School spirit can sometimes be a difficult thing to cultivate in a community. If you are looking for a way to get parents, school alumni and the local community back into the push for a winning football season, organize your efforts to maximize success. Parents and alums are typically quite enthusiastic about giving back to schools and contribute in any way they can if they know the school needs a boost. Initiate an alum outreach program to reconnect with graduates who remain in the area. Then have regular meet ups to find ways to raise money, improve the athletic program and catalyze the local community for support.
Get Them Talking With the Sale of School Merchandise
One of the best ways to reach out to potential fans is to make school spirit items available for purchase. Your school merchandise out in the community is a great way to not only generate much needed revenue, but to also advertise your school and team. Not to be underestimated, merchandise is actually quite critical toward generating school spirit.
School and Team t-shirts, hats and sweatshirts are some of the most obvious choices. These apparel items should certainly be considered, but there are many other effective spirit generating items that should also be considered:
Team Yard Signs
We’ve all seen them, but maybe haven’t given time to consider team yard signs as a great way to earn money for your team and also spread school spirit throughout your school district. Parents typically love these because it gives them the opportunity to show support for their child’s team. They also know the money they pay goes to help keep the team moving forward.
Car Decals and Magnets
Car decals and magnets are another great product to offer to parents, alumni and fans alike. They can usually be custom designed for your school or individual team. This is also a very affordable option for sale as they do not typically cost very much and can be marked significantly up for resale. Fans know it is worth the price because they know their money is going to support their team. Schedule magnets are another good use of this product. They can be passed out to help generate awareness of your game schedule and help encourage more fans to attend your games.
Offering school merchandise is not the only way to help promote school spirit. There are other ways to get the community involved and increase awareness such as: take out an ad on the radio for a ticket special to your upcoming game, hold a cheerleader or team fundraiser car wash or display a sign at the entrance of your school advertising events. The key is to get the school’s name in the mainstream and build momentum to attract more fans.Try to get your school’s name on the tip of everyone’s tongue is not always easy, but this type of grassroots activism can really garner a ton of support for the upcoming football season.