Each season, North Okanagan Knights teams host tournaments here in Armstrong and Enderby. These events bring teams from across the region and help cover costs for our own teams’ participation in away tournaments. To help offset these expenses, many teams do a bit of light fundraising in the weeks leading up to their tournament weekend.
One common approach is to write a simple donation request letter that can be shared with local businesses and community supporters. These letters typically ask for items like gift cards, raffle prizes, or small cash donations to help with costs like raffle baskets, tournament programs, or other basic tournament expenses.
Who organizes this?
For most teams, this letter is prepared by the Tournament Coordinator, sometimes in collaboration with the Team Manager. You can see in the Team Manager Policy Manual that the Tournament Coordinator is listed under “Suggested Additional Team Roles,” and is typically responsible for planning and running the team’s home tournament. Fundraising is an optional add-on and may not be needed for every team, especially if the tournament is small or already fully sponsored.
The Team Manager supports this process by helping to circulate the letter, collecting responses, and keeping receipts for any expenses or donations. If you need help with the logistics, the Division Director or Registrar can provide guidance on past practices and current policy.
Ready-to-use template
To make things easier, NOMHA has created a reusable donation request letter template that can be adapted by any team. This template combines elements from past successful letters sent by U7 and U9 teams. It’s written in a general way so that any age level can personalize it with their tournament dates, the number of players, and the name and contact info of the coordinators.
You can find the downloadable version of this template in the Team Manager section of our website. Feel free to copy, tweak, and reuse it from year to year. Every donation helps, and this is a great way to involve our community in supporting local hockey.