50+ Winning Sports Fundraising Ideas to Help You Raise More

Organizing and participating in athletics programs can be costly—whether you’re part of a school-wide sports team or a league run by a local community center. And while fundraising is necessary, it comes with its challenges. Parents may be bored of repetitive fundraising ideas, and the donors in your area might feel fatigued by constant appeals.

To reinvigorate your efforts and break the cycle of stale fundraising ideas, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of slam-dunk sports fundraising ideas:

• Our Favorite Sports Team Fundraising Idea
• Top Sports Fundraising Ideas for All Teams
• Best Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas
• Engaging Team Sports Fundraisers
• Online Sports Fundraising Ideas
• Easy Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams

For busy teams and programs, your ideal sports fundraising idea should be easy, low-effort, and fun—our first idea already meets all those criteria. Let’s get started!

Our Favorite Sports Team Fundraising Idea

Whether you’re new to fundraising or looking for a fresh idea that will inspire enthusiasm among your team and community, our number-one sports fundraiser is bound to check all your boxes.

1. 99Pledges Sports Team Fundraisers

99Pledges specializes in helping organizations like yours host the most engaging yet simple fundraisers possible. We focus on pledge campaigns, which are an excellent way to drum up community support and raise money for a cause you care about!

With a pledge fundraising campaign, participants (likely team members) gather support through pledges, or promised donations to be collected at a future date. Donations are often pledged as a certain amount of money per lap/mile/point/other activity completed within the timeframe.

The process follows these basic steps:

• Create a pledge fundraising campaign page.
• Invite donors to share their individual fundraising pages with friends and family.
• Have participants collect pledges.
• Track your campaign progress.
• Collect the proceeds from pledges after your event.

By using easy-to-share individual fundraising pages for each player, participants can gather donations from far and wide with social media and other digital tools (with the help of a parent for younger participants, of course).

Best of all, this fundraising strategy can be adapted to fit any event-a-thon type fundraiser for your team, including a walk/run/jog-a-thon, dance-a-thon, or bike-a-thon! It’s a great way to keep kids active while raising money for your sports team at the same time.

Top Sports Fundraising Ideas for All Teams

Sports fundraisers come in varying shapes and sizes. Some may be more suited to youth sports teams. Others have the potential to generate significant revenue but require more of an initial investment. Regardless of your goals and priorities, these top sports fundraising ideas can be promising endeavors for any team.

2. Matching Gift Programs

Matching gift programs allow your sports team to secure two donations for the cost of soliciting one. Many of your current supporters are likely eligible to have their charitable contributions matched by their employer, though they might not realize it yet.

Promoting matching gifts can make your community members much more likely to give—one in three donors even report that they would make a larger gift if they knew it would be matched. All they have to do is submit a matching gift request after donating and wait for the company to submit their contribution.

To take full advantage of this workplace giving opportunity, remind your donors to check their company’s matching gift guidelines for the following elements:

• Match ratio. The most common match ratio is 1:1. That means companies match their employees’ donations dollar for dollar, with a $50 donation meriting a $50 match. However, some companies match at lower ratios, such as 0.5:1, while others match at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio. Keep track of which companies offer generous match ratios and encourage donors who work there to submit matching gift requests.
• Employee eligibility. While some companies allow all employees, past or present, to participate in matching gift programs, others limit their programs to just full-time or current employees. Several companies include employee spouses or retired employees in their matching gift programs, so make sure your donors double-check their companies’ guidelines.
• Nonprofit eligibility. Companies may have strict guidelines outlining which organizations they offer matching gifts to. For example, many require recipients to have 501(c)(3) status and may disqualify religious organizations or schools. Make sure that donors check that donations to sports teams and organizations qualify.
• Request deadline. Once donors have determined their gift is eligible for matching, it’s important that they send in their requests on time. Each company sets its deadline differently, with many choosing the end of the calendar year or one year after the initial donation.

Consider adding a dedicated page to your website that explains how donors can participate in these opportunities. Furthermore, by using a matching gift tool that offers auto-submission, such as 360MatchPro, you can significantly simplify the matching gift process and maximize the number of matched gifts your team receives.

