General Questions:
Q. What is the Bat-A-Thon?
A. The Bat-a-thon is NOLL-SOLL’s primary fundraiser to raise the funds necessary to support all of NOLL-SOLL’s activities. Members of the league solicit donations from family, friends, neighbors, and the greater community. Players receive different prizes (e.g. T-Shirts, A’s tickets) tied to the amount of money the player raises. A parent volunteer on each team serves as Bat-a-thon team coordinator.
Q. What does this have to do with baseball?
A. Everything! Our 1200+ player league can’t function without it. Registration fees cover only half the expenses of the league. Bat-a-thon pays for uniforms, equipment, insurance, and those beautiful fields of dreams (e.g. Chabot, Caldecott). Last year, we netted over $100,000, far surpassing the candy sales/snackbars and other fundraisers run by other baseball leagues.
Q. How does the Bat-a-Thon raise money?
A. Players receive an envelope/order form at the beginning of the season to solicit pledges and donations from their friends, family, neighbors, and the greater community. Some donors may sponsor a pledge “per foot” payable after the team holds its “bat-a-thon” a few weeks later in the season. The league also encourages donations of a flat amount to be paid at the time of the solicitation.
The team 'bat-a-thon', is held usually after a practice or game. During this time, each player has the opportunity to make three hits (from easy pitches). The team coordinator measures the distance of each hit, recording only the longest distance. Once a player knows the distance of his/her longest hit, the player promptly contacts those who sponsored a per-foot pledge to collect the donation.
The players turn their money and forms into the team coordinator who turns it over to the league coordinators. Players receive different prizes depending on the amount of money they raise. Incentive prizes are also awarded to teams that raise over a certain amount of money.
Tax Deductibility:
Q. Is a donation to Batathon Tax Deductible?
A. Yes. A donor’s entire contribution counts as a charitable contribution since the donor receives no goods or services in exchange for the donation.
Corporate donations:
Q. My employer has a matching funds program. Does my NOLL/SOLL contribution qualify for matching funds?
A. Absolutely! The matching fund contributor should have a form for the League to complete. Please include this form when you turn in the rest of donations to your team coordinator, and we'll take care of the rest.
Q. Are corporate matching gifts counted toward the player’s individual contribution total?
A. Yes! It is a contribution raised by that player, so we include it in the player's total.
Q. My company will match the funds I contribute, as long as NOLL/SOLL is a qualified non -profit. What information do I need to give them?
A. NOLL/SOLL is a 501c3 non-profit organization. You will need to provide your company with our non-profit tax id #, which is 94-2951651.
Divisions and Leagues:
Q. What do you mean by "division" and "league" in the prize descriptions?
A. For the purpose of the Bat-A-Thon only, "division" refers to your playing level (e.g. Peanuts, AAA, Majors, etc.), and "league" refers to NOLL/SOLL in its entirety.
Scholarships:
Q. How many scholarships does NOLL/SOLL provide each year?
A. NOLL/SOLL provides 20-25 full scholarships each year to players who otherwise would not be able to join our league.
When in doubt, remember...
