Running the finances at your club doesn’t need to be difficult, and you don’t need to be an accountant to succeed.
As the person responsible for the day-to-day management of your club’s finances, you will need plan, budget, and find new funding opportunities. You will also need to keep your committee or board updated on the finances through reporting.
On this page
Planning and budgeting
Without planning and budgeting your club will not know what they can spend or when to spend it. The committee or board is responsible for preparing an annual budget to direct the club’s activities in the new financial year. The budget should predict what will be coming in (cash flow) and what will go out (expenditure). This will assist the club in planning for club activities and working towards achieving long term goals.
Managing money
Once a budget has been accepted, you are still responsible for managing the club’s money by tracking the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’. A club treasurer should be providing the committee with the following reports monthly:
- Profit and Loss Statement – for the respective month and year-to-date.
- Balance Sheet (and/or Bank Statements) – a summary of what cash is available, the value of the club assets and any monies to be received or to be paid.
- Receivables List – list of outstanding monies others owe the club.
- Payables List – list of monies the club owes to others.
Best practise for financial management:
- constitutional requirements of financial reporting
- bookkeeping system/software that is easy to use and manageable by the Treasure
- an experienced Treasurer – they don’t have to be an accountant, however they will need an understanding of finance
- club bank accounts
- cheque signing authorities – at least three committee members, two a minimum for signage
- auditor.
Sponsorship
Commercial revenue for your club is required to be sustainable and to achieve the long-term goals set by your club. Commercial sponsorship is a great way to achieve these goals and create long lasting partnerships in your local community.
When looking to attract a new sponsor it is vital to ensure the club has a clear direction, plan, and purpose for a commercial sponsorship to work and both sides of the deal are being met. Potential sponsors should align with your club’s values and be a positive reflection of your club’s branding and image in the community.
Five steps to attracting a new sponsor:
- identify potential sponsors
- research potential sponsors
- engage with the right person
- tailor your proposal and be willing to negotiate
- nurture and deliver on the partnership.
Building a relationship with your sponsor is important if you would like them to return for the following year or becoming an on-going partner.
Junior sports clubs are encouraged to have their own sponsors separate from senior sporting clubs. Senior clubs will sometimes have alcohol or gaming sponsors, which are not appropriate for junior members.
Fundraising
The point of fundraising for your club is to avoid additional costs being passed onto members.
Fundraising should be a way to engage the wider community to get involved with your club. Build relationships, the same way you would if trying to find a sponsor. In-kind donations are great for raffles and spot prizes and a great way to showcase a local business and their products.
Traditional fundraising activities include:
- meat trays/raffles at local licenced venue
- cake and food stalls at home games
- car wash in club carpark
- sausage sizzle at home games.
Get creative with your fundraising and host events that include other groups, clubs, or businesses. Fundraising should be fun for your volunteers, so the sky is the limit when planning an event.
Grants
Applying for grants is a sure way of creating revenue for your club to achieve short- and long-term goals of the club.
Grant funding in sport and recreation is designed to increase overall participation in the local community, this includes funding facility upgrades and lighting projects. Grant funding is not designed to fund the daily operations of a club or group. As part of the being sustainable, your club needs to be able to support its own expenses to operate day-to-day.
Applying for grants should be part of your overall planning. You should have a clear direction of what you need to apply for and how much you need to achieve the goal/project.
The City of Canning, in partnership with Grants Guru, has a dedicated grants website. The website is specific to clubs and groups in our community and provides:
- information about grants
- grant tips
- grant support
- grant planning
- current grant opportunities.
By creating a club profile on our grants website, you can be notified when new opportunities arise and save favourite searches.
Our Grants team works proactively to ensure the grant funding available is meeting the latest market trends. Visit our Community Grants page for more information.