An Interview with Erin English, marketing and communications director, Adaptive Sports Center
Adaptive Sports Center was founded in 1987 when President and Mrs. Carter joined a group of local residents to form the Physically Challenged Ski Program of Crested Butte and has since evolved into the year-round, nationally recognized Adaptive Sports Center.
With the support of volunteers, dedicated instructors, staff and the local community, the ASC has thrived and grown from providing 30 alpine ski lessons during its first winter to becoming one of the premiere outdoor adaptive recreation programs in the world. The ASC now provides more than 3,600 lessons to 500-plus participants through a full range of winter and summer outdoor adventure activities.
Here, we talk with Marketing and Communications Director Erin English about the organization and its fundraising strategies and challenges.
FundRaising Success: How do you fund your mission?
Erin English: The Adaptive Sports Center funds its mission through grants, special events, private donations and programming fees.
FS: What are the biggest challenges your organization faces as far as fundraising is concerned? How do you overcome them?
EE: One of the biggest challenges our organization faces is relying too heavily on individual fundraising events to generate income. Another significant challenge is keeping our lessons affordable while also generating sufficient revenue. While we pride ourselves on providing low-cost lessons and scholarships to those who need them, each lesson that is put out by the Adaptive Sports Center generates additional costs that need to be met with revenue raised by the development department.
In the coming year, the Adaptive Sports Center will focus on diversifying our fundraising initiatives to include increased donor cultivation, more face-to-face asks and an in-depth planning phase that will analyze all possible development opportunities. We are investing in our future by hiring an additional employee for our development team, developing new programs and partnerships, and working with Brigham Young University to scientifically prove what we are doing is having an enduring impact on the lives of our clients.
FS: Do you foresee any big changes in the way you reach potential donors and other supporters in the near future?
EE: Over the coming months the Adaptive Sports Center will strive to reach our donors on a more personal level. Our development team will be contacting many of our donors to ask them how they view the current state of the organization and what their feelings are about the future. In this wavering economy we feel it is going to be critically important to stay positive, to communicate all organizational goals and to work hard to achieve buy-in from all organizational stakeholders.
FS: How would you describe your fundraising philosophy?
EE: Open, honest and personal communication.
FS: How do you reach out to supporters and potential supporters in ways other than purely fundraising? Are you engaged with social-networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, etc.?
EE: Mike Johnson, the Adaptive Sports Center’s board president, has begun distributing quarterly letters to keep ASC supporters up-to-date throughout the year. The Adaptive Sports Center also distributes a semiannual newsletter, which details current ASC business and includes staff member, participant and donor profiles, as well as a program preview for the upcoming season.
The Adaptive Sports Center has a growing presence on Facebook and has developed a relationship with disaboom.com, a social-networking Web site for people with disabilities.
FS: Can you describe a recent successful fundraising effort?
EE: In August of 2008, the Adaptive Sports Center held our annual fundraiser, the Crested Butte Open. This event consists of an annual western-themed gala, a live and silent auction, and a round of golf, all to benefit the ASC. As we approached the 2008 event, the economy had already begun to take a turn for the worse, leaving the event committee nervous about the financial outcome and wondering if we would even make budget. When the event was all said and done, 2008 was our most successful year ever — surpassing the budget by an amazing 27 percent.
A few of the elements that made the 2008 Crested Butte Open such a success were unique auction items; an excellent professional auctioneer; and a diverse group of supporters including clients, locals and second-home owners.
FS: What advice would you give to organizations similar to yours in size and annual operating budget?
EE: Stay positive, stay true to your mission, remember what you are working for and make sure that everyone else knows, too.
Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte
P.O. Box 1639
Crested Butte, CO 81224
Phone: 970.349.5075
Web: www.adaptivesports.org
Annual operating budget: $1 million
Annual contributed income: 73 percent
Number of staff: Nine full-time year-round employees, one part-time year-round employee and 31 seasonal employees.
Number of staff dedicated to fundraising: 3
Mission: To enhance the lives of people with disabilities by promoting and providing successful outdoor adventure activities and experiential education with the highest quality instruction and equipment available.
