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Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams

Whether your team needs funds for traveling or new gear, plenty of fundraising ideas will help you meet your fundraising goals.This article covers 10 fundraising ideas for sports teams of all ages that are guaranteed to bring your supporters together. 

1- Exercise Class

An exercise class is a great way for the community to get active alongside local athletes. What’s more, an exercise class can be tailored to fit the needs of any sports team. For example, if you are fundraising for a basketball team, you can incorporate dribbling into the class! Team members can lead the exercise class and provide expert guidance throughout the lesson. 

2- Bingo Night

A sports-themed bingo night can be perfect for your sports team to fundraise. Planning is easy and allows supporters to enter the competitive spirit while supporting their local sports team. Having themed prizes available for winners to increase engagement and bring in more supporters. 

3- 5k Walk Or Run 

While a 5k Walk or Run requires sports team fundraising a lot of planning and helping hands, this tried, true fundraiser is perfect for an active audience. Promoting healthy lifestyles while supporting a local sports team is a great way. Moreover, you will not have to search hard for volunteers, as your team members can fulfill those roles!

4- Karaoke Night 

A karaoke night is the perfect fundraiser for sports teams looking for an unconventional way to raise funds. It is a fundraising event that any supporter can participate in, as it does not require participants to get active. You can also sell refreshments or partner with a local restaurant to increase your fundraising potential. 

5- Field Day 

Let your supporters showcase their athletic skills by hosting a Field Day fundraiser. You can set up games, including tug-of-war, sack race, and obstacle course, for participants to enjoy. Your sports team members can also take the sidelines by running the events and playing referee. Having prizes for winners can build excitement and bring in a larger crowd. 

6- Car Wash 

Perfect for warm weather, a car wash is a tried and true fundraiser that can bring in profits while making a splash. Your team can set up at your school parking lot so community members can easily stop by and show support. Don’t forget to make signs and have team members stand on the street to grab drivers’ attention!

7- Pancake Breakfast 

Like a barbeque, pancake breakfasts are great fundraising ideas for sports teams. Ask your school or local fire hall to host your pancake breakfast and spread the word on social media. Team members can put their cooking skills to the test by serving pancakes and other refreshments to the community. 

8- Football Tailgate 

In exchange for donations, supporters can attend a tailgate before the big game, which includes music, games, and refreshments.

Your team can also sell merchandise and have raffle baskets available to increase profits. 

9- Mow Lawns for Donations

If you want to raise funds for a male high school sports team, consider mowing lawns for donations! This fundraising idea benefits both the sports team and the community. Older community members will love supporting their local sports team while crossing something off their to-do list. 

10- Bag Groceries For Donations

This is a simple fundraiser that any sports team can do. Ask your local grocery store if your team can bag groceries in exchange for donations. This allows your team to interact directly with the community and reach a wide range of people. The busier the local grocer, the better!

School Fundraising Ideas

A well-planned fundraising strategy creates excitement and pride for the school and gets the community to play a more active role in the student’s education. So, if you’re looking for new ways to reach a larger audience and boost your efforts, choose from these school fundraising ideas and make the most of your event.

    T-Shirt Fundraising

Bonfire – Design your own Shirt on Material you’ll Love

Don’t we all love a good T-shirt? What’s excellent about t-shirt fundraising is combining it with an in-person event. About a month before, have t-shirts made with the school’s name, logo, and event name, so all attending can wear their shirt on the big day.

Getting custom-made t-shirts is easier than you think. There are companies such as Bonfire and Printful that will boost your campaign, help you save money on printed shirts, and create custom print designs everyone will love. Both sites easy fundraiser are free to use, have templates and a step-by-step guide to help you with the design process, and will fulfill and ship the orders, so there is one less thing for you to worry about!

    Online Donations

Receiving online donations is one of the best ways to expand your reach. Create a fun donation landing page and express your school’s needs. What are the objectives of the online donations, the target amount, and how do you intend to use the money to improve the school?

Remember that spreading the word is the tricky part and requires attention. Create a Facebook page for the school if you haven’t got one already, and start promoting your donation requests. In addition, you can send a note home with each student and ask them to spread the word. The great thing about social media is how quickly word can spread. When people start to share your posts, you get more reach and increase funding. That leads us to the next fundraising idea for high schools – social media.

