Fundraising

WAC is a proudly independent, small family club 97% funded by dues. We have no large outside donors. That's a choice, and it's unusual, and fragile: every cost increase lands on families, and a bad registration year becomes a crisis rather than a dip.


Limited fundraising is how we pay for training equipment, subsidize meet entry costs, and build the reserve that lets the club plan more than one season ahead.



GIVE TO WAC


WAC can now accept tax-deductible gifts online. A monthly gift, at any size, helps most, because it lets the club plan.



Giving is never expected, and it never buys anything. No gift affects lanes, levels, meet entries or coaching decisions.


Williamsburg Aquatic Club is a 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 54-1520341. A financial statement is available from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services upon request.



The Fall Raffle


WAC's only mandatory fundraiser. Once a year, in the fall.


  • $150 per swimmer in tickets.
  • $300 family maximum, no matter how many swimmers.
  • Tickets arrive in your family's ribbon folder in September. Full details shared at First Splash parent meeting.
  • Sell tickets!
  • Return the stubs and the money by the posted deadline.


The 2026 Fall Raffle


Prizes for the 2026 fall raffle include:


  • Arena Suit
  • Arena goggles
  • Arena backpack 
  • Arena parka 
  • Pool party at Kingswood for 20 people, with lifeguard provided
  • Ice cream party for swimmer’s level group
  • (2) Peking restaurant 2-person buffet gift cards
  • Wine Seller gift basket, valued at $125
  • Lindsey Mosley artist gift basket
  • Playful Educator gift basket
  • (4) rounds of golf -- plus a golf card! -- at the Golden Horseshoe
  • Wawa cooler, swag, and gift card
  • $200 Fallen Acorn bookstore gift card
  • (4) tickets to a W&M basketball game!


...with much more to come!


2026 Raffle Timeline

  • September 20th: Tickets distributed to WAC families
  • November 11th: Ticket stubs and money due back to WAC, in your family's envelope
  • November 14th: Raffle winners drawn at the WAC Fall Classic meet in Richmond



Raffle FAQ for families:


What if we don't sell all of our family's tickets? Unsold tickets are billed to your family the month after the raffle closes. Plenty of families simply buy their own tickets and are done with it. That is a completely normal way to handle this, and you are still in the drawing.


What if we join the club mid-year? Families who register after the raffle closes are billed the same $150 per swimmer, $300 per family. The obligation does not depend on when you arrived.


Can we skip the raffle entirely? No. Participation is mandatory, but there are three ways to participate:

  1. Sell all of your family's tickets
  2. Buy all of your family's tickets (or whatever you don't sell)
  3. Bring the club $500 in corporate sponsorship (more on those below), and in exchange, your family is exempt from the raffle




Corporate Sponsors


You can find more info on our Corporate Sponsor program on the Sponsors page here, but as far as it concerns the raffle: $500 raised through a Corporate Sponsorship exempts your family from that year's raffle, so the ask you make on the club's behalf is also the fastest way out of selling ticket books.




Where WAC fundraising money goes


WAC is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Every dollar raised stays in the club, and the board publishes financials to the membership.


Priorities for raised funds, in order:


  • Meet cost subsidy — keeping entry fees and travel from being the reason a swimmer stops racing
  • Training equipment — the unglamorous replacement cycle: fins, snorkels, blocks, timing gear
  • Financial aid — no family should leave this club over money
  • Reserve — in a moment when youth sports are more expensive than ever, a simple reserve is the difference between a club that plans and a club that reacts.


How we ask for and use gifts: Charitable Solicitation Policy · Gift Acceptance Policy · WAC Family Fund