Sports team fundraising ideas, sport by sport

Below are ideas for football, basketball, baseball and softball, soccer and volleyball, each with how to run it and what to watch out for, plus a list that works for any sport.

Before you pick an idea#

A few checks save you trouble later.

• Ask your athletic director first. Many schools have a fundraising approval form, a calendar to avoid clashing with other teams, and rules on where money is deposited. Club teams should check with the club board.
• Know who holds the money. At a high school it is usually the school activity account or a booster club. Never run team money through a coach's or parent's personal account.
• Check raffle and gambling rules. Raffles, 50/50 drawings and paid-entry contests with prizes can fall under state gambling law, and your district may have its own rules. Get a yes from your AD before you sell a single ticket.
• Handle cash with two adults. Two people count it, both sign a count sheet, and it gets deposited the same day.
• Protect athletes' privacy. When an athlete shares a page or a photo, keep it to what the family agrees to. Skip home addresses, phone numbers and class schedules, and collect photo permission before posting team pictures.

Football fundraising ideas#

Lift-a-thon#

Athletes collect pledges for the total weight they move in one session, or for reps on a set lift. A supporter might pledge 2 cents a pound with a $50 cap.

1. Pick one or two lifts your strength coach already tests, such as bench and squat.
2. Each athlete asks supporters for a per-pound or per-rep pledge, or a flat gift.
3. Hold the event in the weight room with coaches spotting and recording numbers.
4. Send each supporter the athlete's result and the amount owed, with a link to give.

Youth camp or clinic#

Your varsity players coach elementary and middle school kids for a morning. Charge a set fee per camper.

You need a waiver and emergency contact for every camper and a head coach on site. Check your state association's rules on camps before you set a date, since they can affect who may coach and when.

Program ads and sponsor banners#

Sell ads in the game program and banners on the stadium fence to local businesses. Price tiers by size and placement.

Your district may control what hangs on school property and which businesses can advertise there. Get the policy in writing.

Basketball fundraising ideas#

Shoot-a-thon#

Each athlete shoots 100 free throws or a set of spots, and supporters pledge per make or give a flat amount.

1. Set the format and a time limit before anyone asks for pledges.
2. Pair athletes so one shoots and one counts.
3. Post results the same day and send supporters their totals.

Don't add a prize that athletes or supporters pay to compete for. A paid entry with a prize can fall under gambling rules.

Alumni game#

Former players come back for a game against each other or against current staff. Charge admission and sell concessions.

Check your facility use rules, and get a liability waiver from every alumni player.

Youth clinic night#

Run a two-hour skills night for local kids. A shooting station, a ball-handling station and a scrimmage is plenty.

Baseball and softball fundraising ideas#

Hit-a-thon#

Each player gets a set number of swings off a pitching machine or coach pitch. Supporters pledge per foot of their longest hit, per hit past a cone line, or give a flat gift.

Put a helmet on every batter and a protective screen in front of anyone pitching, and clear the field. Cap the pledges.

Outfield fence sponsors#

Sell signs on the outfield fence for the season. Offer one size at a single price to keep it simple, and include a mention on the team's social posts.

Find out who owns the field first. A park district field may have its own sign rules.

Soccer fundraising ideas#

Kick-a-thon or juggle-a-thon#

Players count juggles in a row or shots on goal from set spots in a timed window. Supporters pledge per juggle or per goal, or give a flat amount.

Juggling counts can run very high for skilled players. Use a cap, or switch to a flat gift.

Small-sided tournament#

Host a 3v3 or 4v4 tournament for local kids or adults. Charge a team entry fee and run concessions.

Line up referees, field permits, a first aid plan and waivers for every player. Prizes bought with entry fees can raise gambling questions, so keep prizes to trophies or donated items and check with your AD.

Volleyball fundraising ideas#

Serve-a-thon or dig-a-thon#

Athletes serve to targets or take dig drills for a set time. Supporters pledge per ace on target or per successful dig, or give a flat gift.

