Fundraising Ideas For Sports Teams
22 Sports Fundraising Ideas for Teams and Leagues
Here at Fundraising Zone we do one thing and one thing very well— We provide the best sports fundraising ideas for kids.
Whether you are a booster club parent, a teacher, or a coach, we want to help. We know that school teams have to come up with ways to pay for lots of necessary extras so the kids can play.
- Team uniforms and jerseys.
- Sports Equipment.
- Trophies.
- Award ceremony dinners.
- Tournament fees.
- And finally travel expenses.
We both know money doesn’t grow on trees. That’s why we designed this resource page.
After 50 years in the business we have helped a lot of youth sports teams just like yours. See for yourself.
Youth Football
Score a touchdown with these proven programs. Works with Pee Wee football, local youth teams and high school football too. Super Bowl worthy!
Baseball
Hit a homerun with the World Series of all fundraiser catalogs. Helps Pee Wee baseball, local youth teams & high school baseball too.
Youth soccer
You don’t have to be a Pelé to win the fundraising game. Everyone scores a winning goal when they team up with FZ. Works with Pee Wee soccer, local youth soccer clubs & teams.
Swim Teams
You don’t have to be a Michael Phelps or a Olympic diver to jump right in the fund raising pool with us. Learn how your competitive swimming team can take home the gold.
Lacrosse
Learn how your high school lacrosse players can pay for new protective field gear, helmets and sticks. Works for boys and girls lacrosse teams too! Simple, easy and free.
Bowling
Every bowler wants to bowl the perfect game. Learn how bowling teams and bowling leagues pay for Team uniforms, Registration fees, new bowling shoes and bowling trophies. Don’t settle for a gutter ball fund raiser.
Softball
You get proven ways to raise the funds your softball team. Great way to pay for softball uniforms, new bats and softballs, tournament fees and trophies! Don’t strike out on your own!
GAA Games
Proven ways to help your local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) keep the traditional games alive. Raise funds to get your USGAA youth club to the CYC.
Relay For Life
Run the race to finding a cure for cancer with FZ. Simple ways to raise extra money to raise awareness for cancer research in your community. Our catalogs work well in combination to any walk-a-thon or 5k marathon race.
Tennis
Is your tennis association, local tennis team, or school tennis club looking to raise funds? Whether you are headed to the state tournaments or Wimbledon we can help. Allow us the opportunity to serve you.
Hockey
Hey there hockey fans! Learn how to pay for ice time, hockey jerseys and equipment too. Works for any local Youth Hockey league or team including street hockey and field hockey.
Golf
You don’t have to be headed to the PGA Masters to work with FZ. Let us show you how to help you pay for youth golf teams uniforms, tournament fees and travel expenses. Fun, easy and simple for everyone. You will feel like you hit a hole in one after trying this out!
Our Favorite Sports Fundraising Idea In Your Community
What’s the favorite sports fundraising idea for teams?
We would have to say fundraiser brochures. We have a dozen brochures with hundreds of fundraising products for kids of all ages. Coaches, teachers and booster moms love the ability to raise a lot of money selling common items people like to buy.
- Candy fundraisers
- Popcorn fundraisers.
- Cookie dough fundraisers.
- Sell gift wrap.
For instance, here are three of our top sellers every year:
Snackin’ in the USA
Gourmet Popcorn
Winter Wonderland
Why do we recommend brochures?
- Your ball players get to earn up to 50% on every sale.
- It’s free to get started.
- You also get free brochures and training to help you succeed.
- We only sell top quality merchandise. This means your friends and family will love these products.
- Best of all, it’s affordable! Many of the products start under $10.
All-Time Best Sports Fund Raising Ideas
You’re gonna love these fundraising ideas for kids . They are simple fun and profitable
Marathon — Run for a cause
This is a great way for teams to get their community involved in helping a good cause. You can either choose a local charity or help your kid’s team.
