Clarification of the sports club's finances: Puma volley
Lepistö, Osku (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120733341
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120733341
Tiivistelmä
This bachelor’s thesis examines the finances of Puma Volley, a junior and community volleyball club based in Helsinki. The purpose of the study is to clarify how the club’s finances are structured, where the main income comes from, what the biggest expenses are, and how financial planning and follow-up are organised in practice. Special attention is given to sponsorship and fundraising, because they are important for the club’s long-term financial sustainability in a sport that does not receive a lot of media attention in Finland. The financial figures used in this study are based on Puma Volley’s publicly available financial information for the 2024–2025 season, complemented by estimates provided through semi-structured interviews with club officials. In addition, the analysis incorporated research and statistical data on Finnish sports clubs (Suomen Olympiakomitea 2023; Koski & Heikkala 2021), which were used to assess the typical distribution of expenses and the funding structures characteristic of smaller sports disciplines.
The thesis is research-based and follows a qualitative approach. The empirical data consist of semi-structured interviews with a club-level financial coordinator and a long-serving team manager, as well as document analysis of publicly available financial information and internal summaries provided by the club. The material was analysed thematically by comparing recurring topics and linking them to the theoretical framework on nonprofit sports finances, budgeting, sponsorship and volunteer-based fundraising.
The results show that Puma Volley has a two-level financial structure, where the club is responsible for shared costs such as facility rentals and memberships, and teams manage their own competition, travel and equipment budgets. The club’s total annual costs are clearly driven by hall rental fees, which alone represent more than half of all expenses. Core income comes from membership and team season fees, with municipal support, fundraising and sponsorships providing additional but less predictable revenue. The study also reveals that fundraising outcomes differ significantly between teams, depending on parental activity and volunteer resources.
The conclusions of the thesis emphasise that Puma Volley is administratively well organised and financially transparent, but structurally vulnerable due to high fixed costs and unstable external income. The thesis recommends, among other things, that the club develop clearer sponsorship packages, organise some fundraising activities at the club level, strengthen long-term financial planning and make wider use of digital tools for budgeting and reporting. These measures would support more stable finances and help the club continue to offer accessible volleyball opportunities for children, young people and adults.
The thesis is research-based and follows a qualitative approach. The empirical data consist of semi-structured interviews with a club-level financial coordinator and a long-serving team manager, as well as document analysis of publicly available financial information and internal summaries provided by the club. The material was analysed thematically by comparing recurring topics and linking them to the theoretical framework on nonprofit sports finances, budgeting, sponsorship and volunteer-based fundraising.
The results show that Puma Volley has a two-level financial structure, where the club is responsible for shared costs such as facility rentals and memberships, and teams manage their own competition, travel and equipment budgets. The club’s total annual costs are clearly driven by hall rental fees, which alone represent more than half of all expenses. Core income comes from membership and team season fees, with municipal support, fundraising and sponsorships providing additional but less predictable revenue. The study also reveals that fundraising outcomes differ significantly between teams, depending on parental activity and volunteer resources.
The conclusions of the thesis emphasise that Puma Volley is administratively well organised and financially transparent, but structurally vulnerable due to high fixed costs and unstable external income. The thesis recommends, among other things, that the club develop clearer sponsorship packages, organise some fundraising activities at the club level, strengthen long-term financial planning and make wider use of digital tools for budgeting and reporting. These measures would support more stable finances and help the club continue to offer accessible volleyball opportunities for children, young people and adults.