Alumni and parent match#

Current players take on alumni or parents in a fun match with paid admission.

Themed home match#

Pick a home match with a theme and run a bake sale, team merchandise table or collection for a local cause alongside it.

If the theme is tied to a charity, part of the money goes to that charity. Tell supporters how much goes where.

Fundraising ideas for any sport#

• Jersey number donor list. Supporters give the amount of a player's number, such as $23 for number 23, or a set amount to sponsor a number for the season. List donors on a board or in the program.
• Buy a brick or plaque. Sell engraved bricks or plaques for a walkway or wall. It takes facility approval and a lead time for engraving.
• Sponsor board. One board at the gym or field with business logos in tiers.
• Team dinner or banquet. Sell tickets to a pasta dinner or season banquet. If your booster club is a 501(c)(3) charity and someone pays more than $75 for a ticket, the IRS requires a written statement with a good faith estimate of what the meal was worth.
• Letter and online campaign. Each athlete reaches out to family and friends with the team's story and a link to give.

How to run a pledge event with online giving#

Pledges per lift, per make or per juggle are the hardest part of these events to collect. A simple way to run it:

1. Before the event, each athlete tells supporters the per-unit amount and the cap, or offers a flat gift.
2. On event day, a coach or parent volunteer records every result on one sheet.
3. Afterward, each athlete messages their supporters with the result, the amount, and a link to their fundraising page.
4. Supporters give that amount as a regular online donation.

Many supporters will just give a flat amount, which is easier to collect than a pledge you have to chase.

How an online team fundraiser works#

An online team fundraiser has two layers. The team page tells the story: what the money is for, the goal and the deadline. Each athlete gets their own page linked to it, usually with a short video or photo and a personal goal. Families share the athlete's link by text, email and social. Every gift counts toward both the athlete's total and the team goal.

Athlete pages reach people a team page never would, such as grandparents, neighbors and former coaches. Twenty athletes who each reach ten supporters put your story in front of two hundred people.

Before you start, settle three things:

• Where the money lands. It should be the team's or booster club's bank account, never an athlete's.
• Fees. Know what the platform keeps and what card processing costs, so you can explain it to parents.
• What goes on athlete pages. A live page is public. Let families choose the video or photo, and keep personal details off it.

Running your fundraiser with Snack Raise#

Snack's Raise app runs this kind of fundraiser. Here is what it does.

• A page for every athlete. When you create a raise, you set each person to Create Pages for their own page or Share only to share the team page. Athletes with their own page record a short video with Record video and can set a Personal goal.
• Outreach. Athletes add the supporters they want to reach. When the raise goes live, Snack sends each supporter the athlete's page by email or text, and reminders to the same person go out at most once every 7 days. There is also a copyable share link and a printable flyer with a QR code that opens the giving page.
• Giving. Supporters don't need an account. Gifts start at $5, and supporters can choose Monthly to give every month.
• Fees. Raise has no setup fee or monthly charge. Snack keeps 5% of each donation, and card processing through Stripe is about 2.9% + $0.30 a gift. Supporters can check Cover the processing fee to pay the card fee for you. On a $100 gift, your team gets about $91.80, or about $95.00 if the supporter covers the fee. The full breakdown is in the fundraiser fees guide.
• Payouts. Money goes to your team's bank account through Stripe. Owners and admins choose one deposit When the raise ends or deposits As gifts come in. See how to set up raise payouts.
• Receipts. Each supporter gets an email receipt with the subject Thanks for supporting and the athlete's or team's name. It says whether your team marked the raise tax-deductible, so set that honestly when you create the raise.
• Tracking. Coaches can see each gift on the raise's Donations tab and download every donation with Export CSV.

To start, read how to create and launch a raise and share the athlete setup guide with your team. For photo permission, Snack's photo and video release starter form asks parents whether the team may share photos of their athlete and name them. More on the app itself is on the Raise team fundraising page.

Whatever you choose, keep it simple: one event your athletes enjoy, one online page per athlete, and a clear story about what the money pays for.