- Tell your story.
- Give people an emotional reason to either run or sponsor a runner for every mile or lap run.
- Charge an entry fee.
- Sell commemorative shirts.
- Open concessions stands.
- Get the press involved.
Sports-a-thon
In this special event you can have your players raise money doing what they do best… playing sports!
So you know how a marathon or a walkathon works. You simply get people to sponsor you for every mile or lap you run. Now take that idea and apply it to the team your child plays on and find a way to make a game out of it.
Here are a few suggestions to get your brain juices flowing:
- Hit-athon for either baseball, softball, cricket or tennis.
- Shoot-athon for either basketball, archery or shooting clubs.
- You can also do a bowl-a-thon.
- Cheer-a-thon
- Themed walkathon
- Finally a dance-a-thon
You get the idea! Every child can get family and friends to sponsor them based on their performance and results.
Field Day
This is a great way to raise extra money during your off-season.
Get the team together to go out on a field day excursion together. This can be either sports related or not. The idea is for the team to get together, the kids to have fun, and all the while raising money for your school team.
Field trip ideas include:
- Going to the zoo.
- Or maybe also going to a professional sporting event.
- And finally maybe going to a museum.
Calculate the cost of renting a bus, buying an entry ticket, and a small snack. Then you can tack on a little extra money to help pay for your team’s ongoing expenses during the season.
Sport-Themed Auction
There are two ways to do this:
Our first suggestion is to bundle up sports related products to make a special event possible.
Four box tickets, free parking pass, and dinner for four after the game.
A weekend golf getaway package for two.
Gift certificate to a local pro shop.
Each of these auction items will generate large donations for your youth sports team.
Here is a second tip you can try.
In every sport there are professional players that everyone looks up to. Imagine getting sports memorabilia signed by some of your favorite sports idols.
Here is a bonus tip. Think back to the All Stars that were popular when you were a kid. Some of the older ball players that are now retired may be more than willing to give you their autograph. Remember it is the grown-up kids that have the money to donate your team so pick a sports hero from their generation.
- Autographed jersey.
- Signed baseballs.
- Signed photos.
- Hats with signatures.
This is a great way for you to raise money for any kid’s team.
Restaurant Percentage Night
It doesn’t matter what kind of team you play on, everybody likes to go out and eat after the game. This is a great opportunity to get paid for eating out.
How to do it:
- Talk to a local restaurant in your neighborhood. Mom and pop restaurants usually are the most cooperative.
- Ask them if they would like to be the OFFICIAL restaurant for your kid’s team.
- Explain to them that you would like to have a team dinner night once a week after every game or practice session. Then they might be willing to give you a percentage of the total bill back as a donation. This way you can generate money every month for your team.
We also suggest throwing a party using the same idea. You can ask them what the slowest night of the week is for the restaurant and then you can arrange for a team party on that night. Invite all of your friends and family.
Fundraising Letters A Free Way To Raise Money
We suggest sending fundraiser letters announcing every campaign that your team hosts.
For instance, you might consider these ideas:
- A letter for all the youth teammates to send home to the parents announcing your upcoming event.
- Fundraising flyer to put up in local stores.
- A graphic version of your flyer can be placed on the local classified section of your newspaper, press releases, and classified websites like Craigslist and Facebook local groups.
- Finally, we suggest sending out a letter to your local businesses in your community. Make them an offer they can’t refuse to either spread the word about your event or to sponsor your ball team.
Bowling Night
Bowling is a great way to raise money for your team. It doesn’t matter what sport you play because bowling is fun for everyone.
How can you make money with this?
- You can ask whether there is a discount if you pay for games in advance and then add a dollar or two onto every ticket sold.
- You can do the same thing for bowling shoes and snacks.
It is a perfect way to raise money during the cold weather season because you can still have fun inside where it’s nice and warm.
Top Youth Sports Fundraisers
Coach/Teacher Talent Show
Everyone’s got a favorite coach or teacher.
