The RecreationHQ Blog
The Playbook
Cost recovery, revenue, operations, and growth. Practical playbooks, sourced and written for directors.
Sponsorship Strategy: Why Local Businesses Will Fund Your Programs
The average recreation department generates zero dollars in sponsorship revenue. Here's the tier structure and ask framework that converts maybe into a signed check.
The Four-Touch Rule: Getting People to Register Online
Behavioral research shows it takes four touches to move someone from aware to registered. Most rec departments stop at one.
From Spreadsheets to Online: A Volunteer League's 3-Step Tech Upgrade
Running your rec league out of Google Sheets and Venmo? Here's the practical 3-step upgrade that takes an afternoon and pays back all season.
Program Evaluation: Proving Impact to Your Mayor
Your program is great. Your mayor needs proof. Here's exactly what evidence moves elected officials and how to build a measurement system around it.
Revenue Leakage: The $47,000 Problem Most Parks Departments Miss
Recreation departments lose an average of $47,000/year to revenue leaks, 8-12% of program revenue. Here's where the money goes and how to recover it.
The Registration Friction Audit: Where You're Losing Families
Every extra field and every login step costs you registrations. An ideal registration flow needs seven fields; the average checkout shows 23.
The 25% Cost Recovery Standard: Why NRPA Changed the Game
The NRPA's 2024 benchmarks put 25% cost recovery as the new standard. For decades the industry aimed for less than half that.
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