Guides

Practical guides for running a great club or society

Committees, volunteers, membership, money, reporting, match days and websites — written for the people who keep community clubs and student societies going.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 8 Aug 2026

Club membership types and tiers: how to structure family, junior, social and life memberships

Most clubs never design their membership categories — they inherit them, and add one more every time a situation doesn't fit. Here is how to structure types deliberately — the six categories that cover almost every club, the family question, what each type should include, and how to prune the list you already have.

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Membership & money · 7 min read · 8 Aug 2026

How to display sponsors on your club website (so they renew next season)

The logo strip at the bottom of the home page is where sponsorships go to die. Here is how to present sponsors so the value is real and renewals get easier — placement by tier, the sponsor page that sells for you, logo hygiene, and the screenshots that turn into next year's renewal email.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 8 Aug 2026

How to track who has paid club fees (without a spreadsheet and a headache)

Every club has a version of the same awkward list — members who are playing, voting and borrowing kit while their fees sit unpaid. Here is how to keep a truthful who-has-paid picture all season — what a financial member actually is, the one-list method, and how to stop the tracking being a volunteer's whole job.

Membership & money · 8 min read · 31 July 2026

Who pays for a club website? Sponsors, councils and community funding

Your club doesn't have to fund its own website. A practical guide to the people who will — local sponsors, councils, Community Bank branches and ClubGRANTS — with the exact ask for each, and an honest note on what grants won't cover.

Membership & money · 18 min read · 26 July 2026

How to set up donations for your club

Most clubs add a donate button, wait, and conclude that their community will not give. The button was never the problem — the ask was. Here is how to write an ask people can picture, where to put it, what records to keep, and how to turn a first gift into a standing one.

Membership & money · 20 min read · 25 July 2026

How to run a club gala dinner

A gala dinner is the only club fundraiser that can lose money spectacularly, because you commit to the costs months before anyone buys a seat. Here is the break-even maths to do before you sign the venue contract, how to sell tables rather than seats, and a run sheet that keeps the night moving.

Membership & money · 20 min read · 24 July 2026

How to run a club golf day fundraiser

A golf day is a sales event wearing a polo shirt. Get the field size, the team price and the hole sponsorship right and it is the most dependable corporate fundraiser in club sport — plus the best sponsor-recruiting day in your calendar.

Membership & money · 20 min read · 23 July 2026

How to run a club auction night

An auction night is the highest-yield evening a club can run and the easiest one to bungle in public. Here is how to source lots that will actually bid, set reserves that protect the people who donated them, run the bidding, and get every lot paid for before the lights come on.

Membership & money · 20 min read · 22 July 2026

How to run a club crowdfunding campaign

Crowdfunding only works when the ask is specific, the deadline is real, and a chunk of the total is already pledged before anyone outside the committee hears about it. Here is how to pick a fundable project, set the target, run the pre-launch, and deliver what you promised.

Membership & money · 18 min read · 21 July 2026

How to win back lapsed club members

The people who did not renew are the cheapest members your club will ever recruit — but only if you work out why each of them left before you write a word. Reason codes, a sequence that does not lead with a discount, and the exit survey that stops the next round.

Membership & money · 18 min read · 20 July 2026

How to run a membership drive

A membership drive is not a burst of posting — it is a four-week operation with a named owner for each week. Here is the plan, the offers that convert, the channels worth a volunteer's time, and the follow-up that turns enquiries into paid members.

Membership & money · 21 min read · 19 July 2026

How to price family memberships

A family cap wins households and quietly reshapes your revenue. Here is how to choose between a cap and a sibling ladder, size the discount against your own roster, define family in a way that survives modern households, and run it without hand-editing invoices.

Membership & money · 19 min read · 18 July 2026

How to run a membership renewal campaign

A dated six-touch renewal sequence, the three segments that need different messages, and how to measure renewal rate properly so you can find the leak instead of guessing at it.

