Youth sports fundraising ideas
Whether you're a coach, parent, or passionate supporter, we've got the best fundraising ideas for youth sports teams to help you build up the next generation of athletes. Check out all kinds of activities like selling team apparel or hosting a baseball clinic to get you inspired!
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Water balloons & sponge toss
For this fundraising event, charge a small fee per water balloon or sponge, and let students throw them at each other during a pep rally or outdoor event. For easy participation, offer scan-to-donate and accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.
Bake sale
Everyone loves sweet treats! Whip up some cookies, cakes, or donuts and host a bake sale to raise funds for your good cause. Supporters don’t have cash? No problem! With Givebutter, you can accept mobile payments via Cash App, Venmo, Apple Pay, and more.
The guessing game
Fill a jar with candy at your next event and invite people to guess how many pieces are inside for a small donation. The closest guess wins all the candy!
Use scan-to-donate for quick, on-the-spot giving—just print the QR code on a poster or display it at your stand.
Grill-off
Set up team fundraising pages where everyone can make a donation to vote for their favorite chef. They can also see a live leaderboard and watch the votes land in real time!
Take a pie to the face
Set up a booth and invite people to pay to throw a pie at willing participants like teachers, bosses, or coaches—the more authority, the more satisfying!
With scan-to-donate, pie throwers use your QR code to land on your donation page instantly—no waiting around.
Crowdfunding campaign
Collect online donations from friends, family, and community members by creating a fundraising page that lays out your needs and the impact that you will make with the money you raise. Use photos and videos to make your story more engaging, and use a goal bar to showcase your progress.
Be sure to follow crowdfunding best practices in order to make your campaign an even bigger success!
Video Game Tournament
Host a tournament featuring the most popular video games. Charge entry fees for participants and offer donated prizes for winners. To make it digital, livestream the event so participants can play—and cheer each other on—from home.
Auction your time or skills
Ask supporters to volunteer their special skills, then auction their time and expertise to the highest bidder!
Streamline the whole experience with the help of free auction software. Add and categorize items, manage bids, and your bidders can get real-time updates on what’s happening.
Rent your space
Spread the word that your space is available for rent with your email marketing software. Don’t forget to include photos of the space to encourage interest!
Penny wars
Organize a friendly competition between grades or classes to collect the most pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Just grab a few jars and encourage students to find some loose change to get started!
Online garage sale
Collect new and used goods from your community and sell items on a first-come, first-served basis—virtually. To introduce some fun competition and bring in more funds, turn the sale into an auction with buy-now pricing options!
Field day
Invite participants to register for a day of fun outdoor games and friendly competitions, like relay races, a water balloon toss, and tug-of-war.
Make your fundraising event a success with sponsorships from local businesses to help offset costs and bring in more participants.
Lemonade stand
Set up a classic lemonade stand—and maybe add some tasty treats—to raise funds for your cause. Make purchases seamless with scan-to-donate and mobile-friendly donation forms that accept Venmo and other popular payment methods.
Family dance
Give the classic “father-daughter” or “mother-son” dance an inclusive update. Invite families of all shapes and sizes to enjoy a fun night of cutting a rug together for a good cause. Choose a theme, sell tickets for your fundraising event online, and raise even more by setting up a photo booth with silly props!
Haunted house
Cookie-decorating extravaganza
Volunteers bake batches of cookies to contribute to a decorating contest! Participants pay a small fee to enter and use frosting and other edible flare you provide to compete for the best cookie design.
To make your fundraising event even sweeter, bring in a cookie-decorating expert to show off some sweet tips and tricks.
Raise some dough with cookie dough
Buy wholesale cookie dough for volunteers to sell during peak cookie-baking season. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising so participants can compete to see who sold the most!
Corporate matching gift drive
Feature matching gifts on your fundraising page and encourage corporate staffers to explore employer matching via Double the Donation.
Skate-a-thon
For a fun twist on a walk-a-thon, swap the walking shoes for rollerblades or quad skates and raise money for a good cause.
Encourage participants to create peer-to-peer fundraising pages they can personalize with their own stories and updates leading up to the big day.
Gift basket showdown
Kids vs. grownups field day
Organize an afternoon of hilarious games and exciting dual-team events, like tug-of-war, that are sure to get the competitive spirit going.
Charge entrance fees for this fundraising event, sell snacks and drinks, and don’t forget prizes for the champs!
BBQ cookout
Maze for a cause
Charge an entrance fee to walk the maze and make transactions simple with scan-to-donate and Tap to Pay options.
Teacher “jail”
Challenge students to meet a fundraising goal. If they succeed, their teacher gets “locked in jail” (aka gets to relax in the teachers’ lounge) while students take over the classroom for fun and games. Use a custom fundraising page with a live goal bar to build excitement!
Farmer’s market
Approach a local farmer’s market with a sponsorship proposal and see if they can host a special fundraising event for your cause or dedicate a certain percentage of their Saturday morning profits to your campaign. Be sure to outline all of the perks that vendors can expect from the collaboration, like free publicity.
Frequently asked questions
How do youth sports teams raise money?
Teams raise funds through various activities like hosting car washes, bake sales, tournaments, and even live auctions. Additional easy fundraising ideas for youth sports teams include hosting a team apparel sale or running a concession stand.
What are the best youth sports fundraising ideas?
Some of the best youth sports team fundraising ideas get team members as well as their family members and friends involved. This might include organizing fun events like sports-themed trivia nights and mini-golf tournaments—and offering prizes for the winners!
Peer-to-peer fundraising, selling custom merchandise, and seeking sponsorships from local businesses are also effective ways to get your community invested and interested in donating.
How do I ask for youth sports sponsorships?
Asking for sponsorships is a great way to meet your school’s sports fundraising goals. You can do this by reaching out to potential sponsors with a clear sponsorship proposal that outlines key benefits and how their support will directly impact the team. These benefits might include logo placement on team uniforms or banners, recognition at events, and mentions on social media.
And of course, don’t forget to express gratitude for their consideration and support!
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