Youth Sport Fundraising Ideas That Are Sure to Be a Home Run

From Little League baseball and softball to high school sports, youth sports teams can be a great way for youngsters to get active, make friends, and have fun! But equipment, gear, and travel expenses don’t cover themselves, which is why fundraising is so important to keeping these youth sporting leagues up and running.

If you’re working to keep your local youth sport club running for years to come, keep reading for some effective and easy sports team fundraising ideas.

8 Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas

Opportunities to smash your fundraising goals include the following fun ideas.

1. Sponsorships

Sponsorships are some of the easiest ways to raise funds for any event, including youth sports. The premise is simple: ask local businesses to sponsor your team in exchange for a shoutout. This shoutout can be the form of having sponsors’ logos on your team’s jerseys or having advertisement banners displayed during local sporting events.

2. Car Washes

A car wash is a simple yet effective fundraising event for all kinds of causes, including youth sports programs. The startup costs (advertising, water, rags, and soap) are minimal, which means even organizations with shoestring budgets can host one. Best of all, it’s easy to get all team members involved in the fundraising process by having players work the event. For added fun, make it a competition; split the team into two groups and see which one raises more money/washes the most cars!

3. Brick Fundraisers

Car washes are great, but wouldn’t it be even better to host an event that lets your donors give a gift that lasts a lifetime? Brick fundraising events can do just that. By buying a customizable brick or laser-engraved tile, your donors can support your organization financially for years to come. Future generations will be able to see the generosity of your donors when they see donors’ bricks publicly displayed, which can inspire others to give back to their community. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

When you partner with us for your brick fundraiser, we’ll give you access to our full library of tools you need—promotional videos for social media, online fundraising pages, and more—to help you kick off a successful fundraiser.

• See how youth sports and school clubs have successfully raised funds with Fundraising Brick!

4. Raffles

Raffles are great fundraising ideas for sports teams because of how simple and affordable they are to host. They’re also an opportunity to get the local community involved by asking local businesses for donation items. For example, your raffles could include discount cards for admittance to future games or donated gift cards to favorite local restaurants.

5. Concession Stands

Who doesn’t love getting tasty treats? Give your fans the added benefit of giving to a good cause by having proceeds from concession stands at home games go towards your sports team. Stock your pantry with cookie dough, candy bars, and other tasty treats that spectators will love while having family members or other community members volunteer to work the stands.

6. Walk-a-Thons

Get community members involved in your local sports teams and have a field day at the same time when you host a walk-a-thon! Simply dedicate a section of space—part of a town (with proper permissions) or a school track—to the event for a certain time and date. Then, invite people to participate in the walk while encouraging potential donors to pledge a certain amount of money for a set amount of distance covered by participants. Donors, for example, could pledge $2 for every lap a participant completes on your course.

7. Selling Team Swag

T-shirts, jerseys, water bottles—oh my! Nothing says “team spirit” quite like team swag! If you have a little extra money in your fundraising budget, selling items emblazoned with your team’s logo or mascot is a great way to raise funds and drum up support for your team.

8. Shoot-a-Thons

Shoot-a-thons are great fundraisers for basketball teams. The concept is similar to a walk-a-thon, in that outside donors pledge money based on others’ participation. In shoot-a-thons, participants will have a certain number of throws; donors will give a predetermined amount of money to your cause based on how many shots participants successfully make. For example, a father could sponsor his daughter for $1/shot. She makes 25 out of 30 shots, raising $25 for her team.

Other Fundraiser Resources

Picking out an event type is just one part of planning a successful fundraiser. Keep going with some of the amazing resources below to help execute your fundraising campaign.

• FREE fundraising letter templates to spread the word about your fundraising event.
• FREE campaign video templates to spread the word about your event on social media.
• Pro bono resources for nonprofits.
• Event-planning software.
• Nonprofit mission statement examples.