Making it easier to donate to the CoCo
As the executive director of the CoCo, one of my ongoing priorities is to think about big-picture strategies to grow the game. Growth requires resources, and that most definitely includes money. That's why I'm always on the lookout for potential grants, donations, and other fundraising opportunities.
We were fortunate to come across one such opportunity recently, courtesy of one of our regular players, Bharath Balakrishnan. Bharath works at Google, which uses a platform called Benevity to enable employees to contribute to nonprofit organizations around the world. Bharath was thoughtful enough to nominate the CoCo as a charitable cause, making us eligible to receive donations from Google employees. Not only are we now able to receive generous contributions from Google employees like Bharath, but we also qualify for corporate matching donations, effectively doubling every dollar donated.
This is a wonderful gesture, and we're grateful to Bharath for making this new stream of funding possible. We're delighted to share that we've completed the registration and verification process to be listed as a nonprofit on the Benevity platform. We're now eligible for not just Google employees to support us through donations, but for any employee of the 700+ companies that use Benevity to choose the CoCo for their annual giving. If you or someone you know works for an employer that uses Benevity, please check us out and consider donating. You can find us listed as Collins Coalition or under our EIN, 85-3796016.
Beyond Benevity, this recent development has inspired us to seek out other opportunities to bring in donations, corporate-backed and otherwise. Perhaps you're wondering about the value of a dollar to our organization. Why do we need donations? What can the CoCo do with a little extra money?
Here's a breakdown of what that money can do:
New technology: We're eager to invest in new IT solutions to improve the CoCo player experience - our own server to manage all our data, a modern database of tournament results, a new and improved way of presenting tournament data, and possibly even a CoCo mobile app down the road.
Marketing and growth efforts: We have a bunch of marketing plans in the works, including ad campaigns, T-shirts, bookmarks with QR codes, stickers, and more - all of which cost money.
Services: Think world-class production of livestreams. Cool, original, and professional designs for logos and shirts. Reimbursements for directors' travel and other expenses for major events, when possible.
Equipment: Cameras, monitors, and microphones for livestreams. Reusable blank slips. Thank-you cards for donors. The list goes on.
Player recruitment: When it's financially feasible, we try to offer discounts for first-time Collins players and first-time tournament players. Our Newcomer Discounts program lowers people's barriers to entry and increases the accessibility of Collins tournaments.
Prize pools: We want to pay out the most generous prizes we possibly can at all CoCo tournaments.
Unexpected tournament costs: Whenever something goes wrong at an event, such as damage to a tournament venue, we want to help cover the cost so that directors, organizers, and streaming staff aren't stuck with that financial burden themselves.
Operational expenses: We pay insurance premiums every year to make sure the CoCo and its directors are covered. We also pay to maintain this very website you're reading right now.
NACC expenses: For the North American Collins Championship (NACC), our flagship event coming up in November, we have a long list of expenses we need to cover, headlined by a nice venue in downtown Seattle. Every dollar we raise to cover those expenses means a dollar more is available for the prize pool.
Long story short, there's a lot that goes into running a Scrabble organization, and it all costs money. We're doing everything we can to cover our costs responsibly and transparently, and donations are crucial to keep us (and any nonprofit) going strong.
To those who have already contributed: We thank you! And we pledge to do all we can to invest every dollar you've given to benefit the Scrabble community.
To those considering donating in the future, be it through a platform like Benevity or otherwise, please know that anything you can give brings us one step closer to more tournaments, more players, and a stronger Scrabble tournament scene overall.