Born of our club's strategic planning - imagine that!

      York-East Rotary Club was looking for something new.  Something to invigorate its members.  Something to involve other Rotary clubs.  Something to involve the entire community of York County.

      Let’s face it – soliciting and acquiring monies for our missions has become increasingly challenging.  Government grants at federal, state and local levels are subject to ever more cutting as the balance between tax revenues and expenditures has yet to be reached.  Businesses, too, are keeping their belts tight.  The typical fundraising activities of local Rotary clubs and charities – golf outings, carwash ticket sales, wreath sales, flower sales, galas, silent auction events – have yielded less profit for as much, or more, work.  Foundations and individual donors are being asked for more and more.

      In this sea of community fundraising, it is critical that your message and mission be loud and clear, and heard by many.

      Why not combine our efforts?  Rotarians are known for grassroots projects that become immensely successful global efforts (think polio eradication).  With upwards of 700 Rotarians in York County, wouldn’t we be a tremendous force if we combined our efforts?

      Enter YCIDA (York County Industrial Development Authority) and the Revolution’s Sovereign Stadium.  YCIDA opens the use of its entire facility with all of its amenities of parking, seating, concessions, playground, restrooms, AND a jumbotron to several non-profits each year, based on selecting a novel, workable, community oriented project.  The nascent Rotary idea, as yet to be dubbed The County Cup, was chosen in 2012 to be the recipient of the “stadium for a day.”

      In tremendous support of a concept and faith in Rotarians to put a concept into action, Shipley Energy Group stepped forward as a major sponsor, before we had even one marketing piece in print!

      From the outset, we worked to develop the event as one that would be repeatable.

      The Model:  Provide a venue that could draw a broad spectrum of charities, giving each organization the ability to raise funds prior to and the day of the event, and to compete for cash prizes beyond their own fundraising activities.  The venue also would provide an opportunity for the charities to spread their mission.  With each organization drawing its core supporters to participate in and attend the event, the audience, instead of being several hundred, is now several thousand.

      Fund the prize purse and the event operating expenses through a combination of team registration fees and sponsorships.  Allow non-profits to recoup the registration fee by keeping 100% of ticket sale proceeds and by fundraising the day of the event with things like face painting, dart boards, guessing games, raffles, chair massages, temporary tattoos, balloon animals, bake sales.  The non-profit activities become a source of entertainment for attendees and an opportunity for non-profits to share the message of their organizations in an informal venue.

      Corporations, foundations and individuals can support the community event with sponsorships at many levels, from $500 for a team sponsorship to $25,000 for the title sponsorship.  Anyone can support the event through program ads.

      The end result is that all proceeds are infused into the community via the participating non-profits.

      What about the name?  How do we encapsulate the event model into a name generic enough not to reference a specific organization or component, yet simple and catchy enough to build an identity?  The County Cup – there are a lot of “cup” competitions, from tennis to golf to the Olympics.  Why shouldn’t York County have a “cup” event, and why shouldn’t it be for the benefit of all of the residents of the county who are served by non-profits?  The County Cup we became.  We were able to secure the website www.TheCountyCup.org.  Perfect.

      And what about “the cup?”  Again, we looked to the community for ideas.  We found Pat Sells of Salvaging Creativity, whose sculptures embellish many city streets, sidewalks and gardens.  How appropriate to bring together pieces of York County’s industrial heritage to be melded into a durable travelling trophy, just as the Rotary clubs are bringing together non-profits, businesses, foundations and community members in the collaborative effort now known as The County Cup.

      It’s amazing to have nine Rotary clubs and 45+ non-profit organizations, all from York County, come together in one venue, with the same goals:  FUN and FUNdraising.