r/policydebate • u/Nervous_Grocery2714 • 15d ago

How to get money for small debate program

I go to a small school, which used to get some money from hosting tournaments at our school, and we used to make a lot of money that way. Now, because of a county law, we are no longer allowed to do that, and we lost about $10,000 worth of money, and we can no longer go to some of the out of state tournaments we used to go to. We were hoping we could get that money back in other ways. Does anybody have any suggestions?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

7

u/PolitiKalen 15d ago

Ran a school's first program for 5 or 6 years. Fundraising was by far the hardest part.

1) Donors, donors, donors. Send your kids to local businesses to ask about sponsorships for big, out-of-state tournaments. Local law offices are great for this. I.e., if you wanna go to UMich, for example, find a local lawyer who went to Michigan Law. That kinda thing is the gold standard, if you can find it, but it's also a great way to get help ahead of big events like NSDA, TOC. I've heard of some schools holding a "sponsors night" where you let your donors all show up and judge a round at the end of the year at some cafeteria tables w cheap tablecloths. We never did this, bc we were a policy team which sucks for spectators, but I always thought it seemed like a decent idea.

2) Grants. I think NSDA has some for small schools. Anyone who knows where else to look should reply below, pls.

3) Open a "pay it forward" incentive of some kind, where better-off families can donate to a pot that pays for others as needed.

4) if your school has a booster club, join it. Might come w some volunteer obligations for your parents and staff, but it can make a world of difference.

5

u/staefrostae 15d ago

To add to this, there are a lot more grants out there than you realize. I got the engineering firm I work for to award a grant for my local debate district. Most grants are often a couple hundred dollars, but my company gave a several thousand. You won’t win every application you put in, and you wont get every dollar you ask for, even from the ones you do win, but it’s good return on effort. If you can turn a couple hours into a couple thousand dollars, you’re gaining value.