Fundraising

Our Program Fundraising Points Volunteer Points

Our Program

Dear Wildcats Parents,
As you well know youth football is by far the least expensive sporting activity available to your children in Calgary. The reason that we are able to keep our fees so low is the fact that we do a wide range of fundraising each year. This fundraising includes such activities as bottle drives, food sales, silent auctions and casinos. By involving all families in fundraising we can spread out the effort required to raise the nearly $150,000 that is required to run our four teams each season.

The points program instituted in the 2018 season was a success! Thanks to all families and your support of the Wildcats.

We took into account family feedback and survey responses and have made a few adjustments to the program. We also want to take the opportunity to give some explanation as to how the fundraising points are established and answer some questions.

First of all, for those families that do not want to participate in Volunteering and/or Fundraising, you are given the opportunity to pay out your points during the online registration process.

For families with multiple players, you are only required to achieve points for one child. However, if you want to do the payout, the amounts will apply to each player.

To answer some questions about how the fundraising points are established, here are some examples:

1 point = $25

2 large garbage bags full of bottles = 1 point – we estimated this to be the value of the bag.

$125 in meat sales = $25 back to the club.
Equally important to the success of Wildcats football is our need for volunteers for things like stick crews, banquet set up, merchandise sales etc. This is a separate and distinct requirement from fundraising and we require that each family help out in some tangible way. Coaches and Managers invest hundreds of hours each season in making the program successful and it is not fair to ask them to take on these tasks as well. So this is where you come in.
If after offering all of the opportunities above you do not contribute to the success of the Wildcats we will reluctantly have to charge you for the deposits. We will be fair in assessing your situation and will listen to any mitigating circumstances that you may identify. But in the end we all need to do our part in making this Program a success.

Craig Reardon

Wildcats Football Association of Calgary

Director, Treasurer and General Manager

Fundraising Points

Fundraising – Families are required to complete 10 fundraising points by the end of the Fall Season (Spring League & U17 Female 8 points needed)

All the fundraisers listed below will not necessarily be run this Season. We have added Bingos as a way for families to
complete their fundraising points. The fundraisers listed below have been very successful for the Wildcats; however, we
are always open to considering new fundraisers. If you have any recommendations for fundraisers please send them to Liza at fundraising@calgarywildcatsfootball.com

A minimum of 4 fundraising opportunities will be held during the Fall Season
to provide families with a range of opportunities to earn points.

Potential fundraising opportunities:

Payout of $250 for fundraising points at time of registration (10 points)
Wildcats Coach, Team Manager, Equipment Manager, or Board Member (10 points)
$250 Corporate Sponsorship (10 points)
Bingo shift (10 points)
Bottle Drive: 1 point for every 3 large garbage bags, 1 point for every 4 boxes (typically a bottle drive is held
early in the Season and at the end of the Season)
TeamFund (Fill your Freezer): 1 point for every $125 sold
Flower Fundraiser: 1 point for every 2 baskets of flowers sold (held during Spring Season, but points can be applied to upcoming Fall season)
50/50 Ticket sales - 1 point for every 4 tickets sold
Kernels Popcorn (points to be determined if fundraiser takes place)

Payout of Unfulfilled Points
The Wildcats work hard to help families complete their points to limit the number of payouts. If you are having difficulty completing your points, please contact Liza at fundraising@calgarywildcatsfootball.com.
At the completion of the Fall Season, families will be billed for the volunteer and fundraising points that were not completed. Families will be charged the portion of the $250 they still owe, which is based on the points not fulfilled.
Every volunteer point unfulfilled is $50, while every unfulfilled fundraising point is $25. For example, if 5 of the 10 fundraising points are completed you will be billed $125 at the end of the Season. Please note that the points are per family not per player.

Implications of not Paying out Uncompleted Points
Uncompleted points must be paid out before players can register for the next Football Season. Players who have not paid out their unfulfilled points will not be able to borrow football equipment from the Wildcats for football camps or Football Alberta events.

