Great River Tennis Association

2007 - 2008 Membership Drive

Feb 14, 2007

January 28, 2007

Dear GRTA Tennis Players, Youth Players, and Parents:

To put it simply, we need your help!

For the last couple of years, the GRTA Board of Directors has been striving to grow our membership, participation, and income so that we can continue to provide organized play for adults, and low cost programs and instruction for our youth players. It has been a challenge to generate the funds necessary to support ongoing operation of these programs. We have kept membership fees very nominal [for our adults and our youth] to make it possible for anyone in Muscatine to learn and enjoy the game of tennis. Modest income from our two tournaments, membership fees, personal loans, and small private donations have kept us afloat thus far. However, at this time, we are barely staying ahead of our expenses.

We have reduced the scope of our youth programs with coach Charley Darley from Sunday and Saturday to Saturday only, plus four hours of summer adult supervised open play sessions per week. With this limited offering of programs, we are still looking at an annual budget just for professional coaching fees and supervised summer play of nearly $10,000 per year. Last year, we received income from GRTA memberships, summer industrial league dues, adult and junior tournaments, a donation from Supreme Fitness, and individual donations that amounted to only about $7400. This year, due to a decrease in tennis memberships at Supreme Fitness, we won?’t even receive that donation. Our membership fees and net income from tournaments amount to about $3800 per year, so we are severely short on income versus expenses.

For $20 per year junior membership dues, our youth get to participate in one of several 1 to 11/2 hour-long group teaching sessions each week with a professional USPTA coach. During the past two summers, we have had a young adult supervise and organize two two-hour open play sessions per week. This is a great opportunity for our children. Those of us who grew up with a love of tennis and either couldn?’t afford or simply didn?’t have instruction available, are very happy to see this type of opportunity available to all the children in our community.

Our junior programs are designed not only to teach the game of tennis, but also help our players to be solid citizens. We attempt to do this by teaching confidence, patience, discipline, concentration, fitness, leadership, and teamwork.

To help raise funds to support our ongoing youth programs, we are going to do the following:
o Slightly increase our membership dues and encourage our members to renew their memberships early - 2006-07 memberships are good through April 30, 2007. Your renewed membership will be good through April 30, 2008.
o Increase our efforts to involve more adults in our tennis leagues and programs.
o Encourage our members, and others that we know, to participate in a ?“GRTA Trivia Night?” at Whispering Pines Clubhouse that will take place in the next few weeks. More information will be sent out soon for this fun, evening fundraiser for GRTA youth tennis programs.
o A copy of this letter has been forwarded to Richard Dedor, our Missouri Valley Sectional Resource for USTA, to see what grants or funding we may qualify for during 2007. He has responded with an application for up to one thousand dollars in possible grant support. We will submit this grant application early in February.
o Appeal to all GRTA members, and parents of youth members to make a tax-deductible contribution to GRTA for 2007. If your child(ren) have enjoyed participation in the youth programs, please consider showing your support with an additional contribution to the organization.

All GRTA directors are volunteers. All of the net proceeds from our tournaments, membership dues, league fees, and contributions go back into paying our coach, our youth assistants, and for support of tennis facilities. Attached is a membership dues form. Please check the appropriate box for your membership and include with your dues payment. And please, if you would like to make an additional contribution to help support the ongoing programs, check that box as well. Please note that membership dues are not tax deductible; however, separate charitable donations ARE CERTAINLY tax deductible. Dues are not due until April 30, but we do encourage everyone to renew early if you can.


Thank you again for your support of Muscatine tennis,