With this innovative feature, when donors navigate to your donation page to make a gift, all they need to do is input their corporate email address to submit a match request. 360MatchPro will automatically determine their eligibility and complete the request on their behalf. This means you can worry less about incomplete forms and more about giving it your all at your next sports game.

3. Fundraising eCards

What’s better than having a love of sports? Sharing it! Fundraising eCards are an excellent way to bring your community closer together and raise funds for your team at the same time. Plus, the online nature of this fundraiser makes it cost-effective and far-reaching—you can even have out-of-state relatives and other supporters purchase eCards to cheer on your athletes.

To get started with fundraising eCards, you’ll follow these basic steps:

• Choose an eCard platform. The right platform will allow you to produce eye-catching eCard designs, offer dedicated fundraising capabilities, and provide analytics to measure your campaign performance. As you research your options, look for platforms with user-friendly design tools so your team can unleash their full creative potential in crafting your eCards.
• Design your sports eCards. Using your eCard platform, create custom eCards that feature your team’s colors and logo. Develop eCards for a variety of purposes to appeal to as many people as possible. For instance, you could create game day invitations, individual player cards to show support, holiday greetings, and more. You can even use animations to make the eCards more appealing.
• Sell the eCards on your website. You can add these eCards to your donation page, upload them to a dedicated landing page on your website, or sell them on your team eStore. Then, your supporters can purchase these eCards to send to their friends and family members.

For example, you could create and sell a series of sports fundraising eCards like these:

To send one of these eCards, a relative or other community member might pay $15 on your website, and then add a personal message to the recipient. You can make these eCards available year-round to secure a consistent source of revenue for your sports team.

4. Paid Ad Campaigns

If your team needs to get the word out about its sports fundraising needs, leveraging paid ad campaigns like Google Ads is a powerful way to expand your reach. Whenever someone searches a keyword related to your sports team or its events, your ads can appear at the top of Google’s search results. It might look something like this:

To set your ad campaign up for success, keep these tips in mind:

• Select the right keywords. You’ll need to choose relevant keywords to attach to each ad. This ensures that the people who come across your ads are likely to be interested in your sports team and support your fundraising efforts. You can use Google’s Keyword Planner to learn more about how many people are searching for the keywords you’re interested in and whether they’d be suitable options for your campaign.
• Use compelling ad copy. When people see your ads, ensure that they click through by drafting compelling copy for your ads. Keep it concise, yet tailored to your intended audience. Make it clear exactly what steps you’d like them to take by including a call to action (CTA), such as “Donate now to support our athletes!”
• Optimize your landing page. Make it easy for supporters to take action when they click on your ad by optimizing your landing page. If you’re sending users to your donation page, ensure that it’s mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and features your team’s branding to instill trust in potential donors.

What’s more, if your sports team is part of a nonprofit organization, you could be eligible for the Google Ad Grants program! Through this program, you can receive $10,000 every month to spend on your Google Ad campaign. As long as you maintain compliance with Google’s requirements, your team can benefit from these free ad credits indefinitely.

5. Fundraising Flyers

Sports fundraising flyers are a bold, visually appealing way to encourage community members to support your team’s fundraising efforts. You can use these to simply direct people to your online donation page or promote an upcoming fundraiser to maximize participation.

Some basic best practices to make your fundraising flyers stand out include:

• Make them attention-grabbing. You’ll be posting your flyers in public areas such as schools, local businesses, parks, and community centers. Turn people’s heads with eye-catching images and large fonts.
• Use QR codes. Once you’ve sparked the interest of potential donors, make sure they can easily take the next steps to support your sports team. Add a QR code linking to your online donation form or fundraising event registration page so people can make a gift or sign up to attend right on their phones.
• Avoid long blocks of text. Include key information such as the purpose of your sports team fundraiser, how supporters can help, and relevant logistical details such as the date and location. Avoid overwhelming passersby by limiting your words and using bullet points.

While there are several online graphic design tools that your team can use, consider turning to graphic design services like Kwala to take your fundraising flyers to the next level. After all, professional designers have an eye for effective flyers that will capture the attention of your supporters and inspire them to take action.

Best Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas

If you’re raising money for a youth sports team, you might be looking for ways to get the kids involved in your fundraising efforts. Here are some of our top suggested sports-themed campaigns specifically catered to a younger demographic of fundraisers.

Bonus Tip!

