Dear ________:
You probably already know what an extraordinary facility we have in Cedar Rapids for ice sports. You are probably familiar with the Rough Riders. You may even be aware of the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club which sponsors competitions and ice shows annually. But you may not be aware that a small but growing sport is catching on in Cedar Rapids and you can be part of the “new team in town.”
I’m talking about the Blue Diamonds Synchronized Skating Team. The Blue Diamonds were the first United States Figure Skating Association synchronized skating team to be organized in Iowa. In their first ever competition in January, 2005, they placed 4 th out of twelve teams at the Foot of the Lake Synchronized Skating Classic in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The next season, the team repeated their 4 th place finish in Fond du Lac, then brought home a 2 nd place trophy at the Swan Sync-sation Synchronized Skating Championships in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and capped off their competitive season with a 1st place finish at the Braemer McCandless Figure Skating Competition in Edina, Minnesota.
Last season, the program expanded to include two teams, growing in one year from nine to twenty three skaters. The higher level team made its first appearance at the Midwestern Sectional Championships in Chicago, competing against the finest synchronized skating teams in the United States.
Now we're entering a new season. We once again have two teams, but we have added an additional coach and have doubled the ice time for both teams. In an effort to efficiently utilize our available ice budget, each team has an hour of private ice once a week for practice and both teams share the ice for an additional hour of practice each week. Our goal is to eventually field teams at a range of skating levels and to field teams at the national level. We are very fortunate this year to have a group of skaters who are truly excited about synchronized skating and ready to work hard to meet the team goals.
Figure skating is an extremely expensive sport. Training cost for the synchronized skating team exceed $170.00 per hour for ice and coaching alone. This figure includes subsidized ice time from the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. This cost must be borne by the skaters and their families. We have found it necessary to more than triple our fees in the past three years to meet the rising costs of the sport. In addition to the team fees, the skaters must purchase their costumes and bear the cost of travel. Also, skaters must continue to develop their skills as individual skaters through private lessons, paying for their coaching and ice costs themselves. The Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club provides an annual subsidy, but to truly make the program possible, we need additional private funding. We need to raise at least $2,000. If we can raise more than that, we can provide more money for coaching and control our fees so more skaters can afford to participate.
I am writing to you to ask that _________ become a sponsor for the Blue Diamonds and the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club and help us fund part of this cost. The Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your contribution will be tax deductible. With your help, we can make our plans a reality.
I have attached a sheet of information on sponsorship and benefits. I could be available to make a presentation and even show competition and exhibition video if it would support this request.
Thank you so much for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
For more information, contact Charlotte Hays, Synchronized Skating Chairperson, Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club, (319)310-8519, e-mail hays319@msn.com |
