Should I still sponsor?

[sloppydisc]

Sloppy rant and question here. A course that is 45 minutes away from me, that I may play 10 times this year sent out an email asking for corporate or individual sponsorships. So, I decided I'd sponsor a couple holes for a year. To make a very long story short I have made a few emails and a bunch of phone calls over the course of a month, and this County Rec Dept still hasn't gotten me the correct form to fill out in order for me to give them money. Finally got a call back from one guy and he told me the delay was to create a template of the form and actual sponsorship sign. When I got the paperwork a week later the form wasn't in there. WTF?? How hard should it be to give a Rec Dept money?Should I jump through another hoop and send them a check someday, or should
I save my money, and pitch in to a more local course when the chance comes up? I hate incompetence. Especially when I am going out of my way to give someone money. DGCR, tell me what to do. :wall::wall:

 

[dreadlock86]

do what you think is right.

maybe the parks/recs dept is incompetent. maybe the players at this course are not. maybe the course really needs the help. maybe the money is better spent elsewhere.

it is up to you to decide if the reasons that made you want to donate the money in the first place are still legit.

 

[JRW III]

Sounds like the Rec Dept does not have it together. If you think they are so disorganized, that your sponsorship money will not be used effectively and appropriately on the course, I would reconsider sponsorship. However, if they are disorganized, but will eventually get the money to good use, I would probably still sponsor.

However, after multiple attempts a trying to give the money to them, I think I would quit making the effort and just wait until they formaly ask for the money.

 

[EagleZT]

Jeez if I was the rec dept and someone wanted to throw some $$$ at me, I would have my crap together. Even in a good economy the rec dept still gets the shaft and with the county commissions raiding dept funds like its a bank heist nowadays you cant even get people to give $5 to activities geared towards sports/rec.

Do whats right, but make sure your money goes to the right people involved...not some county fat cat. Maybe have like a corporate cleanup day at the course as a sign of support.

 

[Bager45]

seems like your money would best be used on a course closer to you anyways if there going to make you go on a goose chase to give them money

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Sounds like the Rec Dept does not have it together. If you think they are so disorganized, that your sponsorship money will not be used effectively and appropriately on the course, I would reconsider sponsorship. However, if they are disorganized, but will eventually get the money to good use, I would probably still sponsor.

However, after multiple attempts a trying to give the money to them, I think I would quit making the effort and just wait until they formaly ask for the money.

^Seems reasonable to me.

Can't believe they can't slap together a sponsorship form in Excel, or Word, or crayon and get it out to potential sponsors. Sadder still that they actually delayed, sent you some paperwork, and it still wasn't in there.

 

[biscoe]

the parks dept is only the conduit to the folks your sponsorship actually helps- the players. removing your sponsorship because the parks dept is new (i assume) to the biz of collecting sponsorship and is having a hard time getting their **** together only takes away from the players. sounds like to me that this is the "first rodeo" for the parks dept in this sense and they will likely have it together better in the future as they produce the materials they need this time around.

 

[Dthunderchicken]

If/when people make it difficult to help them, that's when I stop trying. It's just too easy to move on to a project where you'll be effective.

 

[JTacoma03]

the parks dept is only the conduit to the folks your sponsorship actually helps- the players. removing your sponsorship because the parks dept is new (i assume) to the biz of collecting sponsorship and is having a hard time getting their **** together only takes away from the players. sounds like to me that this is the "first rodeo" for the parks dept in this sense and they will likely have it together better in the future as they produce the materials they need this time around.

I understand this point of view, but if it were my money this wouldn't be enough of an explanation. If you give it to them now, then they will think that the way that they did things this time around is acceptable (or at least acceptable 'enough') to get money and won't work harder at it next time. I disagree if you're suggesting that this will somehow hurt disc golf by not giving the money. It will only hurt this individual event...which with nothing at stake (it's not a NT or anything) can be restructured in the future if it doesn't work anyway.

I think you are completely right if you were to withold your sponsorship and write them a letter explaining exactly why.

This does beg a question though, why is a parks dept. collecting the money and not the tournament TD? If the answer is they are the TD, then why are they not bringing someone with experience in doing this to help? There's plenty of knowledgable and capable TD's in North Carolina....

 

[Dan Ensor]

You can still help the course out without sponsoring. Maybe use that money to pay some kids to clear brush for a day or something?

 

[Dr.Seuss]

I save my money, and pitch in to a more local course when the chance comes up? I hate incompetence. Especially when I am going out of my way to give someone money. DGCR, tell me what to do. :wall::wall:

I think that you answered your own question, why give away your money to an organization that cant put simple paperwork together to be able to take it?

 

[Three Putt]

Parks and recreation has changed quite a bit over the years. When I started working in the field we ran low-cost programs (sometimes free programs) subsidized through the tax base. As time went on there was a shift and my programs stopped being subsidized. I had to raise fees to cover costs. The tax money we got went to cover the cost of keeping the lights on and putting gas in the mowers. Now the tax revenue in many places has shrunk to the point that they can't afford the gas in the mowers, and there is more pressure on the parks departments to hustle some cash.

Unfortunately, in many cases you have people working for your parks department that have a whole different training and background than somebody who has to hustle for cash. They are used to getting money from the tax base, not going out and raising money. To me it's not very surprising that they might not be very good at fundraising in the early stages. After I left the parks and recreation field I worked for several years in advancement for a not for profit where all we did all day was run after donations. It's a completely different way of doing business. In retrospect, I loved working in parks and recreation. I hated every second I worked in advancement. They were like night and day.

I'd cut the parks department some slack and assume that they will get better at fundraising once they figure out how to do it. I can almost guarantee it's something they have been forced to do and they probably are not very happy about it.