In this talent show idea kids can vote for their favorite teacher’s act.
You could charge an entrance fee for every student. Or you could charge a dollar for every vote a student wants to make for their favorite teacher.
Remember to also open up concession stands to sell refreshments too. This is an additional way to raise the funds you need.
A unique fundraising twist on this would be to allow people to BOO the worst acts. In this way, whether people donate to vote for their favorite teacher, or boo the teacher they don’t like, your team gets to raise the money it needs.
It’s an opportunity for teachers and coaches to shine or to look bad on purpose! Everyone will have a lot of good laughs and fun at the same time.
Discount Card Sale
Your team can earn a lot of money selling discount cards. How does this work?
Go to a few local restaurants and ask what their slowest night of the week is. Then ask if they would be willing to give you a “buy one get one free” offer to drive new business to the restaurant. Then print up 9 x 12 postcards with all of your “buy one get one free” offers. You can then sell each card for $10 each.
Discount card fundraising can generate a lot of money for your local team.
Why is this a great way to raise money for teams?
- You provide a great value to your friends and family.
- Additionally you are helping local businesses in your community.
Yard Work & Lawn Mowing Fundraiser
Mowing lawns and doing yard work is a great way for sports teams to raise money for the upcoming season.
The great part of a lawn mowing campaign is that you can count on it every spring. If your team members do a really good job, you may actually sign up weekly or monthly clients.
Then you can simply repeat come autumn. You can offer your leaf raking services to the same customers.
Why is this a win/win sports fundraiser idea?
- It gets kids out of the house and away from the television and video games.
- It’s lots of good exercise!
- Kids are learning how to raise money by doing our jobs in the neighborhood.
- You were offering a valuable service to your neighbors that they do not want to do themselves.
Pancake Breakfast— Pass the syrup please!
Just suppose you advertised a pancake breakfast fundraiser in your community. For a flat entry fee, people could support your team while enjoying a great breakfast together.
- Buy your pancake mix and syrup in bulk.
- Get the best pancake makers on your volunteer list to help.
- Set up an assembly line with workers and volunteers to feed your guests.
- Make sure there’s plenty of coffee to wash down those pancakes!
- Talk to neighbors in your community and ask them if you can put up a big sign in their yard advertising your team breakfast event.
Shoe drive
When your l’il athletes grow out of their shoes… What will you do? Hold a shoe drive and get paid to donate uses shoes, sneakers and cleats! Simply put… a shoe drive fundraiser is a real winner.
Fundraiser Events for Athletes Of All Ages
Fitness Challenge
Fitness challenges are all the rage right now.
In your challenge, you can teach people the basics on how to get in shape. By the way, you can do this online via zoom or on Facebook live. This makes your fitness challenge a virtual fundraiser for your sports team.
Ideas for fitness classes include:
- Healthy eating.
- Either jogging or running.
- You can also do this with yoga.
- Weightlifting – including proper form.
- Additionally this works great with dance classes. (Zumba etc)
- And finally any kind of exercise routines.
By the way you can niche down and do several of these throughout the year.
- Seniors
- Expecting moms
- Couch potatoes
- Finally, kids too!
Concessions Stand
No matter what kind of event you have, just set up concession stands. Think outside the box here because you can even negotiate for concession stand rights to any kind of event in your community. So keep an eye out in your local newspaper announcements about upcoming community events. And look for opportunities for your sports players to set up a concessions stand to raise funds for your team.
- Water bottles.
- You can also sell snacks.
- Soda / Pop
- Ice cream
- Popcorn
- Pretzels
- And finally home made doughnuts!
Host a Kids’ Sports Camp
This is a great opportunity to help raise the next generation of sports stars in your community.
