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GR8 Sports, Great Kids Intern

Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation
The Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation (GRSAF) is the strategic fundraising partner of Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS). We link community resources with the needs of GRPS for the benefit of its students, not just by raising money, but also by identifying and strengthening partnerships and opportunities to engage the community in our efforts.

We believe that ALL students deserve every opportunity to LEARN, GROW and THRIVE. Since 2003, the Foundation has raised and granted more than $20 million through our fundraising and friendraising efforts.
 
GR8 Sports, Great Kids
Through a formal partnership with GRPS, GRSAF implemented the GR8 Sports, Great Kids program to ensure access to K-8 sports to all students regardless of ability to pay. Most school districts don’t provide elementary programs at all and require that students “pay to play” at any level. For GRPS, this is simply not a realistic option. By leveraging both district and private dollars, we can offer an accessible and sustainable K-8 athletics program to all students.

This year alone, GRPS will provide after-school athletics for over 5,400 K-8 students at no cost to students or families. GR8 Sports, Great Kids relies on the generosity of residents and companies throughout Grand Rapids to continue offering 15 middle-school sports and six elementary-level sports at GRPS. With over 70% of the school districts in the Ottawa – Kent (O-K) Athletic Conference requiring some form of pay-to-play, this funding is needed now more than ever. At GRPS, close to 80% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, which means athletics is simply not something most of the students can afford to pay for. 

Internship Details:
Beginning Date (approximate): January 13, 2020
End Date (approximate): April 30, 2020

This internship will help the GR8 Sports, Great Kids Program with specific job functions around two of our most important fundraising events: the Battle of the Brackets and our GR8 Girls Campaign. 

The GR8 Girls Campaign is a four week long social media campaign centered around promoting the importance of girls plaing sports and raising funds for the girls athletics at GRPS. A matching gift has been secured to help drive donations through this campaign and muchof this internship’s focus will be spent on developing unique and innovative ways to promote the campaign online and through social media.

The Battle of the Brackets capitalizes on the hysteria surrounding March Madness – men’s and women’s tournaments – to determine which company in Grand Rapids knows the most about college basketball. To gain bragging rights as the 2020 Battle of the Brackets Champion, companies are asked to make a single $1,000 contribution to GR8 Sports for the opportunity to participate in a men’s and women’s bracket competition. Once the tournament starts, GR8 Sports will calculate the rankings each week and communicate those out to the participating companies. At the end of the tournament there will be a winner for both the men’s and women’s brackets.

Example of internship responsibilities include:
Battle of the Brackets
-         Coordinate and communicate with volunteers (committee members) through update emails and answer on-going questions and provide support;
-         Coordinate Battle of the Brackets sponsorships the with Director and Committee Members – including merging letters, identifying potential participants, preparing invoices, etc.
-         Help the Director compute the Battle of the Brackets rankings each week of the March Madness Tournament using ESPN’s website;
-         Communicate with corporate donors about their standing within the Battle of the Brackets Competition;
-         Work with staff to develop event flow/timeline and coordinate all details of same, including: sponsorship packages, mailings, scripts, videos, social media, etc;
-         Work with staff on all event logistics, including email management, database management, social media, budget reporting, agendas, etc;
-         Develop event budget with GR8 Sports, Great Kids staff to meet organization revenue and expense goals;
-         Draft needed correspondence during event planning and implementation;
-         Coordinate sponsor/participant solicitations, including sponsor packages, thank you’s and event hosting;
-         Assist with event follow-ups, including fiduciary, thank you’s and other post-event tasks;
-         Prepare a post event follow-up assessment with future recommendations for SAF staff and board
 
GR8 Girls
-         Coordinate and communicate with volunteers (committee members) through update emails and answer on-going questions and provide support;
-         Responsible for regularly updating our social media accounts – with a focus on growing the audience and promoting the GR8 Girls Campaign via Facebook and LinkedIn;
-         Research women and girls in sports statistics to use within the GR8 Girls Campaign
Successful candidate:
-         Attention to detail
-         Interest in fundraising and marketing
-         Interest in youth and public education
-         Interest in athletics and familiarity with the March Madness Basketball Tournament