Youth Venture

Like many Ventures, B3 Skatepark started with $1,000 in start-up funding from Youth Venture.

Instead of putting this funding toward buying a piece of equipment for the skatepark, B3 Skatepark leveraged their funding, which means they invested the money they had in order to earn additional funding. B3 chose to invest their grant in a large fundraising campaign. The team sent a mass mailing requesting donations to every member of their community. The result was an enormous show of community support.

Jesse, Chris, and Kris know that persistence goes a long way:

Their Youth Venture Team, B3 Skatepark, spent the past seven years raising $261,000 to build a skatepark for youth in Tonasket, Washington. When B3 Skatepark opens in 2007, it will be one of the most competitive skate parks in Eastern Washington, and will feature a BMX track as well as baseball, football, and soccer fields.

There are many ways to leverage funding.

Below are several fundraising strategies that B3 Skatepark used to invest their start-up grant that you can try, too!

• Print T-shirts and sweatshirts with your Venture’s logo. Sell them at a reasonable price. This raises money and advertises your Venture.
• Create and sell a calendar. Hold a contest and choose the best twelve pictures submitted. Remember to put your Venture’s logo in a visible place each month.
• Request in-kind donations. Cannon Tire and Auto donated a 1979 Chevy Big Foot to B3 Skatepark, which they used to raise $8,300 in a raffle.
• Apply for grants. In addition to Youth Venture funding, B3 has received support from the Tony Hawk Foundation, the Hirst Foundation, and the North Central Washington Community Foundation.
• Don’t take NO for an answer! Jesse and his friends did not give up when they didn’t receive support on the first try. If someone tells you no, think about why and try a different approach next time.

“This has not been easy, and it would have been really easy to bail many times, but what kept us going was the fact that we had accomplished something in the face of adversity. When you hear that you cannot do something, you either give up or get mad and prove them wrong. We got mad!”
-Jesse, B3 Skatepark, WA

© Youth Venture, 2007. All rights reserved.