Don’t forget to have participants sign liability waivers before taking part in any rowdy team fundraising ideas. And if your events cater to minors, be sure to collect parent or guardian signatures as well! 

Luckily, online waiver software can make the entire waiver-signing process quick and painless. Send out links to your digital forms ahead of time so that participants can sign from their mobile devices before arriving. Then, if a participant gets injured, your team can quickly locate the right form in seconds.

Now, let’s jump into our other favorite sports fundraising ideas!

6. Hit-a-Thon/Shoot-a-Thon

Put a fun, sporty spin on a traditional walk-a-thon that your team is sure to love by hosting a hit-a-thon. This baseball fundraising idea can easily be adapted to your favorite sport— whether that’s football, basketball, or soccer. Kids can even get some practice time in while earning money for their team!

Simply gather pledges from friends and family members that agree to sponsor each “hit” or “shot,” and then get to playing. Be sure to set some parameters ahead of time, such as the number of opportunities or time limit each player has to make their shots, or the distance from which they are required to stand.

💡Learn More! Read our in-depth hit-a-thon fundraising guide for tips + a checklist for organizers!💡

7. Online Shopping Fundraiser

Teams can raise funds for their organization without deviating from their normal routines at all with an online shopping fundraiser. To earn money, all your team members need to do is download an online shopping program’s app or browser extension, then shop online at retailers your program is partnered with. 

Then, when your team members make their purchases, a percentage of the sales total will be sent to your team. Plus, these contributions come from the retailer, meaning your team can earn funds with ease and at no additional cost!

8. Shoe Drive Fundraisers

Every parent knows the frustration of their child growing out of any pair of shoes they buy way too fast. Take advantage of those growing feet for good, by hosting a community-wide shoe drive campaign.

Encourage individuals in your neighborhood to donate gently worn, new, and used shoes to a community stockpile that can then be recycled and traded in for cash. After all, most families will have at least a few pairs of outgrown, hardly worn shoes they wouldn’t miss! By partnering with a shoe drive organizer, all you have to do is collect the shoes— they’ll do the rest and provide you with a check.

9. Field Day

Gather the community for a day of fun and games with a field day fundraiser for your team. Make sure to prep classic games like dodgeball, tug-of-war, obstacle courses, treasure hunts, and any other fun activities you choose. If you plan for a nice, warm day you can even get water games involved! 

You can charge a general fee to get in and sell concessions to earn some extra cash! Consider offering special prizes for your top-performing teams or individuals to boost healthy competition among players.

10. Chore-a-Thon

Raise money for your team while helping out in your community with a chore- or serve-a-thon. Team members can assist with household chores, yard work, running errands, and other community service projects for local community members in need. 

This is a great opportunity for your team to get out and do good for those around them, while the recipients of this help can give back to youth in their community. It’s a win-win for all involved!

‼️ Pro Tip: Partner with a local nonprofit to identify the best ways to volunteer your time. You’ll give back and foster a new relationship!

11. Youth Sports Camp

If your team is composed of older athletes, including middle- and high-schoolers, consider hosting a youth sports camp to raise funds for the team. Young children in your community will jump at the chance to enroll in the camp and learn from the best athletes in their neighborhoods, and parents will be willing to pay a decent price for a good cause and an excellent opportunity.

Set up week-long camps during the summer months or consider a shorter, weekend-long workshop for some quick tips. Give young participants the chance to learn new skills and practice their favorite sports— whether that’s football, soccer, basketball, or tennis.

12. Dodgeball Tournament

Encourage the kids in your community to form teams and join a dodgeball tournament for a good cause. Charge an entrance fee for each participant, and consider selling team t-shirts for bonus revenue.

Consider partnering with the school administration to host the event during school hours, and students can pay a small fee to watch the showdown (and get out of class!).

13. Bowl-a-Thon

Partner with a local bowling alley for this exciting team fundraising event. Similar to a walk-a-thon, participants gather sponsors that pledge a certain amount for every pin they knock down or a grand total for the event.

It might be a little pricey to rent out a bowling alley for your fundraiser, but with the right planning and promotions, the turnout can be great! After all, who doesn’t love bowling?

‼️Pro Tip: Secure a sponsorship with a local bowling alley and enjoy free or reduced rates for your event!

