Raising funds for your Clan
Any Clan Leader will tell you, raising funds for your clan is one of the most difficult and challenging tasks anyone can do. The factors of the economy, trust and services is one of the largest challenges going against Clan Leaders today. This article is all about establishing a system for Clan Leaders in raising funds for their respective clans.
Donations
One of the things a Clan Leader needs to do is document where the donations are going towards. By publishing where and when these funds are being used would build trust between the donors and the clan itself. Keeping donors aware of where these funds are going to will make them more willing to donate funds again. Humans by nature are careful with their money, and they surely don’t want it wasted. If you give the donors a reason not to trust the leaders of the Clan, then don’t be surprised if they don’t donate again.
Holding a fundraiser is also an another way to get donations for clan activities. Setting a goal to get a new server, or to upgrading the existing server is sometimes enough to motivate members to donate. It also reinforces the team environment, if everyone in the Clan is donating funds to the fundraiser, then this would motivate even the youngest members to find a way to donate. It’s all about team effort.
Having a raffle for a new game will always gain the support of your members. Dropping 5 dollars down for 5 tickets for a $49.99 dollar game has motivated many members in my past clans to donate. It is highly recommended to do any drawings live on a webcam to prevent any possible rumors of fraud. This also gets members involved into their clan, providing a sense of purpose and pride with their respective clan. If someone wins anything, of course you make sure they get it! Again, the trust factor.
Setting an example is ideal for any Clan looking to raise funds. In saying that, it might be woo of any Clan Leader to make senior leaders pay membership dues to support the Clan. This shows that the leaders are dedicated to keeping the clan afloat, and motivate members in donating to the cause. Something like 5 dollars a month is not too steep. It was said before and will be said again, “leading by example.”
An another way to gain donations is providing reservations for members and public players alike. This can only work for extremely large high traffic low ping servers, and is unreliable at best. However, this can be offered as a benefit to members who are interested in gaining access to the servers on a 24/7 basis.
If your clan has some type of weapon restrictions like I did with my Operation Flashpoint clan, then it might be ideal to release some of the restrictions if and when a member donate funds. Force the clan to use iron sights whenever an official game is ongoing, but if someone is a donor to the clan, then allow them to use scopes and aimpoints in official games. This will otherwise get unwilling member to donate funds to the clan to gain access to restricted weapons.
Affiliate Marketing
An another route in earning funds for your clan is Affiliate Marketing. Many game server providers have some form of affiliate marketing for communities, clans and other organizations looking to earn funds. It’s a practice to which a business rewards one of it’s affiliates funds for each visitor or customer who purchases their services. You can earn a commission for each purchase, however you also gain a commission each time someone renews the services, earning the Clan a consistent long-term income. Most of the time the businesses will provide a banner and a text link code with an affiliate ID.
Advertisement
This is a highly unpopular route for many clans and I would recommend avoiding this tactic to earn funds for your Clan. I wouldn’t recommend this if your traffic is not above 100 visitors per day. These advertisements can be attached to your Clan’s main page and forums to generate funds like other websites. A website I found very helpful is 2 Create a Website Blog. I highly recommend this website for anyone interested in being successful with website advertisement.
