Jeff Porter |
Keeping up with the cost of youth sports teams, whether for a local or travel team, can take some creativity! With expenses like equipment, uniforms and traveling, sports teams are always looking for some new ideas to boost their fundraising efforts.
Youth sports fundraising is an awesome way to get friends, family, and community involved to support your team. Plus, it gets the team truly invested and excited about their efforts.
This list of easy and fun youth sports fundraising ideas will help you reach your fundraising goals in no time.
Fun & Easy Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas
At EventPipe, we’re all about supporting youth sports. While our platform focuses on the event housing management side of things (think: tournament housing, room block management, RFP streamlining) we’re excited about anything we can do to make lives easier for coaches, families and teammates.
So let’s get into this list of some great youth sport fundraising ideas for your next season!
1. Bake Sale
Everyone has a sweet tooth–and bake sales are the cure! You can sell an appetizing selection of reasonably priced pastries, cakes and cookies to give your team’s budget an extra boost.
The great thing about a bake sale is that you have flexibility. You can ask each team member to bake their own sweets using family recipes or you can bake together as a group.
Pro Tip: Advertise the bake sale on social media and host your bake sale at busy school or community events, like a Spring Fling or PTA/PTO night.
2. Cookout
If there’s one way to get to a person’s heart (or wallet)...it’s through their desire to eat! Organizing a cookout as a fundraiser is a great way to enjoy some delicious food and raise money for your team. After all, who can turn down a freshly grilled hot dog or cheeseburger?
Pick a location that can handle a large crowd—(outdoor venues work great)—and make sure you have all the necessary permits (if needed). Come up with a menu that’s easy to cook in bulk but has crowd appeal. Enlist volunteers to help cook, serve and clean up after the event.
Pro Tip: Sell tickets in advance, with all profits going towards your team, and advertise the event on social media, using flyers, word of mouth, posters and more.
3. Sell Team Calendar and Photo Books
Selling team calendars and photo books is not only an awesome way to raise money but it can also help keep parents and extended family members up-to-date on upcoming games, practices, team bonding activities, and tournaments.
Pro Tip: You can customize your calendars and photo books however you want, so get creative!
4. Car Wash
An oldie but goodie, a car wash is one of the most common ways to fundraise. Getting your car washed for $10 is much cheaper than most places and it’s a fun way for your team to bond!
5. Fundraising Walk
Whether it’s to send your team to another state for a tournament or buy sports equipment, a fundraising walk can bring in support from the community to help you reach your goal—plus, you’re sure to get your steps in!
Pro tip: Selling water, snacks, visors, shirts, and other concessions to participants can help you raise extra funds, too.
6. Talent Show
Time to shine! If you’ve got players with hidden talents, a talent show fundraiser could be the perfect opportunity to put them on display. Sell tickets and promote this event to your community, friends and family.
With talent shows, anyone can sign up and perform, making it the perfect crowd-puller. Sell refreshments and snacks to bring in some extra cash!
Pro Tip: Check out local venues to make it easy for people to attend.
7. Bingo Night
Who doesn’t love bingo? Bingo is something people of all ages can enjoy and is a great opportunity for friends, family and teammates to bond. Spread the word about your upcoming bingo fundraiser and charge a small entry fee.
Participants who win can receive prizes like free merchandise, gift cards, or coupons! You can also host a raffle, sell concessions and more to generate more money and reach your goal.
8. Movie Night
To host a movie night, you'll need to find a venue or location with a screen and enough room to seat your supporters. You can even check in with your local movie theater to see if you can rent a theater for a few hours.
Once you have your venue, choose a fun and age-appropriate movie that people of all ages can enjoy. And don’t forget to promote your movie night on social media, make announcements during community meetings and hang up flyers.
Pro Tip: Charge attendees an entrance fee for the movie or tickets in advance online or in-person, and sell classic concessions like popcorn, candy and beverages to rake in a few extra bucks.
9. Host a Tournament
Hosting a tournament is a creative and interactive way for the community to support your team! Invite other teams to compete in a tournament and enjoy some friendly competition while raising money for your squad. You can charge local teams registration and entrance fees to attend, and sell concessions and merchandise to fans and players throughout the day. Host the tournament at your school gym, local recreation center, or nearby ice rink or park.
Keep in Mind: The tournament doesn’t even have to be the sport your team plays. Alternative “field day” games like one-legged races, obstacle courses, trivia, darts, ping-pong, and sand volleyball are fun and lighthearted options. Think outside the box!
Are you hosting tournaments beyond your fundraiser? Or setting up other sporting events? EventPipe can help!
EventPipe is a modern, end-to-end event housing management platform that streamlines the process of arranging event accommodations–and our bread and butter is youth sports events.
With our simple, white-labeled platform, EventPipe provides:
- Event Management: Access tens of thousands of hotels with multiple filters to find the best fit for your event attendees.
- Booking Sites: Build a custom event in less than 10 minutes. Craft a branded site that displays your logo and imagery–no coding required.
- Additional Revenue Streams: Add multiple revenue streams on your branded site through advertisements and optional items like extra amenities.
- Hotel Block Management: Choose multiple hotels and room types, designate a group block manager, view live inventory and provide attendees with booking instructions and a unique booking link.
- RFP Streamlining: Users can request desired nights, room types, concessions, and complimentary rooms through an easy-to-use interface. You can select which hotels receive proposals and even negotiate and accept proposals right from your account.
- Simplified Booking: Attendees can easily view, manage and track their reservations on a mobile-friendly website. They can also get on a waitlist for sold-out hotels.