14. Autographed Memorabilia

Treat your team members like sports stars with this unique fundraiser. Sell autographed memorabilia (i.e. a signed baseball or glove) to family and friends who can keep the memento for years to come. 

You never know, one of those balls could be worth millions one day! Kids will love signing their own memorabilia like a superstar. Plus, it will be a nice reminder of the child’s years as a sports star.

15. Talent Show

Gather team members and other excited individuals who are ready to show their talents to the world. Let these kids sing, dance, juggle, or show off another special skill at a talent show fundraiser. 

Charge a fee to audition or participate, and sell tickets to parents and family members to watch the show. Talent shows are fun and exciting for all parties involved, and great memories to cherish forever.

16. Carnival

Host a community-wide carnival with food, games, and performances to raise money for your team. Consider collecting a general admission fee or charging per game or ticket, depending on the setup of your choice. Don’t forget to sell slushies and popcorn, too!

Start promoting the carnival well ahead of time so you can ensure the best turnout for this community-style event. Attendees will have a ton of fun while supporting a good cause.

Youth sports are a cherished time for kids and parents alike. Whether that first t-ball team, flag football game, or local sports tournament— like many other children’s activities, parents want to document each and every moment of it.

Choose a nice location and a professional photographer (preferably a volunteer, to keep costs low) and set up a photo shoot for your team. Take both team photos and individual shots, and then sell the photos to the families for a memorable keepsake. Don’t forget to bring your sporty props and have some fun poses ready!

18. Parent’s Night Out Fundraiser

Between school, work, and extracurriculars, your players’ parents are likely getting pulled in a million different directions and may not have time for their own hobbies or date nights.

Give parents the chance to relax together sans kids with a parent’s night out event! Typically, parents will pay a flat fee and, in return, receive childcare so they can unwind and spend time together. Make sure to offer this event during peak date night hours, such as Friday or Saturday night. Parents can rest assured that their kids are in trusting hands, get quality time together, and benefit their child’s sports team!

‼️ Pro Tip: Create a local guide to the best restaurants and entertainment in your town and share it with parents—this way, they won’t have to worry about crafting the perfect date night agenda.

19. Community Art Show

While your players might have a lot of talent out on the field, that doesn’t mean they aren’t skilled in other areas like the arts. Rally your artistically-inclined team members to create masterpieces that they can sell and show to the community. Or, encourage the whole team to get involved by helping them find the medium they work best with. Try out:

• Drawing
• Painting
• Pottery and sculpting
• Textile work, such as knitting or quilting 
• Woodworking 
• Digital drawing or painting
• Graphic design

Once you’ve got plenty of artwork to show off, share flyers, emails, and social media posts about the upcoming event. Secure an event space to display your players’ work. Consider adding a label to each piece with its title, the artist’s name, and a description of the media used or the meaning behind the piece.

Assign or piece a price or hold a silent auction-style event where attendees bid on the piece they want. Ramp up the fun of the event with light refreshments, live music, and fun games and activities.

20. Sports Gear Swap

As the coach or parent of a youth sports team, you’re likely all too familiar with how fast kids grow out of their gear. Sometimes it seems like they hardly get to wear their cleats, helmets, or pads before it’s time to size up!

This is why holding regular sports gear swaps is such a great fundraiser idea. Schedule the event and encourage parents and players to donate all their outgrown sports gear. Then, compile all the gear at the swap. Monetize the event by charging admission or by charging by item. For example, you might charge $10 for helmets and $5 for bats.

To ensure there is gear for everyone, consider partnering with other teams in your area that play different sports or cater to different age levels.

Engaging Team Sports Fundraisers

Fundraising can be a great opportunity to strengthen community relationships while simultaneously raising money for team expenses. Get to know other players and families better with these team fundraising events that get the whole crew involved!

21. Walk-a-Thon

A walk-a-thon is the go-to pledge fundraising event, popular for both its fundraising potential and the ease with which you can hold it. The steps are simple:

• First, team members will gather pledged donations from their friends and family.
• Next, your team members will complete the walk-a-thon. Carefully track their distance using fitness trackers or smartphone apps.
• After the event, donors will fulfill their pledges based on the distance the participant they sponsored walked. If they pledged $5 per mile and the player walked 3 miles, they would donate $15.
• Finally, your team receives the funds!

