Information on Fundraising for RACE

Basic Structure:

RACE is a program of RAPRD, Redmond Area Park and Recreation District, which is a government NFP organization. As a government agency, all of our budgets and financial transactions follow stringent regulations, ethics laws, and are public record.  As a program, RACE has it’s own fund, separate from the Aquatics Fund, which are both separate from the General Fund and Programs Fund. RACE funds and expenditures are specific to the RACE Fund. The fiscal year runs July through June. Aquatics and Race funds are managed by the Aquatic Director. Budgets are formulated and overseen by the Aquatic Director, based on year-round tracking, expense and income projections from tracking and historical data, and input from the RACE head coach regarding meet and travel schedules, purchase requests, etc. The RACE head coach is exclusively in an advisory role with regards to the administration of budgets.

Board and Budget Committee:

Once budgets are formulated and submitted, they are reviewed and approved yearly by a volunteer budget committee, appointed by the RAPRD board of elected officials. Once approved, the approved line-item amounts must be adhered to, not exceeded, and not utilized to cover other line items. On occasion, in emergency situations, a line-item transfer can be requested for approval by the RAPRD board, to cover an overage or shortfall. Approved budgets are posted publicly

Audits:

As a government agency, accounts undergo a required public audit every year, and the results of the audit are presented in a public meeting with the Board of Directors and posted. This audit is a stringent process conducted by a third-party independent firm specializing in public audit.

RACE and the RPFP:

All programs run by RAPRD are accessed for their public reach and assigned a cost recovery goal based on where they fit in a schematic. This is part of the Recreations Programs and Facilities Plan (RPFP.)  For instance, a private rental or program that only serves a private group would be assigned a 100% cost recovery goal, whereas a public park accessible without admission fee to anyone in the public is assigned 0% cost recovery. RACE is assigned an 80% cost recovery goal, which means that the remainder not covered by fees/dues is made up by tax subsidies.

Fundraising goals and RACE:

In effort to keep RACE dues affordable for average families and provide generous scholarship opportunities RACE has historically had a fundraising goal to augment income from dues. The majority of this fundraising goal is covered by the two main fundraisers, the Jay Rowan Memorial Swim Meet and the RACE-a-RAMA, what is not covered by these two main fundraisers is made up with smaller fundraising opportunities researched and administered by the RACE-Pac. Families are invited to help and participate in these fundraisers. The funds raised go into the Misc. Fundraiser line-item in the RACE budget. These funds are used to cover general RACE expenses such as coach travel and lodging, general team supplies and equipment, coach certifications and training. They do not, and are not permitted to, cover coaching salaries or things like senior trips (which have their own, separate income and expense line items.)  The fundraising goal has been, historically, around 12,000 to 15,000 and has been successfully covered by the two main fundraisers and the smaller fundraisers conducted by the RACE-Pac.

“Blurb” on the goal of fundraising efforts to help families communicate need to potential supporters:

The cost of youth sports participation is on the rise. At RAPRD we strive to be able to have affordable programs, with generous scholarship opportunities so that we can better serve families in our community and insure access to these life enriching opportunities. In order to keep the monthly dues for RACE swim team participants low enough to be a program accessible enough for many of our families RACE families have committed to fundraising efforts to supplement dues and help pay for program necessities like coach travel and housing, team supplies and training opportunities. Thank you for considering helping support our team and our young athletes in this amazing sport that provides lifelong health and enjoyment opportunities.