Social Media

Social media ranks as one of the best school fundraising ideas. You can utilize various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Create an exciting post, express your needs, and use hashtags to further your reach.

You can spotlight your initiatives and get followers involved in the school’s fundraising events. Instagram lets you add a donation sticker to your posts. You can go live on social media platforms with a Livestream fundraising event with an easy-to-add donate button so viewers can donate throughout the live event. Lastly, don’t forget the Geotag. This allows your donation requests to be shown to people in your community and establishes your credibility.

    Text-to-Give

Who doesn’t have a cellphone these days? Texting-to-give is a great new way for schools to communicate financial needs to parents and guardians. The average donation for text-to-give fundraising is $107, which can significantly impact your bottom line.

Text-to-give helps you gain ongoing support from the community when school fundraising. Use a text-to-give platform, such as Snowball, that gives you unlimited text, personalized campaigns, and low-cost recurring gift options. Donors will text a word like “donate” to the school’s text-to-give phone number and confirm the donation amount. Their credit card information is saved for future donations, and a recurring donation option will help maximize the funds raised.

    Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is one of those valuable high school fundraising ideas that are a must for any money-raising initiative. An online crowdfunding campaign is conducted on various platforms such as Livingtree and DonorsChoose. Fundraising management software allows you to monitor the progress, tell your school’s story, and get the whole community involved in the efforts.

Here’s how online crowdfunding works:

• Develop a plan for your campaign and build the outline
• Create an account on your preferred crowdfunding site
• Set up the campaign with the fundraising goals and tell your story
• Make the campaign live and start sharing it on social media platforms
• Monitor the progress of the campaign and adjust if you are not on track to meeting your financial goals

    Corporate Philanthropy Programs

Corporate philanthropy is a different school fundraising idea many aren’t aware of, but it can be highly effective. You can contact parents or guardians to inquire whether they own or work for a company with philanthropy programs and find out how to apply.

Three corporate philanthropy programs could benefit a school fundraising program:

Matching gifts: Many companies will match an employee’s donation to a nonprofit. For example, if an employee gifts $100 to the school, the company will match the donation with $100. Each company is different, and some may have higher contributions than the traditional 1:1 ratio, such as 1:2 or 1:4 contribution ratios.

Volunteer grants are a great way to raise money and get the much-needed hands-on help many schools require. Employees volunteer their time to a nonprofit, and the company donates financially. Corporate sponsorships: Companies can sponsor events in exchange for favorable publicity. For example, a company can fund an event such as a bikeathon or fun run; the school can promote the business in return.

    Cookie Dough Fundraising Ideas for High Schools

Palmetto Fundraising Cookie Dough, Chocolate chip, cookies, and cream, or peanut butter – whatever your flavor, we all love cookie dough! Not only is cookie dough a comfort food that takes us back to the sweet memories of growing up, but it can also be added to your list of school fundraising ideas. Host a cookie dough fundraiser and get parents, guardians, students, and the community involved in this tasty idea.

So, how does a cookie dough fundraiser work? It’s simple. Use a company such as SavoryFoods or Palmetto Fundraising. You won’t have to pay any money upfront; they will fulfill the orders for the sale of cookie dough, and you get to keep most of the profits. Give customized catalogs of the various products for sale or host the sale online. This idea takes very little work, and you can raise money for your school in a fun way.

    Pledge Fundraising

Pledges and donations are different. Pledges are promises to donate. For example, you can plan a bike-a-thon, walk-a-thon, or fun run, and people can pledge donations for the distance the participant goes. The pledge is made and paid at a future date.

Pledge fundraising is a great way to raise money for schools and organizations. It is a volunteer-driven program that raises funds in an annual, one-time gift through a personal fundraising campaign. Through pledge fundraising, you collect donations from friends, family members, and neighbors who support your school financially before the event occurs.

The first step to organizing a successful pledge fundraiser is simply organizing the people who will participate. Second, you should decide on the goal of your campaign and how much money you want to raise during that period. Finally, set goals for the number of pledges you wish to receive and divide those tasks accordingly.

    Silent Auctions

Silent auctions are becoming increasingly popular for school fundraising because they offer a fun way for people to bid on items and raise money for the school at the same time. Proceeds from silent auctions help schools solicit more funding, provide more enrichment, and enable more learning. They’re a fun way to socialize and mingle with new people at the event.