Invite your community to join the team to raise funds and get fit in the process. These supporters can cheer your players on from the sidelines or even walk the course with them.

22. Team Fundraising Letters

Encourage your team’s youth athletes to flex their humble muscles by writing fundraising letters to your local community.

Ask the kids to express genuinely what participating in your youth program means to them in letters to your community. Send them out to supporters to your program, whether local businesses or other influential members of your community.

In these letters, ask for donations both financial and in-kind. When local businesses see the good your program does for kids in the community, they’ll be inspired to encourage the good work!

23. Car Wash

Gather your teammates on a warm summer day for a car wash fundraiser. As one of the most popular, traditional fundraising events, you’re sure to draw in a crowd looking for an inexpensive car wash for a good cause.

All you need is an empty parking lot, cleaning supplies, and eager participants to get started. Don’t forget to make signs and promote your event on social media to draw in the most customers!

24. Dog Wash

Nobody likes bathing their own pets, and dog groomers can get so expensive. Encourage local pet owners to bring their dogs out for your team players to wash at a good price. It’s a great way to raise money for your team and have a great time!

Consider pairing this with your car wash fundraiser for boosted revenue at a single event. You’ll already be soapy and community members can get their cars and dogs washed simultaneously.

‼️Pro Tip: Reach out to a local dog grooming business to get some basic grooming advice and safety lessons. Who knows, the grooming pros may even decide to volunteer at the event!

25. Foam Fun Run

Spruce your typical run-a-thon up by turning it into a foam fun run. Participants can gather sponsors and raise money in the same way, but this time they’ll be running through an endless amount of bubbles.

Not only is a foam fun run more exciting for participants, but it also makes this team fundraising idea stand out more to potential donors and sponsors. Bring in more funds and more fun with this engaging campaign!

26. Pancake Breakfast

Invite community members to join you for a homemade pancake breakfast, hosted by your very own sports team. Consider charging per plate or setting an all-you-can-eat price, and get to cooking!

Make sure to provide all the best pancake toppings so guests can have the best flapjack experience possible.

27. Coach Challenge

Of course, kids look up to their sports coaches, but they also love to see them do embarrassing things! Set a challenging, yet attainable fundraising goal that if met, the coach agrees to do some outrageous activity.

Maybe that’s getting pied in the face, sitting in a dunk tank, or dressing up like a chicken — the possibilities are endless. The more extravagant the challenge, the more motivated players will be to bring in donations.

28. 10,000 Step Challenge

For the 10,000 step challenge, participants commit to taking 10,000 steps in a single day and collecting pledges similarly to a walk-a-thon. Sponsors may choose to pledge a certain amount per step, mile, or day of reaching their goal.

To track each participants’ steps, they may use a specific activity tracker or one within a smartphone or other device. Players can walk with a friend or choose to go at their own pace.

29. Signature Dish Cook-Off

If any of your players or supporters are avid home cooks, they likely have a signature dish or recipe they’re proud of. Give them the chance to show off their skills and share the flavors with the community with a cook-off event. 

Start by selecting what dish your cook-off will center around (hint: you can choose more than one!). Some popular options include:

• Chili
• Salsa 
• Barbeque 
• Desserts, such as pies or cakes
• Bread 
• Regional favorites

Charge each participant a small fee to join the contest. Make sure you have a talented team of judges to taste the dishes and award the winners. Or, have the crowd decide by allowing attendees to vote for favorites.

30. Sports Trivia Night

Your team and community may love sports, but how much do they really know about? Test their knowledge of fun facts, stats, and sports history with a trivia night fundraiser. 

Promote the event on social media and in person, selling entry tickets. Then, sort attendees into teams. Prep questions related to your team’s sports, ranging in difficulty from basic facts to questions only the most dedicated fans could answer. You could even set up the game night Jeopardy-style, creating different question categories and point tiers for contestants. 

Keep score throughout the night and award your winning team a prize. This prize will attract more attendees to the event and inspire more competition among the teams.

