14 Online Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams

Team fundraising ideas that help you reach your goals.

Whether your child participates in soccer, football, swimming, or cheerleading, sports season means fundraising time. Fundraising for youth sports can help offset equipment, uniforms, coaching, league fees, and facility usage costs. Keep the fundraising activities competitive, simple, and engaging to make it as fun as playing the game.

Selecting fundraisers with straightforward logistics and minimal volunteer requirements can make a big difference in reaching the team’s fundraising goal. At the same time, it’s vital to keep participants safe as they’re raising funds.

This is where you can build confidence, foster team spirit, and promote an active lifestyle by engaging players in semi-virtual or even 100% virtual fundraising activities.

Sports fundraising ideas that are unique and effective can help your team achieve its goals. Several products, resources, and incentives are available to help ensure your team members are successful.

Read below for 14 winning online fundraising ideas for sports teams during covid.

1. Team Branded Products

Show off your team spirit while fundraising by doing a branded products fundraiser. Your team can design and sell a range of branded and celebratory products to loyal fans. Teams love our tumbler fundraisers that offer up to 50% profit on high-quality brushed stainless steel and double-walled drinkware.

Teams can approach family members, sell entirely online, or do both. It’s ultimately up to the group. Your exclusive online store will feature your customized tumbler at the top, where everyone can see it.

Even better, there is no need to pay upfront costs for designing and printing. Another great option is to select Wear Your Spirit as a prize program. Players can earn custom embroidered sportswear with their team name and colors.

2. Peer-to-Peer Crowdfunding

Encourage a spirit of healthy competition with a peer-to-peer fundraiser. Similarly to crowdfunding, players ask their contacts to donate online via social media marketing. Each participant creates a webpage highlighting their passion for the cause and fundraising impact.

Built-in campaign features like badges, trophies, and leaderboards push fundraisers to reach for the stars. Start by selecting a peer-to-peer software platform and identifying

3. Online Auctions

Consider an online auction if you’re searching for sports team fundraising ideas that can get community members involved. It’s a fun way to get locals rallied behind your squad while building relationships with local businesses. Contact business owners, Airbnb hosts, hotel managers, amusement parks, and restaurants for in-kind donations to your auction.

Using online auction software, supporters can place bids for their favorite items. This digital approach allows grandma to participate even from a different state.

4. Healthy Snacks for Athletes

Every youth sports parent agrees that healthy snacks are essential to helping young athletes grow and play. There are several tasty and nutritious snack fundraisers for schools and teams.

Our favorites include beef sticks, Virginia Diner’s nut mixes, KIND^® Bars, and Heartland’s cheese and sausage. We handle all the logistics so you can focus on the game. Boost profits even more with our free cash and prize incentive programs.

5. Sports Sponsorship Grants

Did you know that some companies and foundations offer grants for youth sports teams? Grants can help teams cover the cost of equipment, coaching, and league registration through a one-time payment for designated expenses. Although the application and payment process can take several months, they can be worth the wait. So be sure to start the process early.

Visit Candid Learning for webinars and resources on proposal writing.

Here are ten well-known youth sports grant websites:

1. Fanatics Return to Sport Matching Grant
2. Nike’s Community Impact
3. NFL Foundation
4. MLB’s Baseball Tomorrow Fund
5. United States Soccer Foundation, Inc.
6. Good Sports
7. LPGA Foundation
8. Keurig Dr. Pepper’s Let’s Play
9. Daniels Fund

6. Discount Cards

Consider doing a discount card fundraiser in-house. This allows your team to raise 40-65% profit on all cards sold! We print your team’s personalized design on the front of the card and your choice of a local business on the back.

Family, friends, and game attendees love buying discount cards with special savings on everyday items and activities while supporting youth sports. Raise money for your team while raising awareness of youth sports programs in the local community.

7. Sports Clinics/Camp

Kick it out of the park with this outdoor fundraising event that engages all ages in action. Middle and high school sports teams can sponsor a sports clinic or camp for younger players. Participants pay a registration fee to receive coaching on game techniques, specific athletic abilities and skills, and a healthy lifestyle from the older players.

Hold the event on a long weekend or school break to maximize attendance. Get emerging athletes involved in the game while securing the necessary funds for your team. Visit Circuitree.com for tips and tricks on creating the registration form prizes for top fundraisers.

8. Donation Letters

Are you looking for simple, low-cost sports fundraising ideas with the potential for high earnings? Consider a snail mail fundraising campaign where team members send handwritten letters to friends, family, and other supporters asking for contributions. The most impactful letters tell a story about what the team means to them and how donations make a difference.

Make it easy for recipients to give by including a pre-paid custom remittance envelope or directing donors to a donation form on your website. Here are some inspirational examples of fundraising letters.

Most importantly, be sure to thank your donors immediately! A quick phone call or thank you letter can go a long way in encouraging your donors to give again next year.

9. Seasonal Brochure Products

Did you know that we have a selection of over 2,000 products? The best fundraising ideas for sports teams are those that fit into your regular season. These programs allow you to make the most of your selling opportunities.

Our Happy Holly Days and ‘Tis the Season brochures would be great options for basketball, soccer, and wrestling teams to use during the winter. Baseball, softball, swimming, and track and field teams would succeed more with spring fundraisers like Heartland’s Spring Collection or Simply Spring.

And the great thing about these programs is that groups can do all their selling online.

10. Sports Night Out

Partner with a local restaurant to host a sports night out. In exchange for bringing in new customers, the restaurant gives the team a portion of the night’s proceeds. Invite your classmates, teachers, family members, and neighbors for a fun and tasty outing. Use social media and your team’s website to spread the word. Some regional and national chains even have established programs to help school groups fundraise!

People can come and go as they please, and many establishments also have outdoor seating to help keep everyone safe while practicing social distancing.

11. Pancake Breakfast

Host this tasty fundraiser on a weekend, holiday, or tournament day to unite people while raising funds for your team’s equipment and uniforms. Keep costs low by asking your grocery store to help with the cost of food and finding a location that already has the table and chairs you need. With the help of parent volunteers, even younger teams can make and sell pancakes for a morning of community building and fundraising.

12. Car Wash

Looking for a tried-and-true classic fundraiser? This easy and fun event has decades of proven success. Unlike other sports fundraising ideas, a car wash can reach passersby in-person who might not otherwise know about the team. Book a location, gather supplies, and spread the word. Be prepared to tell drivers all about your team or league.

13. Personalized Scratch Cards

Your team can profit as much as 90% by selling personalized scratch cards! Supporters scratch off a card that displays the price they need to pay from 50¢ to $3 for a special coupon sheet that entitles them to online savings at 1-800flowers.com, The Popcorn Factory^®, emusic, FragranceNet, and more.

At Big Fundraising Ideas, we personalize your scratch card with your group name and picture on the cover. Learn more about designing and purchasing your scratch cards today.

14. Passive Donation Programs

Passive donation programs, like Amazon Smile and grocery cards, are a great way to keep funds coming in all year. Have you heard of the RoundUp app? It’s free to join and lets donors round up their purchases to the nearest dollar.

The change is then donated to your group or school. Although passive programs don’t typically bring in significant funds during their launch, the small gifts can add up over time.

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Big Fundraising Ideas offers simple solutions that work. We pride ourselves on providing the best value, the most extensive selection, special incentives, a vast online store, free shipping, fast customer service, and no upfront costs. There are tons of great sports fundraising ideas that you can do online or offline. So, get out there, get creative, and fundraise your way to victory!

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.