Fundraiser Ideas for Sports

Funding for sports is a challenge for many parents and kids. Gone are the days where children could go door-to-door selling candy and receive positive responses. At the same time, the cost of equipment and travel for sports teams seems to be rising. With some creativity, there are still viable fundraising options to earn money for your sports team.

  1. Local Businesses

    • Why not leverage the resources of a company, instead of seeking multiple small contributions from individuals? Consider seeking company sponsorship of your sports team. Not only does this provide free publicity for the company, the company may elect to use its sponsorship of your team in its advertising, as a way of showing community contribution and support. This gives your team added exposure too.

      Ask local businesses to contribute something for a raffle. Free rounds of golf at the local golf course, discounts on store merchandise, or a higher-ticket item will make your raffle ticket sales more enticing to buyers.

      Seek local restaurants that would be willing to donate plate lunches for a sale to support your team. Free publicity for them and good food for your contributors could be the winning combination you're looking for.

    School Pride

    • If your sports team has a medium- or large-size fan base, feed your fans' pride in a way that allows them to contribute to your success. T-shirts and handbags with your sports team's logo on it could be hot items that bring in the money your team needs. If your team plays an outdoor sport, chairs with your team's logo might be a big hit. Take a trip to your local sports apparel store and see what items are on sale for professional and college sports teams, and think about how you can adapt some of these ideas to fit your situation.

    Host a Golf Tournament

    • With the support of your local golf course, a fundraising golf tournament is an option that has the potential to fund most of your entire season in a single afternoon. It will take a lot of work to organize, and you'll need help from a few of the parents to pull this off. Done right, however, golf tournaments are often very profitable and can save time over year-round fundraising efforts that don't yield the financial results your team needs.

    Garage Sale

    • For a garage sale to be successful in raising the money your team needs, it's imperative to involve the community. Ask for local residents to donate the items for the sale, and recruit their help in advertising it. This option is inexpensive to set up and can yield very fruitful results.