Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports Fundraiser
Opportunity for $60,000 for Missouri 4-H
In partnership with the Missouri Friends of NRA.
What is it?
This is a fundraising opportunity that comes in a beautiful 12-month calendar depicting Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports members and volunteers. Each calendar includes a $20 off coupon for a single ticket to the Missouri 4-H Chapter Friends of NRA Banquet, to be held in conjunction with our state 4-H shooting sports awards ceremony.
How much?
Each calendar sells for $20. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but 75% of all proceeds will return to the county that sold the calendar. Plus, the stub inside the calendar is redeemable for a $20 discount on a single ticket to the Friends of NRA banquet held by Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports volunteers following our awards ceremony in October.
How many?
Our statewide goal is to sell a total of 3,000 calendars. That is less than 1 calendar per 4-H shooting sports member.
How much do we get?
The estimated initial cost to print the calendars is $6,000. After costs are recovered – the proceeds are split 75/25, with 75% of each calendar sale returned to your club/county and 25% supporting the state 4-H shooting sports program.
How does it work?
The Missouri Friends of NRA does the bulk of the pre-sale work. They design and print the calendars. 4-H sells the calendars. Checks are made payable to the Missouri 4-H Foundation and the Foundation distributes proceeds back to 4-H clubs/counties.
How can the funds be spent?
There are no restrictions on how funds are spent. The funds you raise can be used however you wish. You will receive a check. It’s your money, but this is primarily planned as a fundraiser for shooting sports.
Grants?
While this fundraiser no longer supports the Missouri Friends of NRA grant pool, the proceeds from the planned banquet that will be held in conjunction with our annual awards ceremony will support the Missouri Friends of NRA grant pool.
When?
Our goal is to have calendars ready to sell by March 1. We want to complete sales as soon as possible. We would like sales to start wrapping up by August 1. The calendar is for the months of September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026.
Does the calendar include a raffle ticket?
No. Missouri law does not permit 4-H Clubs to participate in raffles or games of chance because they fall under the umbrella of the University of Missouri. Missouri law only allows charitable or religious organizations to organize or participate in raffles or games of chance without a gambling license. The University is an instrumentality of the State, not charitable or religious.
Do we pay for the calendars up front?
No. No money is required up front. You order what you believe your group will sell. You get the calendars, collect the money, and send one check and your coupon stubs to Jillian Gerlach or Jim Sappington at the conclusion (or periodically if you prefer). PLEASE don’t order an unreasonable number of calendars and then return over half. That is a killer to our net proceeds. Try to be accurate and order once. If you are a little conservative and sell out, you should be able to get additional calendars, but no guarantees.
What are our next steps?
County 4-H programs should decide how the fundraiser will operate in their county, whether its is through the county-wide shooting sports group, individual clubs or County 4-H/Extension Councils. How you accomplish your fundraising goals in your county is your decision. The 4-H staff person in your county must be included in the decision-making process. Please keep in mind, calendar proceeds can only be issue to Extension Councils, 4-H Councils, or chartered 4-H clubs.
Once you decide which group to work through, meet with your 4-H shooting sports instructors and families to determine how many calendars you think you can sell. Set a reasonable goal. Not every family will be able to sell 10 calendars. But can you ask each family to sell 2, or 3? They can buy one and sell one or sell both. Be creative, but make sure you discuss your strategy as a group to determine a reasonable goal. You should expect every shooting sports family to participate in some way.
Once you determine your number, request that number of calendars from Jillian Gerlach or Jim Sappington in the state 4-H office.
What else?
Please keep in mind that the Missouri 4-H Foundation is a 501c3 public charity. None of the fundraiser proceeds can be used for political or legislative purposes. Rachel Augustine, Executive Director of the Missouri 4-H Foundation and Dr. Lupita Fabregas, Sr. Program Director for Missouri 4-H have approved this fundraising opportunity. They encourage shooting sports clubs or county 4-H programs to participate.
Appoint a fundraising chair. This person will be the main contact between the local program and Jillian or Jim. This person needs to keep track of the calendars and funds. The chair does not need to be a certified shooting sports volunteer. You may also want to appoint a committee that will work with the chair to achieve your fundraising goal.
It's how you ask…and who you know.
Be positive, not apologetic.
People like to support a worthy cause.
Explain where the money goes and what it supports.
What happens to the state’s portion?
The portion of funds that is kept at the state 4-H office is used to support the Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports program. A large portion of that funding provides support for the State 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator position. Your participation in this fundraiser helps sustain the local and state 4-H program.
How to place your order:
Requests for calendars are now being accepted. Beginning in 2025, initial orders will only be accepted online and must include a current copy of your W-9.
- Use this Qualtrics link to submit your order form
- Due to past issues with unsold calendars being returned too late to redistribute to other counties, we will be limiting initial orders to a maximum of 100 calendars per county. These orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Counties will be able to request additional calendars after all initial orders have been filled. Any additional orders can be requested via email to Jillian or Jim and will be filled as available.
- Please make sure the checks you are sending to the state office for your calendar sales are made payable to the Missouri 4-H Foundation. If they are made payable to the University of Missouri or Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports, we will not be able to deposit the check.
- The Missouri 4-H Foundation will only write checks to Extension Councils, 4-H Councils, or chartered 4-H clubs. Checks will only be issued if we have a current (within 2 years) W-9 on file. The payable name and address on the check must match the name and address on your W-9.
- Questions? Call or email:
Jillian Gerlach: jgerlach@missouri.edu or 573-882-1024 OR
Jim Sappington: jds@missouri.edu or 573-884-2036