Job description: Fundraising/Development Assistant

Summary of position and opportunities:

In the position of Fundraiser/Development Assistant the student would be responsible for further developing and implementing two major events, which occur in October and February of every year: The Friends of Braefoot Dinner and the Annual Sweethearts Night. As well this individual would also be required to research fundraising options or make recommendations for alternative fundraising strategies as a means for sustaining several ofBraefoot’scommunity based programs.

Summary of Fundraising needs:

The Braefoot Association holds two major fundraising events per year: The Friends of Braefoot dinner and the Annual Sweethearts Night. Money raised at the Friends of Braefoot dinner goes directly to supporting Braefoot’s bursary fund. Money raised at the Annual Sweetheart’s Night goes to supporting further program and building development.

Braefoot is also currently involved with several other fundraising campaigns that support the development of programs such as Feed the Children and various literacy projects.

As an active community member the Braefoot Association also offers several free events to the public. As part of these events Braefoot likes to offer a child’s loot bag which include, token items that can be taken home. These items are often donated through major companies and include items such as: stickers, pencils, bracelets, and novelty items. It has been recognized that Braefoot would benefit from a regular sponsorship campaign. The development of a sponsorship campaign could be additionally included in the role of Fundraising/Development Assistant and perhaps in partnership with a marketing student.

General expectations:

  • Self-directed
  • Ability to multi-task
  • Ability to create and follow through with a basic action plan
  • Time management
  • Ability to clearly identify donor and fulfillment strategies
  • Manage basic correspondence between donors and sponsors
  • Budget analysis: cost vs. benefit
  • To be accountable to Chantelle and the vision/mission of the Braefoot Community Association
  • Establish weekly meetings and communicate regularly through phone, email or in-person.

Opportunities for Other Internship projects:

Finance:

  • There are several opportunities to further develop financial skills.
  • Braefoot offers several camps throughout the year: summer camp, spring break. Intern students would be offered an opportunity to structure a financial plan for some of the camps offered each term.
  • Braefoot is accountable to their board to maintain a balanced budget. The internship student could gain a sense of what is involved and possibly make budgeting recommendations.
  • Braefoot holds several fundraising events each year. Internship students could develop a cost effective strategy.

Business Development:

  • The Braefoot Community Association is a non-profit organization. Their administration is run by the parent company Richardson Sport which operates Sportball whose head office is housed with the Braefoot Community Association building. Business intern students would gain an opportunity to develop and implement strategies for success while continuing to emphasize Braefoot’s partnership with Sportball.

Sales and Marketing:

  • An opportunity has been identified for incorporating marketing strategies during summer camp programs. The internship student would be responsible for further researching this possibility. Additionally, this student could research further opportunities for revenue.
  • Braefoot is looking to increase it’s visibility in the public eye. This student could consider strategies for increasing Braefoot’s public profile. Currently Braefoots utilizes twitter, facebook and it’s webpage:

Event Planning:

  • As an active community member, Braefoot is continually looking to increase the number of events they host each year.
  • The successful internship student would be responsible for collaborating with the other students who have demonstrated an understanding of finances, business development and marketing with the purpose of developing and implementing one new event that is reflective of Braefoot’s vision and mission.

Braefoot Mission Statement

To enable youth to participate in activities that promote positive lifestyles which contribute to healthy communities.

About Braefoot

The Braefoot Community Association was founded by a group of community minded individuals to raise funds and build a sports and multi-use facility to be used by members of the Lakehill Soccer Association and the Saanich Lacrosse Association. The facility has grown to include Sportball (non-competitive sports instruction for kids 16 months-12 years), Westcoast Academy of Performing Arts (ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance for children) and the Community Inclusion Roads Program (daycare for adults with disabilities). The Braefoot Community Association on its own runs Spring and Summer camps and is currently expanding to include sports programs for both children and adults.

We have recently begun the following programs:

Let’s Play Program

Let’s Play is an initiative designed to promote inclusion and accessibility for children with mobility issues in carious sports programs, to provide families with cost-free access to specialized equipment and to spread awareness about the challenges and opportunities associated with physical disabilities.

In partnership with Braefoot Community, Let’s Play has been offered in various schools in the Greater Victoria area.

The BC Wheelchair Basketball Society, Rick Hansen Foundation and the Province of British Columbia teamed up to create adapted sport chairs for children in order to address the fact that just 3% of physically disabled children get enough exercise. They’ve designed programming that can be adapted to various sports in order to help programmers, gym teachers and coaches integrate anyone who wants to play into a seamless, inclusive and supportive environment.

So far this program has been delivered to four schools in Victoria, with over 500 children participating. We’ve also delivered the program to another 500 kids through multiple community events. Time frames within schools range from individual classes of 30 mins to three full days with multiple groups.

Feeding Children Program

The Braefoot Community Association has initiated the Feeding Children Program to help children who don’t have the means to get the nutrition they need each day. Our mission is to gather financial donations that will be used to purchase Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix, provided by ViSalus Sciences. The meals will go directly into the hands of the Mustard Seed Food Bank for distribution among local children in our community.

Sportball Mission Statement

Play with passion…play for fun!

Sportball Methodology

Encouraging healthy active living

By applying our methodology… Sportball helps children to develop socially as well as physically, through a curriculum designed to reinforce self-confidence freefrom the pressure of competition.In our programs, children from 16 months to 12 years of age, are provided witha skills-driven, high-energy and fun-filled curriculum. Sportball Multi-Sport programs introduce children to the fundamental concepts and skills behind eight popular ball sports: baseball, football, basketball, golf, hockey, soccer, tennis and volleyball. Usingcreative instruction and positive encouragement, our programs focus on the development of gross motor skills, along with balance, strength, co-ordination, stamina and timing. The equipment that we use is age-appropriate and sized just right for the children in our programs. Sportball offers weekly classes that are run seasonally, as well as camps and clinics during school holidays. Birthday parties and special events can be arranged to fit into your schedule. We offer Sportball programs right in the community in churches, community centres, schools, daycares, private clubs, parks and other green spaces.

Our Coaches

Coaches are Sportball certified…and stand out for their training, enthusiasm and ability to connect with the children in their programs. Each member of thecoaching team has been carefully screened, selected and trained. Many of our coaches have a background in early childhood education, sports administration, occupational therapy or kinesiology. They are certified only after completingintensive training in the Sportball methodologyand successfully passing ourrigorous Mentorship Program.The passion our coaches share for working with childrenhelps to createan environment that is all about skills and fun! Sportball coaches are also certified in First Aid and CPR and have cleared vulnerable-sector and criminal police record checks.

More About Sportball

Sportball began in 1995 as the dream of Mark and Carmella Gelgor, who wanted to reinforce children’s natural love of physical activity and provide them with an understanding of the fundamentals of different sports. The Sportball curriculum combines the best developmentally appropriate coaching methods with our educationally based methodology, to meet the needs of children and foster an active and healthy lifestyle. The result is a highly successful sports instruction program that is popular with kids and parents alike. Over the years Sportball has providedthousands of children with an introduction to a range of sports and social skills, along with a newfound confidenceto help succeed on and off the field. At Sportball, we believe we can make a difference—a difference in the lives of children and young professionals. We have long subscribed to the quote attributed to Forest Witcraft which reads:

“One hundred years from now, it will not matter the car I drove or the house I lived in… But the difference I made in the life of a child”.

Sportball began with just 3 children and a single location and now has several hundred corporate and franchise locations in North America. Sportball began franchising in 2005 and Sportball franchise owners are now running successful businesses in Canada and the United States. Sportball is a member of theCanadian Franchise Association(CFA)and theInternational Franchise Association(IFA).