Charity Safaris is an excellent company to help raise funds for your school. We can help with the entire process, including auction display, online bidding logistics, and catalog production. Sell one of our hunting trips in South Africa, Argentina, or New Zealand multiple times for the event and raise thousands of dollars for your school. Fill out an online donation request and sell the trip of a lifetime at your school fundraiser.

If you’re looking for other types of silent auction items, TheShareWay provides a guide on 400+ companies that donate hotel stays, beauty products, gift cards, and more.

Email Campaigns

More than 4 billion people use email, and 77% of marketers say they have seen an increased engagement with their email marketing campaigns over the last year. So, if marketing companies and businesses leverage emails to gain followers’ support, why not do the same for your school and community?

An email fundraising campaign is simple once you have an email list. You can send reminders to subscribers of fundraising events, express the school’s needs, and request help from the community. What’s great about email campaigns is that you aren’t just driving traffic to your fundraising page but can also gain ongoing financial support.

Fundraising Sites

Finding appropriate donors for your nonprofit’s upcoming fundraiser can be daunting. Many fundraising websites help nonprofits or charities like yours meet your fundraising needs. A fundraising website can help a nonprofit save valuable time and energy by giving you access to thousands of potential donors. If you want to raise money for your organization, you should look into fundraising websites for help. We have compiled a list of the leading fundraising sites that provide fundraising and donor management tools and resources.

But before you dive into the best nonprofit fundraising websites, you should consider what kind of fundraising best suits your nonprofit organization. There are different fundraising efforts designed to help nonprofits to raise more money. We have researched the best fundraising websites used for personal fundraising and for charities and have listed them below.

Most of the sites listed below offer two forms of fundraising: 

• Silent Auction 

A silent auction is a fundraising event where the host (your nonprofit organization) presents an item charity donation websites that guests place bids on. The highest bid receives the prize, while the host gets all the proceeds. Some fundraising websites below offer items or packages that a nonprofit organization like yours can auction off. 

• Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a fundraising strategy that encourages a public audience to donate to your organization. It has become popular in recent years due to the internet’s ability to reach a broad audience. In addition, certain fundraising websites, like the ones listed below, promote nonprofit organizations. Crowdfunding sites have become popular ways to collect online donations and to raise funds for a variety of causes. This type of site allows individuals and organizations to use online fundraising tools to reach

Best Fundraising Sites for Fundraising 

1- Charity Safaris

In need of an auction item that will grab an audience’s attention? Charity Safaris offers destination packages that guarantee an adventure of a lifetime. 

Charity Safaris is a fundraising website that donates hunting packages to charities and nonprofits across the United States and Canada. Nonprofits can use these fully funded hunting packages in live or silent auctions and keep the total proceeds. In addition, Charity Safaris coordinates with hunting outfitters to help guide the selected nonprofits and winners throughout the process. In the past, Charity Safaris hunting trips have raised $6000 in live auctions and up to $4500 in silent auctions. If you want to hold an auction, consider checking what packages Charity Safaris offers. Trip destinations include Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa.

2- Donation Match

DonationMatch is a fundraising website that helps nonprofit organizations secure in-kind donations. Its portal connects nonprofits to over 150 companies offering in-kind donations. DonationMatch simplifies the application process by enabling nonprofits to fill out multiple applications on its platform rather than redirecting them to each company’s website. Moreover, its algorithm can match nonprofit organizations with companies that best fit their funding needs. 

3- TheShareWay

TheShareWay is another fundraising website that helps nonprofit organizations find suitable donors. Its directory allows users to browse through countless donors who offer raffle items, food, beverages, and other in-kind donations. In their first two years of operation, TheShareWay connected thousands of nonprofits to businesses in the Bay Area. Today, its fundraising software helps nonprofits across the entire country. If you’d like to see what TheShareWay offers, you can sign up for free on their website. This fundraising website comes with exposure to companies that like to give.

4- TravelPledge

TravelPledge is a fundraising website that donates adventurous auction items to nonprofit organizations and charities. Since its conception in 2011, Travel Pledge has connected over 10 thousand nonprofit organizations to almost $100 million worth of donation items. Their auction items include trips to Italy, South Africa, Fiji, and beautiful beach destinations in the United States. To be considered, your nonprofit must sign up for free and tell Travel Pledge about your fundraiser. They will verify your nonprofit status and decide which excursions your organization qualifies for. 