Think about this for a moment. Every little brother or sister wants to be like their big brother or sister. Is your child on a cheer team, a dance squad, baseball team or basketball team? Well the odds are pretty good that the younger siblings want to play the same sport too when they grow up. So why not put on a sports clinic or camp to start grooming the next generation for your school team?
Think outside the box because there are many ways for you to do this with social distancing or even virtually online using zoom.
League Tournament
Tournaments are a great way to raise money no matter what sport you play.
So why not set up a league tournament in your community?
Take a charity that you want to represent
- Sell entry tickets.
- Sell concessions.
- You can also sell commemorative T-shirts and jerseys.
- Finally, remember to sell sponsorship opportunities.
Teams calendar
Kids grow up very fast. Selling team calendars is such a great way to remember all of the fond memories during the sport season. Almost every mom and dad will want one. And grandma and grandpa will probably want a calendar as well.
Here’s another idea ….
Offer sponsorship opportunities to local businesses in your area to advertise on the calendar to earn additional income. Suggest they create a special offer or a coupon to add value to your donors.
Online Fundraising Ideas for Sports & Teams
Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding campaigns give people the opportunity in your community to give back.
For instance, make believe you need a new ball field to play on. Come up with three estimates to get the project completed. Now go out and ask help from the public.
- Some contractors will offer free labor to help your good cause to help kids play sports and keep them off the streets and out of trouble.
- You can also get the word out about your crowdfunding campaign using social media, texting, email and word of mouth.
- Additionally, there are several crowdfunding fundraising platforms specifically designed to help you with this.
- Finally, remember that crowdfunding can help you to raise money for large scale projects your team or league may have.
Online Donation Page
Want to keep it real simple?
Set up an online donation page on your website using a PayPal donation button. Then reach out to your network and tell them about your pledge fundraising drive. You can also remind them that many little donations combined can go a long way to helping your kids be able to have fun playing sports the school year.
Finally, see if there are any businesses that will offer a matching gift pledge in exchange for free publicity and advertising.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign
No matter which of these many school fundraisers you select, we always suggest setting up a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
How does it work?
It’s all about networking.
So make a list of all the people you know and then all the people that they know. So imagine if every volunteer did this— you would have quite a large list of peers to ask to support your school team fundraiser.
By the way, this works perfect with our brochures. You could text, email or zoom broadcast and the like to raise funds for your kid’s team.
Social Media Campaign
Would you be surprised if we told you that Internet users spend an hour or two hours and 22 minutes a day on social networking?
How can you use this to help your school team earn the most money?
Simply put spread the word using social media.
- Tell people who you are.
- Then tell them why you are raising money.
- Next show them how they can make a difference in a child’s life.
- Furthermore clearly describe your sports team fundraiser.
- Finally, ask for their help.
- You can either use Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram or your favorite social media site.
Custom T-Shirts
Tee shirt fundraising works because people love to wear Tee shirts in the spring and summer. So when you combine this with hometown team pride, and you have a real winner here!
There are many nostalgic people in your area that would be happy to buy a team’s shirt or a school shirt from the ol’ Alma Mater.
- School logo shirts.
- Team logo shirts.
- And finally special edition jerseys.
Some people collect Tee shirts. So if you wanna create a special edition custom Tee shirt every year, you will have repeat buyers.
No, you won’t make $1 million dollars selling shirts, but it is another valuable tool in your fundraising toolbox.
Team Merchandise Sale
We talked earlier about selling team jerseys.
In this merchandise idea you can also branch out to sell all kinds of products with your Team’s logo on it.
- Coffee mugs.
- Travel mugs.
- Water bottles.
- Baseball hats.
- Winter caps.
- Team jackets.
- Backpacks
- And finally tote bags too.
You got the idea. There are many companies that allow you to put your team logo on all different kinds of merchandise.
Other Easy Athletics Fundraising Ideas
Ad Sale
In this sports fundraising idea, you can reach out to local businesses in your community to offer advertising opportunities.
So why would a business owner want to buy ad space from your sports team?