31. Cookbook Fundraiser

Give your players the chance to share their favorite recipes by creating a team cookbook! Kick this initiative off by starting your search for:

• Family recipes
• Original dishes
• Game-day finger foods and meals
• Healthy post-practice snacks

Once you’ve collected at least 20 to 30 recipes, create your cookbook using beginner-friendly design software like Canva. Next, sell digital and/or physical copies of the book to your supporters to raise money. Know that printing physical copies will require more time and money, so look for a printer willing to offer a discount and rally volunteers to assemble the books.

32. Sports-Themed Bake Sale

In addition to talented cooks, you may have some aspiring pastry chefs on your team or in the community willing to lend their talents to a good cause. Spread awareness of the upcoming campaign and recruit volunteers to bake sports-themed treats for the sale. To make it easier to sell individual portions, encourage them to create handheld or single-serve items like these baseball cake pops.

Contact local bakeries to see if any would be willing to donate baked goods to your sale for a more professional touch. Make plenty of cellophane bags, food-grade boxes, bakery tissue, and tongs available to keep the sale sanitary. Finally, price goods according to the market rate in your area—you may have to visit other bakeries or farmers markets to understand local rates.

33. End-of-Season Banquet

Celebrate the end of your season and prepare for the next one with a community benefit banquet. Allow team members to enter for free to enjoy the celebration, and charge other community members for entry. During the banquet, you can:

• Offer a catered or potluck dinner
• Honor team-wide and individual successes 
• Award key players with awards, such as MVP or team captain
• Show a fun slideshow of photos and videos from the past season
• Recap your wins
• Give everyone a sneak peek of your plans for the next season—for example, show them your new jersey design

These banquets are a great opportunity to strengthen your connections with players, their families, and other supporters in your community. Use this time to build out your network of supporters and establish new strategic relationships. Then, the next time you need urgent support, you’ll have these supporters to turn to.

Online Sports Fundraising Ideas

Keep up with the constant shift toward digitization by integrating online fundraising strategies into your fundraising plan. Online team fundraisers are more accessible to a wider audience and can lead to increased funding with little effort on your part.

34. Viral Video Challenge

Start a viral video challenge with your team that can bring in funding from all over the world. Participants simply record their video, make a donation, and tag the next person in line. To get your own viral video challenge started, all you have to do is:

• Brainstorm ideas for a challenge.
• Record your video.
• Post to social media.
• Get your whole team to partake.
• Encourage people to start sharing like crazy!

The most successful videos include some sort of humor or wow element to grab your audiences’ attention quickly, and an appeal to emotion that says why they should help fund your sports team.

35. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is another way you can start gathering donations from across the globe. Simply start a campaign using a crowdfunding platform, share a condensed history and background of your team, and encourage users to help support your sports team.

Then, start sharing your donation page far and wide through teammates and family members’ personal social networks. The more your campaign spreads, the more funding you’ll receive.

36. Team T-Shirts

Selling unique team t-shirts is a great way to raise money for athletics, because not only do supporters get the joy of charitable giving, but they also receive a bonus for themselves. Additionally, a team uniform can foster a sense of community for the team!

Team t-shirts aren’t only for teammates, either. Sell your custom-made team t-shirts and jerseys to parents and family members, community supporters, and more.

‼️Pro Tip: Choose a specialized t-shirt fundraising platform with special rates just for nonprofit organizations to maximize your resources.

37. Team Calendar Sale

Design and produce your own custom-made calendars to sell to individuals in your community. Host a team photoshoot and pull images from past seasons to get the photos needed for the calendar’s cover and monthly pages. Select high-quality images of the team, create an attractive layout, and use high-quality materials to create a professional-grade calendar that community members will want to purchase.

Include scheduled team- and community-wide events in your calendar in addition to national holidays so that everyone always knows what’s going on around town!

38. Sponsor-an-Athlete

Many sports teams seek community sponsors such as small businesses, churches, and other local organizations. While this is sometimes an effective way to fund an entire team, some sponsors may be more interested in a smaller financial commitment to a single player.

When you seek local businesses and members in the community to sponsor an individual athlete, you may need to gather more sponsors, but they may also be easier to solicit.

39. Sports-Themed Charity Auction

Charity auctions are one of the most effective event-based fundraisers an organization can run. Make it a themed one to take yours one step further!

To fit with the team fundraising idea, try planning a sports-themed live auction. Ask local businesses to donate sports-related goods and packages to auction off at a nice event, and be sure to decorate the venue on theme as well.

