All fundraising ideas

Sports fundraising ideas

Need a great fundraising idea for your team? Whether you're involved in football, soccer, cheerleading, basketball, baseball, badminton—or any other sporting activity—this list of fundraising ideas for sports teams will help you rally your community and reach your goals to ensure the success of your program.

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Sponsor a stud

Encourage donors to "sponsor" a piece of lumber your team will use in your construction projects. Create custom labels for different donation amounts on your donation form that align with the cost of materials (e.g., $50 donation equals 3 pieces of lumber). Don’t forget to invite all sponsors to the ribbon-cutting ceremony when construction is complete!
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Telethon

Livestream an engaging program from your fundraising page with information, entertainment, and impact stories to inspire viewers to donate. Task volunteers with accepting gifts over the phone and replying to comments and gifts on your supporter feed. Don’t forget to display a live thermometer so everyone can watch donations come in in real time! 
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Fundraising page

Hot chocolate stall

Set up a hot chocolate or coffee stand and sell hot drinks to warm up your community! Have coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and plenty of syrups and toppings that they can add for an extra fee. Don’t forget marshmallows! 

Make it easy for supporters to pay for their drinks as you make them with scan-to-donate, Venmo, and other seamless payment options.
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Food truck Friday

Choose one Friday every month to be Food Truck Friday, in which you partner up with a local food truck to visit the area and promote their arrival. 

In exchange for driving more business their way, use a sponsorship proposal to negotiate a percentage of profits for your good cause.
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March Madness

Raise money while cheering on your favorite NCAA players with a bracket competition culminating in a ticketed March Madness watch party. 

To take this fundraising idea online, take advantage of livestreaming tools, too! 
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Peer-to-peer

All you can eat buffet

Host an all-you-can-eat buffet or potluck dinner, and charge a small fee to enjoy a meal together with your community.

A free event ticketing platform can help you organize and manage your evening and check people in from your mobile device without any stress. 
Cost:
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Impact:
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Inspiration
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Trike-a-thon

Create a race course and encourage family and friends to sponsor your little big-wheel racers by making a donation on their behalf on your fundraising page
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Impact:
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Employee appreciation day

Hosting an employee appreciation day is a great opportunity for workplace giving. Let your employees know how valued they are with a special day in their honor, during which you ask for their preferred charity and make a donation on their behalf. 

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Impact:
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Donation forms

Special series

Create programming for a special series of sermons designed to help raise money for your current fundraising project.

Tie sermons directly to your goal and reach more supporters by livestreaming right from your fundraising page. Anyone can tune into the stream, make a donation, and learn about your campaign all in one place.
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Events

Players vs. parents game

It’s kids vs. grownups in this ultimate showdown. Ask for a small donation per participant or family or charge a small fee for supporters to come watch it all go down.
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

College movers for hire

Organize a service where volunteers help students move into their dorms in exchange for a set fee or a donation of their choice.

Set up a donation form with pre-set donation amounts and customized labels that show how much support they’re getting, like $50 = 2 hours of moving support.
Cost:
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Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Donation forms
Fundraising page

Literary pub crawl

Each stop on this bar-hopping adventure features readings or performances inspired by famous works of literature related to a given theme—poems, books, plays, you name it! 

To take this fundraising event further, arrange to have each watering hole feature a special cocktail or brew (with some non-alcoholic beverages in the mix!) to match your theme. 
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Impact:
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Spring break t-shirt sale

Design your own spring break t-shirts and sell them in person and online to raise funds for your group or cause. 

Use custom fields on your donation form to collect the details you need from buyers, such as their t-shirt size and color choice. 
Cost:
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Impact:
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Donation forms
Fundraising page

Masquerade ball

Whether it's time for Mardi Gras or you’re looking for a creative New Year’s Eve idea, a masquerade ball will make for a memorable evening and bring in lots of donations. Create an unforgettable fundraising event experience with easy ticket sales and check-ins, live display, and a silent auction.
Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Auctions

Spaghetti dinner

Host a pasta party where you serve spaghetti, salad, breadsticks, and dessert to attendees for a ticket price. Make your event even better by securing a restaurant as a sponsor.
Cost:
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Impact:
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Pumpkin Games

Perfect for the Halloween season, challenge participants to a pay-to-play series of games like pumpkin races and decorating contests. Sell tickets in advance or on the day of using scan-to-donate or Venmo. 
Cost:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Mini-golf tournament

Assemble teams, charge entry fees, and cheer everyone on as they compete for the best score. Encourage participants to make personal team fundraising pages and ask friends and family to support them and the cause. 
 
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Peer-to-peer

Cooking competition

Take inspiration from the TV show “Chopped” and challenge teams to a culinary showdown! 

You can get even more spectators in on the fun by livestreaming the event and asking for donations throughout the program. 
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Virtual movie night

Use Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) to host a virtual family movie night fundraising event on the streaming service of your choice. Ask movie trivia questions throughout to make the evening more interactive! 
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Community cookbook

Create and sell a custom cookbook featuring favorite recipes from your community members and families. To drum up excitement and spread the word, share sneak peek photos on your custom fundraising page.
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Fundraising page

Pet-friendly bake sale

Choose a location in a high-pet-traffic area, request treat donations from pet supply stores, and get to selling! Offer multiple methods for payment including scan-to-donate and Venmo.
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Movies in the park

Ask your community members to join you for a series of movies in the park this summer. Screen a classic or trending movie somewhere scenic, and sell popcorn, drinks, and other refreshments.

Sell tickets online, check guests in with your mobile app, and offer easy payment methods like scan-to-donate for on-the-spot donations. 
Cost:
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Impact:
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Donation forms

Maze for a cause

If you don’t have corn maze capabilities, find a large outdoor space where you can build a maze from hay bales!

Charge an entrance fee to walk the maze, and make transactions easy with scan-to-donate and Tap to Pay options. 
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Impact:
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Flag football tournament

Bring fans onto the field for some football fun! Teams register and pay to play and fans buy tickets to cheer them on. 
Cost:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Ice cream social

Set up an ice cream stall with different flavors, cones, toppings, and sauces. Raise funds by asking for donations to unlock the most popular or extravagant toppings.

Create a vibrant, themed fundraising page, then send your supporters straight to it with scan-to-donate. From there they can pay for their ice-cream and unlock flavors!
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Donation forms
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Frequently asked questions

Good sports team fundraising ideas are those that bring team members together with their community, such as car washes, bake sales, and tournaments. You can raise even more by partnering with a local restaurant to sponsor an event, selling team merchandise, and creating an online fundraising campaign to make it easy for more people to contribute.

Team fundraisers take many forms, but the most common falls under the category of peer-to-peer fundraising. Teams and/or individuals create their own fundraising pages and leverage their social networks to bring in donations from family members, friends, and other supporters. Introduce some friendly competition to see who can raise the most!

When asking for donations for your sports team, be clear about your goal and the impact that these funds will have on individual players and the program as a whole. Don’t forget to personalize your request by explaining what the team means to you and your community. You can also broaden your reach by asking through various channels, including social media, emails, texts, phone calls, and in-person conversations.

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