Stop Asking Parents for Money. Give Them Something They Actually Want
Parents are already among the biggest supporters of grassroots football. Perhaps there’s a better way for clubs to turn that support into revenue.
Grassroots football families are used to being asked.
Buy a raffle ticket. Sponsor this. Contribute to that. Support the next fundraiser.
And, more often than not, parents do.
They do it because they want to support their child’s football club.
But there’s an important difference between asking somebody for money and creating something they genuinely want to buy.
That’s where Maranovo takes a different approach.
Its Club Annual concept turns the players, teams, photographs, achievements and history of a grassroots club into a professionally produced publication, with the young footballers themselves placed at the heart of it. Parents purchase the books directly, with the club receiving commission from sales.
So instead of another fundraising appeal, there is a product.
And not just any product.
It’s something featuring their child.
Put Value Before Fundraising
Parents already invest enormous amounts in their children’s football, financially and through the time they give.
So why shouldn’t fundraising occasionally give something meaningful back?
A club book can capture a season, celebrate the players and preserve photographs and memories that might otherwise remain buried on somebody’s phone.
Today, it may simply be exciting for a youngster to find themselves inside a real football book.
Years from now, its meaning could be entirely different.
It becomes a reminder of teammates, coaches, muddy Sunday mornings, tournaments, victories, disappointments and everything else that made up their football childhood.
That changes the transaction.
A parent isn’t simply handing over money because the club needs support.
They’re buying something connected personally to their family while simultaneously helping the club generate revenue.
Perhaps that’s the question grassroots football should ask more often.
Not:
“How can we persuade our parents to contribute again?”
But:
“What can we offer that our families would genuinely love to own?”
Get that right and fundraising begins to feel very different.
You’re no longer simply asking for support.
You’re creating value.
