School District Two launches Bulldog Nation fundraising program

Lovell High School and Big Horn County School District No. 2 have launched a new fundraising program to support activities at the high school. Known as Bulldog Nation, the program was launched the second week in December on Facebook and promoted by Supt. William Hiser at the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday, Dec. 15, at the Mustang Café.

Supt. Hiser said the district formed the program due to the increasing costs of student activities, replacing the previous policy of limited business promotion.

“Bulldog Nation creates a structured and transparent way for our community to invest in student opportunities,” Hiser told the Chronicle in a follow-up to the chamber meeting. “It strengthens partnerships with local businesses and families, keeps fundraising aligned with district values and ensures all funds directly support student activities. By keeping community support local and visible, Bulldog Nation reinforces pride in our students and schools.

“As the costs associated with student activities continue to rise, the district has reevaluated previous practices that limited business involvement such as prohibiting banners in the gym and on the football field. Bulldog Nation provides a sustainable approach that allows community members to support student opportunities without shifting the financial burden entirely to families. Funds generated through this effort will be used to expand access, reduce participation barriers and enhance opportunities across both athletic and non-athletic programs.”

Speaking to the chamber on Dec. 15, Hiser said District Two and LHS reached out to some area schools to see what they do to bring in extra funds, and he emphasized that the fundraising extends beyond athletics.

“It’s athletics, but it’s also all the other activities -- speech and debate, drama, band, choir. It’s skills, FCCLA. We want these funds to be able to touch all of those programs. With so many schools, and Worland is probably the one closest to us, you go to their gym and there’s about 60 banners hanging up in their gym. They’re business sponsors, and they’re also families in the community; it says the Hiser family, you know, up on the banner in the gym.

“And those are paid sponsorships to support the students there in the Worland school district. That’s where a lot of this came from, and so yes, it’s brand new.”

With it already being December, it may take some time for the program to be fully implemented, Hiser said, but he added that the initial response even from a soft rollout on Facebook has been positive. Annual sponsorships will begin in January and will be up for renewal each December.

“It’s a pretty quick turnaround on creating these banners, but they’ll be hung, and Mr. (Chris) Edwards (athletic director) said he’ll make sure it looks nice in our gym with all the banners.”

There are three sponsorship levels. A Platinum sponsorship is $800, and the sponsor will receive a 3-by-5 banner displayed in Winterholler Gym for one year and a 3x4 banner at the football field. A Gold sponsor ($600) will receive a 3x4 banner in the gym, and a Silver sponsor ($400) will receive a 3x3 banner in the gym.

The school is also offering direct donations to a specific activity, however, specific activity donations will be limited to 80 percent going to the specific activity and the rest going to the general fund of Bulldog Nation to support all activities.

“That will eliminate, like, one activity or one sport getting almost all the funds, and then others going without, so it’s a way to say, ‘Yes, we’ll try to honor your donation, but we’ll also support others with it, as well,’” Hiser said.

“We’re excited about this,” Hiser continued. “I think there was a need just kind of talking to some business owners that have wanted to advertise in our gym, but we just didn’t do it. Now we’re going to officially allow that to happen. And so I think that’s a good thing, and we’ve expanded that to include community members, also, if they want to participate and have their family name up there or a little message up there on a banner.

“We still have our activity accounts, but this is just kind of above and beyond for some of these things that come up. And as we get into this, like especially in year two, hopefully this can reduce the need for some of that other fundraising that student organizations need to do.”

For more information, contact school district executive secretary Nicole Mickelson at 548-2259 or nmickelson@bgh2.org. Information is also available on the school district website and via a QR code printed in an ad in this week’s newspaper.