Volunteer Points

Volunteering – Families are required to complete 5 volunteer points by the end of the Fall Season (3 for Spring League & U17 Female)

**Families that participated in the Spring flower fundraiser and bottle drives have already been allocated points from those fundraisers. **

Payout of $250 for volunteer points at time of registration (5 points)
Wildcats Coach, Team Manager, Equipment Manager, or Board Member (5 points)
Bingo (5 Points)
Managing merchandise bin for season (5 points)
Assisting at custom order/merchandise evening (3 points)
Organize team photos (3 points)
Assist with organizing players on day of team photos (2 points)
Set up/take down Team Celebration (2 points)
Stick crew for a game (2 points)
Organize and hand out TeamFund orders (2 points)
Sort Kernels popcorn orders (2 points)
Load trailer for bottle drive (2 points)
Arrange and pick up bottles from a local business for bottle drive (2 points)
Drop off advertisements at homes for bottle drive (1 point/40 houses)

**Please note that other volunteer opportunities will most likely arise during the Season
**When working a bingo shift you can choose to put your shift towards volunteer OR fundraising points

Still have questions?

If you have any questions, suggestions for new fundraisers or have special skills you think could benefit the team or the Wildcats Football Association, please contact Liza.

Current Fundraisers

So All Kids Can Play Bottle Drives TeamFund Fill Your Freezer Spring Flowers Casino

So All Kids Can Play

The Wildcats Football Association of Calgary is a non-profit organization that was established in 1964. It is composed of approximately 200 players between the ages of 8 and 17 that reside in Southwest Calgary and communities west of the city. We have teams participating in the Atom, Peewee, Bantam, and Spring Leagues.

The Wildcats are very proud that we have never, in the history of our Club, turned away a player due to a lack of financial resources. Over the past year, 13% of our players required financial assistance, and we expect this proportion to remain the same or increase over the coming year. Providing this support does impact the Club’s finances, and therefore we need to offset some of these costs. The “So All Kids Can Play” program was established for this very reason, and provides donors with the opportunity to support youth in developing skills both on and off the field, such as leadership, teamwork, and perseverance. We are very thankful to the generous donors that have helped us in the past, and invite you to become part of the “So All Kids Can Play” program.

Donors are welcome to sponsor a player or contribute any amount to the program. If you are interested in sponsoring a specific player, please contact Liza directly. It costs approximately $500 to sponsor a player, and this process will remain anonymous unless otherwise specified. If you prefer to make a general contribution, any amount is appreciated. Please check the amount below you would like to donate. Donations can be made by Cash, Cheque or Credit Card. We greatly appreciate your generosity.

Bottle Drives

CHEERS TO YOU WILDCATS!!!! Our bottle drives are a huge success....AND it's such an easy way to get your fundraising points!!!!! Thank you to all who donated and volunteer!

Our next bottle drive dates:

Spring 2025 - TBD

1 pt for every TWO LARGE bags donated

*Send out on social media, pick up in your area or neighbourhood bring all the cans and bottles you can or have friends and family drop them off under your name!

TeamFund Fill Your Freezer

Team Fund Food Fundraisers: Fill Your Freezer & Stock up on Items you Need While Helping the Wildcats

Items that have been included:

Pizzas, Perogies, Steaks, Chicken breasts, Pot Pies, Pies, Ground Beef, Bacon, Chicken Strips, ...and much more.

We have two food fundraisers in the Fall and Spring of each year.

Join our fundraiser here!

Spring 2025 Dates & Pickup Location: Opens TBD

Order Deadline: TBD

Pickup: TBD

(**Please note you must pick up all your supporters orders and distribute them. Make sure your supporters use your link to purchase items and do not set up their own, so you receive all your fundraising points and there is no confusion with your orders on pick up day.**)

Spring Flowers

Casino

Stay tuned for our next Casino date - TBD

Casino’s bring in approximately $60 000 to the Wildcats Football Association every 18 months.

This amount makes up approximately 50% of our Fundraising Revenue on an annual basis and about 25% of our total revenues in any given year. Casino revenue allows us to keep registration costs significantly lower than other youth sports and gives us the opportunity to purchase the most advanced and safe equipment available on the market. We are also proud to say that our fundraising efforts have ensured that we have never turned a child away for financial reasons since our inception in 1964.

With all of this said we turn to our Wildcat Family to help us with volunteer needs for the Casino. If you work a shift for the Casino, all of your fundraising volunteer points will be met.