Business people are constantly looking for new ways to advertise. So if you connect them up with their ideal customers, they will be glad to pay advertising fees to your team.
How can you capitalize on this sponsorship opportunity?
- Sell sponsorship opportunities for every game that you play. For instance, you pronounce the name of the advertisers over the microphone during the game. In addition you can hang the banners for family and friends to see.
- Additionally, you can sell ad space on your website, or social media channel.
- Furthermore, do you have a YouTube channel? Offer to sell advertising space in your video broadcast or podcasts.
- Finally, offer to send sponsored email blasts out to your list offering a special coupon or promotion just for your fans.
Sports Store Business Partnership
Kids outgrow sports equipment. This means moms and dads have to constantly be purchasing new ones. So where will they buy these?
Additionally, here is your opportunity to earn extra money throughout the season.
Set up a sports team fundraiser at the local sports store or even an Amazon store. And finally, come up with a coupon code so that your team gets credit for every sale.
And yes, this works for every sport imaginable!
So what do you think makes sense?
Any of these fundraising ideas for team sports can work.
However, if you want to reach your fundraising goals, we suggest setting up a schedule to have fun events staggered through the year.
Start with a gift wrap sale for the holiday season. Then try selling cookie dough with our $10 gourmet brochure. Then schedule a few more of the fun events throughout the year. This way your youth team can make the most money.
Would you like to learn more about our free brochure program?
Order your fundraising kit today!
Kids Teams Love Our “Winter Wonderland” Gift Brochure
- Plaid reversible wrap
- Lumberjack candle
- Tree farm travel mugs
- Vintage Christmas wrap – 44 Sq. Feet
- Set of 12 treat / gift boxes
- Chip and snack clip container
- “I love you to the moon and Back” pillow
- Set of five coloring books – very cool designs
- Peanut butter cups
- Cashew backs…and much more…!
Winter Wonderland Top Sellers
Popcorn club fundraiser suggestions
Your sports team can earn up to a 50% profit selling gourmet popcorn. It retails for only eight dollars so your sports fans will be happy to support your cause.
Finally, whether you are raising money to pay for new sports equipment or uniforms, selling popcorn can make a difference for your school team or league. They also are excellent for nonprofit fundraising too. Imagine how you could help your favorite local charity.
Gourmet Popcorn
Item Choices for $8.00 Caramel “Popcorn Pleasures” – Youth teams, clubs and leagues Love These Popcorn Fundraiser Flavors
- Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Corn
- Gourmet Caramel Corn
- Hokey Pokey with Chocolate
- Spicy Chicago Style Popcorn
- Original Hokey Pokey
- Caramel Corn with Chocolate
- Caramel Apple Corn
- Chicago-Style Popcorn
Sell cookie dough
Kids like to eat cookie dough, don’t they? Our cookie dough fundraiser for sports programs allows your school to sell delicious gourmet cookie dough.
So, what do you think if you earned up to five dollars on every 2 pound tub of cookie dough you sold? THINK cookie dough and you will soon have the money your team requires. This works because people love cookies!
$10.00 Cookie Dough Fundraiser for Youth Athletes
- Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip
- Snickerdoodle
- White Chocolate Macadamia
- M & M Candies
- Sugar
- Oatmeal Raisin
- Peanut Butter
- Chunky Chocolate Chip
FAQ about Raising Money For Youth Sports
These are some of the top questions teachers, parents and coaches ask us when they call to talk to one of our fundraising experts.
Most fundraisers require time and planning. However, if your team needed to raise money in a pinch, then we would suggest the following:
- Ask for outright donations.
- Hold a car wash.
- Do a garage sale.
You can start making money with any of these as early as this weekend.
Here are a few tips on how to raise money for your players.
- How much money do you need to raise for your team?
Additionally, go to our fundraising catalog page and peruse the many different ways to raise money for your sports team. - You can also talk to Chris or Joe at fundraisingzone.com and they will help you pick the best fundraising program for your team.