5- LuxGive

LuxGive is a fundraising website that donates luxurious destination packages to nonprofit organizations. LuxGive offers various destinations, from Disneyland to Turks and Caicos. Some of their trips, like a safari adventure in South Africa, cover up to 10 guests. In addition, LuxGive allows nonprofits to select which package they want, enabling them to choose a package that will work best for them. After the item is auctioned off, LuxGive will contact the winner and take the reins from there. These trips sell for three times their worth, meaning your nonprofit can raise substantial funds. 

Get Help with A Fundraising Website

If you are looking for the top fundraising tools and want to create a fundraising page to raise awareness about your cause, there are many ways to go about it. Peer-to-peer fundraising is a popular way for individuals to ask for money from friends and family for a specific cause. So many fundraising efforts, like Facebook fundraising, take personal fundraising efforts and turn them into team fundraising efforts. As you are thinking about your next fundraising project, think about creative projects that are fun, exciting, and different. People love to participate in new and exciting events and share about them on their social media platforms.

Donation Requests

A well-known fact about Americans is that they are givers. This is particularly true regarding giving to nonprofits, charitable organizations, and worthy causes.

Throughout the USA, companies are willing to donate to fundraisers through online requests on their websites. Below, we list 7 companies eager to grant your donation requests in 2025. Reach out to them and be amazed at their generous offers to assist your fundraiser!

Charity Safaris

Charity Safaris accepts online requests for donations and gives 100% safari hunting to qualifying nonprofits, charities, and worthy causes. The gifting is in the home depot donation request form of hunting safari trips to Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa. The gifted trips may be sold in live, silent, and online auctions and raffles, and the organization gets to keep all the profits for their cause.

Access their online request form by visiting the Charity Safaris website.

Elite Island Resorts

Elite Island Resorts offers a no-cost donation of Caribbean Vacation Certificates to exotic beachfront destinations such as Antigua, Barbados, Panama, and the Grenadines. Your nonprofit organization can use these in live, silent, or online auctions and raffles to raise 100% profit off sales for your cause and provide a memorable lifetime holiday for a lucky person.

Click here to see if your organization qualifies to complete an online donation request form and raise significant funds for your nonprofit.

 The Walt Disney Company

Disney partners with nonprofits and charitable organizations to bring affirmative, relevant, and measurable impact to communities through in-kind contributions and employee volunteers who raise funds for a given cause. They support health, social empowerment, and conservation.

See if your organization qualifies by filling out their online donation request form.

The Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton has a program called Community Footprints, which zeroes in on relief for hunger and poverty, children’s well-being, and the restoration and maintenance of the environment. They proudly partner with nonprofit organizations that support these aspirations. Requests for donations may be made here.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola provides aid to 501(c)(3) compliant nonprofit organizations in the USA through monetary donations, sponsorships, and product donations. To determine if your organization is eligible, complete the online donation request form here.

Cisco

This company offers donations to nonprofits through its philanthropic arm, the Cisco Foundation. They donate network technology through the Product Grant program to improve set-up and productivity. Global Impact Cash Grants are awarded to struggling communities with dire human needs, economic power, and education, specifically for community-based grants for the Bay Area in California. Click here to make online requests for donations.

Ben and Jerry’s

Ben and Jerry’s offers grants nationally and at the state level in Vermont. The donations are directed explicitly to community organizations across the USA. Ben and Jerry’s are big on human rights and social justice. Check their website for more information about the donation request criteria.

American Electric Power

American Electric Power, through its foundation, offers donations to nonprofits nationally and those located within the AEP service area. They specifically support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, housing, and hunger assistance. Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) certificates must secure an invitation to apply for grants from their local AEP and will then be directed to apply online. You can find more details on their information page.

Dunkin’ Donuts

The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation supports organizations that have hunger relief as their cause.

Grants are made to food pantries and banks, grocery delivery programs, community gardens, and other food-based philanthropic causes.

Request a donation for your nonprofit organization directly on their website.

General Motors

General Motors aids 501(c)(3) compliant organizations focusing on STEM education and community development. They also support road and vehicle well-being initiatives and education. Eligible nonprofit organizations can visit the company’s website and follow the steps for securing a donation request.

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