40. VIP Package Giveaway

Your most loyal fans would love being treated like a VIP—why not use this as an opportunity to fundraise? Put together a package or basket of VIP materials, such as:

• A season pass to all of your games (with premium seating!)
• A reserved, priority parking spot
• This season’s merchandise collection
• Sports gear
• Non-perishable snacks, gift cards, and other goodies

Promote the package online and in person to encourage supporters to enter the giveaway. For example, highlight the package on your website and in person via game signage. Fundraise by charging a fee per entry.

41. Virtual Fitness Challenge

Encourage your supporters to reap the benefits of frequent exercise by starting a virtual fitness challenge. First, set the rules of your fitness challenge. Aim to make them broad enough to accommodate anyone who wants to participate, regardless of their fitness level. Here are a few ideas:

• Have participants exercise a certain amount of time per day (e.g., 1 hour).
• Organize a virtual marathon in which participants have a set time frame to walk or run the length of a marathon on their own time
• A 30-day challenge where participants commit to doing a certain workout—such as HIIT, pilates, boxing, or strength training—every day for a month.

To fundraise, ask participants to gather sponsorships for their efforts. Then, encourage them to post progress updates regularly to keep current and potential supporters engaged.

Easy Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams

Do you already have your hands full with school, sports practices, weekly games, and more? Check out these simple sports team fundraising ideas that can be the perfect way to raise money without having to shell out too much time and effort.

42. Coupon Books

Partner with some local businesses and restaurants that are willing to offer exclusive deals for your sports team’s generous supporters. Combine all these great bargains into a singular coupon book and start selling to community members, families, friends, and loved ones of your players.

Locals in your community will love the chance to make great savings at the businesses they already frequent, while at the same time providing much-needed assistance to youth sports programs.

‼️Pro Tip: Remember to tell business what they will gain from being featured in your coupon book to boost participation-in other words, explain that this will boost awareness (and hopefully revenue) of their business!

43. Restaurant Percentage Night

Find a restaurant in your community that’s willing to partner for a community night fundraiser. You’ll agree on a percentage of funds (total revenue, profits, each participating check, etc.) collected on a particular night that will be donated to your sports team. Then, start spreading the word far and wide to ensure a great turnout on that night!

Some popular chain restaurants for this type of event include Chick-fil-A and Chipotle, but you also might consider a smaller, local business as well! Be sure to plan your percentage night early and start promoting as soon as possible.

44. Restaurant Tip Jar

Similarly to the restaurant percentage night, you’ll need to find a willing business to partner with you for this fundraiser. This one, however, takes a more passive approach over a longer timespan to collect loose change from restaurant patrons.

You might be surprised at how often customers are willing to leave any spare change if there’s a collection happening. Just make sure to provide a nicely crafted tip jar with your team name and picture, so that customers know where the money is going.

45. Concession Stand

Nothing says “sports game” like a jumbo hot dog and a bucket of popcorn. After all, one of sports fans’ favorite aspects of the game viewing experience includes hitting up the concession stand for a halftime snack.

That means, your team should definitely start your own concession stand to host during games if you don’t already have one. Recruit eager parents and family members to man the station during games, so that viewers can purchase their favorite game-time snack at their leisure.

46. Raffle

The first step in hosting a raffle is to secure a big prize that the majority of your audience would enjoy. In this case, you may want to choose something sports-related to best cater to your audience. Then, start promoting your raffle (what the prize is, how to purchase tickets, etc.) and selling tickets. Be sure to encourage those entering the raffle that the more tickets they buy, the greater their chance at winning!

At the conclusion of a set amount of time, you’ll select the winning ticket, and the participant with the matching ticket wins the prize.

47. Text-to-Give

In 2021, 46% of people reported that they spend five to six hours on their phones each day. Why not take advantage of this trend for your next fundraiser?

Text-to-give is one of the easiest fundraisers you can host. By partnering with a text-to-give service, they’ll provide you with a unique phone number that you can promote to your audience. When donors text a specified keyword to your text-to-give number, they’ll then be prompted to fill out a short form to confirm their gift.

The whole donation process can be completed in minutes, making it a convenient tool for both the supporter and the recipient. Just make sure you share your text-to-give number far and wide to get the most support possible.

