When we first started talking about the idea of having youth soccer in our local community, there were a lot of logistical challenges that we were faced with. A few of those questions were resounding:
Where would we be playing? What would our teams be called? What was all of this going to cost?
Our primary goal as an organization has been and will always continue to be to prioritize creating opportunities that are affordable for families.
That means keeping registration as affordable as possible while still offering a premium opportunity for local youth to learn and enjoy playing this sport that we love.
Please know that registration costs are intended and solely used for operational costs related to that specific season. We offer soccer opportunities in the spring and the fall, so if your child is registered for spring soccer, the registration costs are only intended to be used for that season.
Before we ever ran a youth soccer league, we were sports parents too.
We appreciate the reality that funding for sports isn't always readily available, and we understand the burden or perceived "obligation" that this often places on families to help with fundraising.
Instead of adding stress in the form of multiple fundraising events each year, we prefer to seek other sources of income for the club organization to cover our operating costs, to help us offer and fund unique experiences for our players beyond just games and practices, and to plan for future growth and expansion.
As a non-profit organization, we want to be transparent about how we raise funds, knowing that all funds for our program and any balance that we carry forward into future seasons will always be invested in our program.
We fund this organization with donations from private individuals and with sponsorships from local and national corporate, business and industry partnerships.
We also offset some of our costs and plan for events and future growth through our apparel and merchandise sales. At least 20% of all merchandise and apparel sales funds go directly toward our club. We aim to create wider brand awareness around our Baltic Banditos name as well as our unique logos and merchandise designs.
We are excited to share with our friends and families some of the amazing opportunities that we are working toward -- including an annual event for the club and its supporters, a soccer gear recycling program (for gently used cleats and shin guards), a scholarship fund to help low income families participate, partnership opportunities with professional and amateur soccer clubs, a referee training program to offer opportunities to earn additional income, and so much more!
Our continued success as an organization will be built on the successes of our players, our teams and our coaches! Our commitment to the families involved in this organization is to prioritize other means of raising income over traditional fundraising.
In the event that families are asked to help in selling anything that helps Baltic Soccer reach a financial goal, we don't believe in "mandatory participation" and therefore, we should offer an incentive that exceeds the normal expectations of fundraising.
From our entire team here at Baltic Soccer: We thank you for your continued support!
Soccer For All
Regards,
Brian Trexler
Club President