Madera F.A.N. organization seeking sponsorships

Madera High School’s Creona Harshaw stands with Madera South’s Eduardo Herrera and Ron Pisk next to the Kenny Taylor Athlete of Integrity award. The award and Spirit of Sport dinner is sponsored by the Madera F.A.N. and recognizes student-athletes and coaches from the three Madera Unified middle schools and both high schools. (Wendy Alexander)

The Madera Foundation of high school Athletic Needs will begin its annual fundraising campaign to help the athletic departments of Madera and Madera South high schools.

Madera F.A.N. president and Round Table Pizza owner Bill Dawson will visit local businesses to help support the athletic departments. In addition, Madera High School athletic director John Fernandez and Madera South athletic director Andrea Devine will also solicit donations.

Donors can support the F.A.N. by sponsoring a number of items, including football program ads, sport calendar advertisements and billboard sponsorships in Memorial Stadium.

To donate to the Madera F.A.N., contact Dawson at 673-7043 or can contact the athletic departments of the schools.

Below is a letter the Madera F.A.N. will distribute to potential donors.

Foundation of High School Athletic Needs

This foundation was formed in the spring of 2007 for the sole purpose of raising charitable funds that could be distributed to both Madera High School and Madera South High School equally. Once raised, these funds would be distributed to the schools’ athletic programs via their respective athletic booster clubs. It will be the booster clubs’ responsibility to allocate the funds to the individual sports programs as they see fit.

Our goal is two-fold. First, we hope that FAN will provide funds necessary to alleviate the fundraising burden from the coaches, thereby allowing them the time and energy to focus on coaching their teams to victory.

Second, we realize that with two high schools, local businesses will be overwhelmed with requests for financial support for both schools. Madera F.A.N. hopes to alleviate “support burnout” or “support bankruptcy” by providing a method of donation that will equally assist both schools in obtaining their fundraising goals.

Should a business donate a substantial amount to FAN, it will receive a window decal to display, indicating that the business supports both schools, equally. It also indicates to team members, coaches and parents who are trying to raise funds for their individual sports programs that the business has already donated a substantial amount of money and that they are not to solicit that business in person. However, those individuals are still free to receive solicitations by mail. FAN is not attempting to block teams from soliciting donations from a business, it is just trying to alleviate the large amount of person-to-person solicitation a business might receive.

It must be said that if a business wants to give to a specific high school or a specific sports program (ie: wrestling, football, baseball), FAN will be able to facilitate that transaction. However, those funds would not apply toward the window decal that signifies equal support to both high schools.

FAN’s ultimate financial goal is to raise enough funds so that 50 percent of those funds is greater that what the one high school is now receiving. Funds will be raised by promoting the following items: