider the following guidelines.

  • Not all families have the same ability or willingness to pay. Competitive soccer is already a costly activity, please consider the request to collect funds carefully to ensure it is a critical team need. Wherever possible, try to have unanimous consent of parents before deciding to incur expenses.
  • The individual or individuals entrusted by the team for the collection will have sole responsibility for accounting of all funds.
  • Collections should be single purpose. For example, a collection should be used to pay for items—such as tents, bags, travel, and the like. It is against club policy for coaches to be involved with, direct, or manage “slush funds” or similar accounts.

Fundraising

When individual teams seek financial support from outside of the club, this is considered fundraising. Fundraising falls under the purview of the club as the BC Fire name, its logo, and mission are used to solicit funds. Fundraising examples include selling items—such as coupon books, candles, or candies. Fundraisers may also include services such as car washes. We encourage teams to raise funds for their team needs. When doing so the following policies must be followed.

  • All team fundraisers must be approved, in advance, by the BC Fire Soccer Club Board. Requests should be submitted, in writing.
  • Because the BC Fire Soccer Club Board has financial responsibility for all club funds, the approval process is intended to give awareness of funds entering the club, ensure the safety of players, and ensure the club is associated with reputable organizations. The BC Fire Soccer Club Board will use its best judgment in approving a fundraiser. The committee will consider all pertinent factors such as appropriateness, safety, amount of time required by the player in its consideration. Most any standard school fundraiser is encouraged.
  • Funds should be raised for specific team purposes. For example, teams are encouraged to raise funds for tournament fees, travel fees, or the purchase of specific items. Team “slush funds” or team accounts are not allowed. The club has a responsibility to parents to account for all funds. BC Fire Soccer Club uses standard accounting practices to account for all funds.
  • Team fundraising funds will be managed as follows
    • Collected funds will be placed on account with the club for the team that raised the money.
    • For tournament and travel fees, the amount raised by the team will be deducted from the tournament and/or travel budget. Those fees will be paid directly by the club from funds raised by the team.
    • For other items, whenever possible, the club will purchase the item for which the funds were earmarked.
    • The club is not staffed to operate multiple team accounts and make multiple purchases for individual teams, i.e.team accounts. The intent of fundraising should be to cover fees or one time, large purchases.
  • Street collecting is strictly forbidden.
  • Any team funds unused at the end of the year will be added to the general BC Fire Soccer Club fund the following season.
  • BC Fire Soccer Club Logo can only be used with the written permission of the club.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship occurs when a business is given promotional consideration in exchange for a donation to the club. All sponsorship will be managed at the club level. While teams are welcome to raise funds from businesses under the fundraising policy, individual teams are not authorized to offer to display business logos on any item. It is the intent of BC Fire Soccer Club that sponsors benefit the general fund of the club vs. individual teams.

All financial activities are governed by the BC Fire Soccer Club Board. Any requests to raise funds, potential sponsors, or any other questions should be directed at current committee members.