he Westmount Rugby Club has seen great success in the past years, culminating in 2022 with the Men’s P1 championship, an active Women’s side, and a small Minis program. In 2022 our costs increased significantly largely due to new field access costs from the City of Westmount. In 2023 we committed to further expenses of hiring a Men’s coach with experience winning in the Super League, to ensuring equitable funding for the Women’s program, and to securing long-term access to sufficient fields for our Club’s needs.
To support these efforts, we are targeting raising $42,500 in sponsorships and old boy contributions,
are raising funds in two ways:
- Social memberships (tiers: $250/500/1,000 per year)
- Corporate sponsorships (tiers: $2,000/5,000/7,500/10,000 per year)
We have raised $30,750 so far, and hope you can help us meet our goals.
Background
The Westmount Rugby Club, with a history dating back to 1976, is the oldest active rugby club in North America. The past several years – despite the challenges of COVID – have seen growth in the club, and success on the field. We currently field one Women’s team, and two Men’s teams, and run a Mini Rugby (8-12 years old) program in the summer. In the past few years we have seen the women make the Development League Finals (2019), and the men win championships in 2019 (Men’s Provinciale 2), 2021 (Men’s Rugby X/Covid rules) and 2022 (Men’s Provinciale 1). Our next target for the Men is promotion to Super League, and ultimately the Super League championship. Our target for the Women is developing a winning team, and ultimately promotion.
We continue to push on. We want to be the best club to play with and coach with in Quebec. In order to do that, we need your help.
Where we are going
In the next 3-5 years, the Club has targets of:
- Men’s side winning a Super League Championship
- Women’s developing into a winning team, and ultimately competing in Super League
- Launching an active Juniors (U18) program contributing to the growth of the club
- Long-term solution to sufficient field access for a growing club
As our club has grown in ambition and size, so too have our funding needs. Costs have risen across the board, with biggest ticket items: field and facility access (winter and spring/summer), and coaching.
What we need money for
In 2023 we have committed to significantly increase our fundraising efforts, in order to fund:
- Coaching: In 2023 we committed to hiring a men’s coach with success winning at the Super League level. This comes with a price tag. We also committed to ensuring that our women’s program is funded equitably, as well as putting resources towards Juniors and overall coaching development at the Club.
- Women’s Team: As we grow funding for men’s coaching, we want to continue to support development of our Women’s side with equitable funding towards their development.
- Junior/Minis: We’ve long had a small Mini rugby (8-12) program. We’d like to grow our funding and efforts of this program, with a target of developing Junior Program (U18), by 2025
-
Facilities: One of our big (new) costs is field
access.
- Summer: The City of Westmount has started charging us for access to King George/Murray Hill Park as a training and game pitch. We are paying the standard rate to Westmount (~$7000 for the season). Further, with three active sides, and often 50 men and 20 women at training, we are in desperate need of more training pitch access. Our target is to find a long-term solution for fields – in Westmount or beyond – and ensure that we can fund it,
- Winter: Our winter pre-season starts in February, and the best way to prepare for the season is “4 season” turf field training at, eg, the Stinger Dome. These sessions are expensive, but fully worthwhile, and we’d like to expand our access to these vital training facilities.
Funding Strategy
Overall, doing everything above, and doing it well, adds a significant amount to our yearly Club expenses, beyond what we raise in club dues, and business as usual fundraising. We have laid out a strategy to raise these funds in the following ways:
- Developing a non-playing membership due structure (ranging from $250/year to $1,000/year), and marketing aggressively to Old Boys, Mini Rugby parents and friends of the Club
- Growing our corporate sponsorships, focusing on Old Boys / friends of the Club with successful businesses.
- Continuing our business-as-usual funding efforts (bar sponsorships and social fundraisers)
Our efforts to date have been successful, and we’ve raised $30,750in new funds to support the club. We’d like you to join the group committed to the growth of the Westmount Rugby Club into the best rugby club to play and coach with in North America.
If you would like details about our budget and fundraising to date, please contact us.
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