Membership & money · 11 min read · 9 July 2026

Club budget template: budgeting and treasurer reports for sports clubs

A copy-ready sports club budget template with income and expense categories, a monthly treasurer report outline, and the habits that keep a volunteer treasurer sane — cash reserves, reconciliation and handover.

Membership & money · 11 min read · 30 June 2026

How to sell club merchandise online

Club merch is fundraising members actually want — hoodies, caps and bottles that turn supporters into walking billboards. Here's how to sell club merchandise online: what sells, pre-orders versus stock, pricing margins, pickup versus postage, and the GST basics.

Membership & money · 8 min read · 23 June 2026

How to hire out your clubrooms (extra income for your club)

Your clubrooms sit empty most of the week — and empty rooms don't pay the power bill. Here's how to hire out your clubrooms properly: setting prices, a simple hire agreement checklist covering bonds, insurance and alcohol, and taking bookings without drowning a volunteer in phone calls.

Membership & money · 17 min read · 18 June 2026

Club fundraising ideas: 30+ ways sports clubs raise money

A big, categorised list of fundraising ideas for sports clubs — barbecues, raffles, events, merchandise and digital fundraisers — with honest notes on effort, return, and what to run when.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 17 June 2026

How to keep club sponsors happy (and renewing)

Winning a sponsor is hard; losing one is easy. Sponsor retention comes down to delivering what you promised, showing visible value all season, and turning up to the renewal conversation with a report instead of an invoice. Here's the playbook.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 11 June 2026

How to run a fun run fundraiser

A fun run is one of the best community fundraisers a club can hold — if the course, approvals, entries and volunteers are sorted early. Here's a practical checklist for organising a fun run, from council approval and entry pricing to the day-of run sheet.

Membership & money · 8 min read · 10 June 2026

Grants for sports clubs in Australia — where to look and how to win them

A practical map of the grant landscape for Australian community clubs — federal, state and council programs with official links, what assessors actually look for, and how to keep the evidence that wins applications.

Membership & money · 10 min read · 10 June 2026

Membership renewal reminders that actually work (+ templates)

A proven renewal reminder sequence for clubs — when to send, what tone to use, and copy-ready email and SMS templates for chasing unpaid club fees without souring relationships.

Membership & money · 25 min read · 4 June 2026

How to budget for a club capital project

Lights, a clubroom, a resurface — the projects that shape a decade of club finances. How to build a cost plan instead of collecting quotes, stack the funding, stage the work so it stays usable, and govern the spend so the committee sleeps.

Membership & money · 21 min read · 3 June 2026

How to build club sponsorship packages

Stop selling signage and start selling reach. How to inventory what your club actually has, value it honestly, price three tiers so the middle one sells, and produce the end-of-season report that justifies next year's number.

Membership & money · 20 min read · 2 June 2026

How to price club merchandise

Cost-plus pricing leaves money on the table and dead stock in the cupboard. Work from landed cost, a margin target and a break-even run size, then set member and public prices, build bundles that lift the order value, and clear the leftovers on a schedule.

Membership & money · 22 min read · 1 June 2026

How to run a member referral program

Your members already recommend the club — a referral program just makes it countable and rewardable. Reward structures that do not cheapen membership, tracking without a spreadsheet, and the moment in the season to launch.

Membership & money · 10 min read · 20 May 2026

How to write a grant application for a sports club (structure, evidence, budget, acquittal)

A practical guide to writing grant applications that get funded — where to find grants, how assessors read applications, the evidence and budget table that win points, and how to handle the acquittal report at the end.

Membership & money · 16 min read · 19 May 2026

The 100 club fundraiser explained — how it works, variations, and the rules to check first

What a 100 club is, how the numbers work, the popular variations clubs run, and — crucially — the permit and lottery rules to check with your regulator before you sell a single number.