Furthermore, train your volunteers on what to say and how to say it. - Finally, show your friends, family and coworkers your fundraising catalogs. Tell them how they can help your kids succeed.
High school teams can earn money in many different ways:
- “Game for a Cause” game. Just fill in your cause and raise money playing ball.
- Additionally, Teachers Vs. students tournament games are lots of fun.
- Furthermore, you can sports lessons. Have your star players teach younger kids some of the basic drills to help them improve their game.
- Finally, sell snacks using any of our delicious food fundraising catalogs.
Fundraising definitely takes a team approach. When you work together as a club you can get so much more fundraising done than working by yourself.
- Set a fundraiser goal for your ball club.
- Set up a fund raising calendar for the year. Fundraising Zone has fund raiser ideas for every season of the year. You can find events for the summer, spring, winter and fall.
- Spread the word. It is very important to use advertising, marketing and good old fashioned word of mouth to tell the world about your next school fundraiser event.
Here are some good fundraiser ideas to try this year:
- First of all, ask for out right donations. Some people would rather donate cash then buy something from you. So remember to always give them a choice if they do not want to support your catalog fundraiser.
- Furthermore, remember to look for local sponsors for your team. There are also many local businesses that will be willing to sponsor your sports team.
- Additionally, sell advertising. You can sell advertisements to local business owners. Some ideas include banners, T-shirts, newsletters and website adverts.
- Finally, washing cars is a great way to raise some cash for the team. Its great exercise and can also raise a few hundred dollars on a busy Saturday morning.
We believe the most profitable fundraisers are the ones that sports teams can earn the most money with.
For instance, while many fundraising companies will be happy to pay you 10% on what you sell, Fundraising Zone offers up to a 50% profit on every sale you make. For example, that would mean earning up to $4.00 on every bag of $8.00 gourmet popcorn you sell. Some schools earn thousands of dollars every year.
Of course, we can’t promise you will make this much money. This is because it depends on your volunteers and their persistence. However, you get as much free coaching as you will need to succeed.
Additionally, we believe the secret is to sell things people love and are going to buy anyway. So when you sell tasty snacks and treats for under $10, you have a sure fire winner!
Our brochures contain dozens of popular food and snacks that are perfect for fundraising.
For example, some of our best food fundraising ideas include:
- Trail mix.
- Many flavors of cookie dough to choose from.
- All kinds of gourmet coffee.
- Cinnamon buns.
- All kinds of gourmet popcorn flavors.
- Candy.
- Chocolate.
- Pretzels.
- And finally, much much more!
This is just a sampling. Some of these products are ready to eat while others allow you to make them at home with your children. Either way they are delicious!
We’ve had all different kinds of youth teams raise money over the last five decades including the following:
- Volleyball fundraising
- Baseball fundraising
- Softball fundraising
- Football fundraising
- Basketball fundraising
- Lacrosse fundraisers
- Swimming fundraisers
- Bowling fundraisers
- And finally, soccer fundraisers
How can I raise a lot of money fast?
Get your free fundraising kit now!
There are many ways to raise money fast for sports.
Our favorite would have to be using our free fundraising brochures. When your customers see the delicious products in our brochure, they will want to buy them. Your team earns up to a 50% profit on every sale. There is zero risk on your part because we send you everything to succeed for free.
If you are looking for money this weekend, then you can’t go wrong with a car wash or garage sale.
What are good things to sell for a fund raiser?
We believe there are three important criteria defining a good thing to sell during your next fundraising campaign.
- Is it something people want to buy?
- Is it affordable for most people?
- And finally, does the company stand behind the fundraising merchandise?
This is why we believe our food fundraisers and gift wrap fundraisers are so popular with school teams.
WE would love to answer your questions about raising money for your athletics and sports program. Contact us 1.800.645.6550.
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