48. Best Seat in the House

This is similar to a raffle fundraiser, but with a very specific prize — the best seat in the house. Simply acquire a couch or a loveseat to keep front and center at the field or court your team plays on. Start selling tickets beforehand, to be drawn from a raffle at the start of the game.

The winner then gets the honor of watching the game from the best seat in the house — and bringing a friend or two to share. Make sure the winner gets special VIP treatment as well, such as free items from the concession stand!

‼️Pro Tip: Consider offering reserved valet parking for this winner for a truly luxurious, effortless, and exclusive experience.

49. Food Truck Partnership

Book a food truck or two to be waiting in the parking lot when your game gets out. Make arrangements with the trucks ahead of time to decide on logistics such as fees and suggested donations, then encourage your audience to stop by on their way out.

Be sure to promote the event ahead of time so that players, families, and fans can adjust their plans accordingly and ensure a large enough turnout to make a profit. Bring in all kinds of new and exciting food trucks to boost excitement surrounding the event.

50. Junk Drive

Did you know that people throw away items that are still worth quite a bit of money every day? Seemingly useless things like old computers, empty ink cartridges, and used flash drives can be collected and easily traded for cash.

Encourage players, family members, and other community members to collect these items and donate to a junk drive fundraiser for your sports team instead. These are popular campaigns because, instead of asking for money, you’re essentially asking for donors’ trash (which they’ll be much more likely to hand over).

51. Product Fundraisers 

It’s time to turn your sports team into your sales team! Product fundraisers allow your athletes to take fundraising into their own hands as they promote the products you’re selling and take orders from their family and friends. Your fans will love contributing to your team and selecting an item for themselves, like gourmet popcorn or beef jerky. (Maybe they can even snack on their treat during your next game, meet, or match!)

To run your product fundraiser, partner with a dedicated product fundraising company. The right company can provide you with custom branded order-taking flyers and a web-store so you can take orders and get donations as easily as possible. Tap into your team’s competitive spirit by turning your fundraiser into a friendly competition by offering a small prize to the athlete who gets the most orders, like a case of sports drinks or a gift certificate for ice cream

52. Season Pass Raffle

Does your team have parents, family members, or other community members vying for tickets to your games? Appeal to these loyal fans with a season pass raffle or giveaway. This simple, cost-effective fundraiser can be held online, in tandem with an in-person fundraising event, or both! 

All you’ll need to do is create a season pass voucher—consider creating both digital and physical options for convenience—and promote it to your supporters. To fundraise, charge a small fee for each entry. Allow participants to enter multiple times to drive more revenue and boost their chances of winning.

‼️ Pro Tip: Because you’ll need to give these passes away early in the season, spread awareness during the pre-season. 

53. Sports Movie Night

Enjoy a popular sports movie with your team and community. To boost revenue, sell tickets to the movie. Offer snacks, drinks, and team merchandise at the event to increase revenue. 

To host this event, you’ll need:

• A projector, large screen, or other method for displaying the movie
• Access to the sports film of your choice, such as The Sandlot, Air Bud, or Karate Kid
• Chairs, benches, blankets, or cushions for viewers (or ask them to bring their own)
• Concession supplies, including popcorn, candy, soda, cups, plates, bowls, etc.

Make sure the movie you choose is age-appropriate and appealing to supporters. You might accept suggestions, allow the team to vote in their favorite movie, or even hold a double feature. Or, offer multiple showings of movies geared toward different age groups.

Final Thoughts: Knock Your Sports Fundraiser Out of the Park

The fundraising possibilities are endless! Find the campaign ideas that are most suited for your specific team, and start planning right away. After all, the most successful team fundraisers are the ones that have a lot of thought put into them.

For more information and further fundraising ideas, check out the resources below:

• Fundraising Platforms for Schools to Skyrocket Revenue. The right technology will supercharge your fundraising initiatives. Explore our top picks here.
• Walk-a-Thon Fundraiser FAQs + How to Get Started. Get your questions answered and check out these best practices for a successful walk-a-thon fundraiser.
• Everything You Need to Start a Read-a-Thon Fundraiser. Fundraising for your school instead of a team? Here’s all of the supplies, step-by-step guidance, and expert advice you need to hold a successful read-a-thon.