Membership & money · 13 min read · 15 May 2026

How to get sponsors for a sports club (with proposal and letter templates)

A step-by-step sponsorship system for community clubs — build your asset list, price your packages, find the right local businesses, plus a sponsorship proposal outline and a letter template you can copy.

Membership & money · 6 min read · 14 May 2026

Sports club grants in SA: where to look and how to apply

A practical guide to finding sports club grants in South Australia — the main funding streams, how to get your club grant-ready before a round opens, and how to write an application that holds up.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 7 May 2026

Sports club grants in WA: where to look and how to apply

A practical guide to finding sports club grants in Western Australia — where the main funding streams live, how to get your club grant-ready, and how to put together an application that stands up.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 30 Apr 2026

Sports club grants in Queensland: where to look and how to apply

A practical guide to sports club grants in Queensland — the state funding streams, council community grants and national programs worth watching, plus how to get grant-ready, apply well and acquit properly.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 23 Apr 2026

Sports club grants in Victoria: where to look and how to apply

How Victorian clubs find grant funding — state sport and recreation programs, council community grants and national streams — plus how to get grant-ready, write a strong application and handle the acquittal.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 16 Apr 2026

Membership form template: what your club registration form should collect

A field-by-field club registration form template — personal details, medical information, emergency contacts, consents and payment — plus what to leave out and how to handle the data responsibly.

Membership & money · 7 min read · 16 Apr 2026

Sports club grants in NSW: where to look and how to apply

A practical guide to sports club grants in NSW — where the funding actually comes from, how to get your club grant-ready before a round opens, and how to write and acquit an application without the stress.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 8 Apr 2026

Refunds for club registrations — a fair, workable refund policy for your club

General information on how refunds work for club registrations in Australia — what the consumer guarantees mean for clubs, a refund policy template outline, common scenarios like mid-season injuries and cancelled seasons, and how to make refunds painless for the treasurer.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 30 Mar 2026

How to grow club membership: a practical playbook for volunteer committees

Member recruitment ideas that actually work for community clubs — how to get found, remove sign-up friction, run come-and-try days, and turn this season's members into next season's recruiters.

Membership & money · 11 min read · 28 Mar 2026

How to retain club members and reduce membership churn

Why members really leave, how to measure your retention rate, and the season-long habits — welcomes, communication, check-ins and renewal campaigns — that keep members coming back year after year.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 27 Mar 2026

How much should club membership cost? Setting membership fees that work

A framework for setting club membership fees — cost-based pricing, market checks, family and junior structures, concessions, and how to raise fees without a member revolt.

Membership & money · 9 min read · 24 Mar 2026

Bunnings sausage sizzle tips — booking, quantities, roster template and food safety

The complete club playbook for a Bunnings sausage sizzle — how to get a booking, the quantities maths for sausages, bread and onions, a copy-and-paste roster template, food-safety pointers, and how much you can realistically expect to raise.

Membership & money · 10 min read · 22 Mar 2026

How to collect club membership fees online (and stop chasing unpaid fees)

Move your club from bank transfers and cash tins to online fee collection — what to set up, how to handle instalments and discounts, and a follow-up system that ends the awkward fee-chasing conversations.

Membership & money · 15 min read · 15 Mar 2026

Club trivia night ideas — round formats, run sheet, and how to double the takings

Everything you need to run a brilliant club trivia night — a full run sheet, round formats that keep the room buzzing, a revenue streams table, and the quiz night fundraiser checklist that stops things going sideways.

Membership & money · 11 min read · 24 Feb 2026

How to increase junior participation at your sports club

A practical playbook for attracting junior players and keeping them — school partnerships, come-and-try days that convert, clear pathways, and the parent experience that quietly decides whether families stay.

Membership & money · 8 min read · 19 Feb 2026

How to run a club raffle (rules, permits and a step-by-step plan)

Everything a committee needs to run a legal, profitable club raffle in Australia — when you need a permit, state-by-state regulator links, prize and ticket rules, and a step-by-step plan from committee sign-off to the draw.

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