The Bow Valley Rugby Club is introducing a creative way of generating sponsorship for the club’s 2015 season.
The new campaign will see one company become the ‘presenting sponsor’ of the Bow Valley Grizzlies for $500. A company would ‘traditionally pay $ 5,000 to be a sponsor of a rugby team for a season’, according to the Grizzlies.
“We thought we could encourage more local business involvement at a lower dollar value to come in and have an opportunity to sponsor our program,” said Kevin Blanchette, club director and secretary.
Blanchette said that depending on the kind of year it is for the club, and the types of competitions they are involved in, it could cost anywhere from $45,000 to $55,000 to run the club.
“A successful sponsorship program like this would probably raise about 25 to 30 per cent of the money that we need to be able to deliver the programs for 2015,” he said.
Costs highlighted by Blanchette included facility rentals, equipment, registration, insurance and a part-time position for director of rugby.
He pointed out that volunteers do the vast majority of work in the club, and they make sure to support them with coaching and professional development.
They also provide programs for youth at cost or for no cost at all.
Blanchette said that this sponsorship opportunity is designed to be ‘very cost effective for local businesses’ and they had chosen to connect it with the Grizzlies senior men’s team because it has the highest profile in the Cochrane and area community.
The way the sponsorship will work, according to Blanchette, is that up to 20 companies will be able to participate in the campaign for $500 each and, near the end of February, the Grizzlies will draw four company names from the pool.
The first name drawn will be the ‘presenting sponsor’ for the 2015 season and will have their logo on the front of the Grizzlies’ playing jersey and will be ‘prominently featured’ on a banner that is displayed at each Grizzlies’ home game, on the Bow Valley Rugby Club website and be included in the ‘Club marketing and communication collaterals.’
The other three winners will be ‘supporting sponsors’ of the Grizzlies in 2015. They will have their logo on the Grizzlies’ playing jersey and will also be ‘prominently featured’ on the banner, website and ‘marketing and communication collaterals.’
The remaining 16 companies’ logos will be featured on a banner and website.
Overall, Blanchette described the campaign as a ‘win-win’ situation for both sponsors and the community.
He said the 200 members of the club and their families are going to ‘support business that support what they do’ and the businesses who sponsor the club would be ‘supporting worthwhile activities in recreational pursuits’ which would be a ‘positive benefit to the community.’
The club was originally formed in 2004 under the name the Cochrane Coyotes Rugby Athletic Association and in 2013 changed their name to the Bow Valley Rugby Club to be more ‘inclusive of the surrounding areas’ like Bragg Creek and Water Valley.
The Club offers rugby at the mini, youth and senior age levels for both girls and boys. They also support a ‘touch rugby’ program that runs year round.
For information about the sponsorship opportunity, or about the club, contact Blanchette at 403-607-1156 or [email protected].
