Rowing Fundraiser Interview: Anna-Rosa of Rob Roy Boat Club
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“It’s quite expensive to travel” she said, especially in Europe, and she had to work with her crew to raise some of the funds that got them there. We had a call with her to talk about the fundraisers she ran to support her vision, the struggles she went through and how she overcame them.
The fundraising: one week coaching bootcamps and one on one coaching sessions
It all started out with Anna-Rosa getting her crew together and finding out what they all had passion and skills for. They thought “how can we make this happen?” so they “just pulled together all [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=\”yes\” overflow=\”visible\”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=\”1_1\” background_position=\”left top\” background_color=\”\” border_size=\”\” border_color=\”\” border_style=\”solid\” spacing=\”yes\” background_image=\”\” background_repeat=\”no-repeat\” padding=\”\” margin_top=\”0px\” margin_bottom=\”0px\” class=\”\” id=\”\” animation_type=\”\” animation_speed=\”0.3\” animation_direction=\”left\” hide_on_mobile=\”no\” center_content=\”no\” min_height=\”none\”][their] resources, all the things that each individual was good at” and developed fundraisers around “some combination of doing what [they] really love”.
Thus the rowing bootcamps and one on one coaching sessions were born.
Over a week, their fundraising activities raised enough to set them on their path to the World Rowing Championships. The bootcamps lasted Monday to Friday while the one on one sessions were hosted on the weekend. Here’s how it all went…
What were the biggest challenges of running these fundraising activities, and what went smoothly?
Right from the start, Anna-Rosa and her crew drew up a plan for their two fundraising activities and approached their boat club – Rob Roy. The Rob Roy Boat Club committee loved their idea and backed them to the end to make it work.
“Reputation” and “Rob Roy Boat Club” along with the crew’s natural planning and coaching abilities helped their fundraisers run very smoothly, but their biggest challenge was in promotion. Their advertising focused on flyers, their website and word of mouth. But if they could do it all again (“which [they] definitely would!”) they would put more into exposing their fundraisers to the local community (especially university students).
Because of the scarcity in rowing club spaces and need for training to be made available to the interested community, Anna-Rosa feels that these fundraising activities are very specific to Cambridge. She also said “the main barrier [to this type of fundraising] is that initial building up of your reputation, and you have to decide what you want to be known for”. Quality and reputation was a major player in their fundraising and should not go unnoticed.
So what do we take away from this?
All in all, Anna-Rosa feels that fundraising with your crew can be most successful when you’re doing what you love. Gathering her rowing crew and discussions what their passions lay and what their different skills were help guide them to success. For her, it’s the first step in setting up and running a good fundraiser.
Outside of that it’s careful planning and community (or club) involvement which makes a rowing club fundraiser run smoothly. So ask around your club, boathouse or local community for help and support.
You can find out more about the Cambridge Rowing Bootcamps and coaching sessions Anna-Rosa and her team run by visiting the Cambridge Rowing Bootcamps Website. Also Anna-Rosa would once again like to thank Rob Roy Boat Club for all their support.
Do you have a great rowing club fundraising story? Want to share your knowledge with other clubs? Email us at info@ssrs.com.au as we’d love to share your experience here on our blog.
If you’re struggling to find ideas for fundraising that suits your rowing club you’d love our free eBook – SSRS eBook – Rowing Club Fundraising Ideas 2013 Edition.
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