- Reporting & Analytics: EventPipe’s Report Center analyzes and tracks the financial performance and pick-up rates for their events. Users can also monitor hotel cut-off dates and reservation confirmation statuses.
EventPipe platform used to manage a hockey tournament.
With EventPipe, you can say goodbye to your old, time-consuming systems and move faster to wow your guests.
10. Trivia Night
A trivia night is a fun and competitive way to test the smarts of your team, friends, family and community. Participants can form teams and pay an entry fee to help you and your team get the funds you need.
During the event, teams compete against each other over several rounds of general knowledge questions or questions related to specific topics. You can make it a themed trivia night and ask questions about popular movies, music, sports teams, history or science. Draw a crowd by advertising a special prize for the winning team!
11. Candy or Chocolate Bar Sale
Another well-known fundraising staple is the classic candy bar sale. This fundraising method allows team members to sell boxes of candy and chocolate bars to raise money to travel to tournaments or buy new equipment and jerseys. Different products, from chocolate bars to lollipops, offer a mix of variety at affordable prices.
Pro Tip: The candy and chocolate bars can be sold directly from the players, online through a website, or players can take orders and deliver them by hand to show their appreciation.
12. Offer Sports Clinics
As a coach, hosting a sports clinic is another effective way to fundraise for your team. You can have parents enroll their kids into the clinic for a fee so they can learn new skills while you raise funds.
Pro Tip: Your players can help you throughout the clinic by demonstrating skills and drills and giving one-on-one help to the other kids during the clinic. With this fundraiser, everyone wins!
13. Fun Run
This youth sports fundraising event brings everyone of all ages together. A fun run can get the community outdoors, with distances ranging from one or two kilometers to longer races for more advanced runners. Runners can enter the fun run by paying a registration fee, and additional fundraising can be achieved through sponsorships from local businesses, selling merchandise, food and beverages or organizing post-race activities or entertainment.
Pro Tip: To organize this event, you'll need to speak with the city about the location and dates and get permission to hold the event. Have the fun run promoted in the city newspaper, social media, create a website and hand posters and flyers for greater visibility. Make it an annual event that people look forward to each year!
14. Local Restaurant Fundraiser
This can also be considered a sponsorship, but you can partner with local restaurants in your community to help you host a food-filled night out and fundraise money. You can host your fundraising event at a local restaurant and sell merchandise, host a raffle and even arrange for live music.
Pro Tip: You and the restaurant can divide the earnings so that a portion goes to your fundraising goal.
15. Theme Fundraisers
Hosting a themed fundraiser is an excellent way to crowd-fund and has a ton of room for creativity. A specific theme, like a 1980s retro night, a disco night, or a Hawaiian luau, can add a fun twist to the event. You can be as creative as you want and go all out with food, decorations, and music and plan fun activities based on the theme.
Pro Tip: You can sell merchandise and ask for donations to help raise more money for your team.
16. Sell Raffle Tickets
Another popular way to fundraise is by selling raffle tickets. Everyone gets excited about the chance to score a prize!
Prizes can include anything from baked goods, gift cards and shirts to larger and more expensive prizes like holiday packages or electronics, depending on your team’s budget.
You can have this event last a few days before announcing the winner or have a raffle night at a local venue where people buy their tickets, hang out, enjoy concessions and games and find out if they’re one of the few lucky winners at the end of the evening.
17. Dance Marathon
Try organizing a dance marathon as a fundraiser for a youth sports team to give your community a memorable experience. Participants can register individually or as a group. Whether they dance for one hour or six, everyone can cut loose and show off their best moves. Spice things up by offering a prize to the last man standing.
Find a venue to host a large crowd, set the date, and advertise the event on social media to get your community excited to dance! Aside from a registration fee, you can generate more sales by offering concessions, selling merchandise, and raffles.
18. Parents vs. Kids Match
Pit parents and kids against each other in a fun match for funds! This interactive event could involve a variety of sports or games and encourage family participation and friendly competition. You can sell tickets to those wanting to see the game and support their family members, have concessions and sell merchandise.
19. Merchandise Sale
Selling merchandise is a great way to build support for your team. It works twofold by providing fans, parents, and community members with a way to showcase their support while generating much-needed funds.
Create custom merchandise like hats, shirts, coasters, tumblers, and more to sell to friends, family, and your community. Set up a booth in your local shopping center or at sporting events and watch your sales climb. You can go the extra mile by setting up an online store so friends, family and community members can help out and rep your team wherever they are!
20. Auction Night
An auction night is another unique fundraising idea. The auction could feature various items ranging from donated goods and services to collectibles, artwork or gift cards. Having variety in an auction can attract a larger crowd of potential bidders.
21. Run a Concession Stand
Running a concession stand is a classic way to raise money for a cause. Whether at a local sporting event, community gathering, or even a large-scale concert or fair, a concession stand selling snacks, drinks or food is always a crowd-pleaser. Though simple, this fundraising method can be extremely profitable when done correctly.
Organizers need to consider factors such as location, food selection, pricing, and staffing. Encourage parents and players to volunteer their time to run the stand.
Offer popular, easy-to-handle foods like hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and candy that can draw crowds. And don’t forget to provide a variety of sodas and sports drinks to help wash it all down!
22. Gourmet Popcorn Sales
Gourmet popcorn fundraisers can be incredibly versatile, with the different flavors ranging from spicy to savory to sweet. Youth sports teams can sell popcorn at games, sports events, community gatherings or even door-to-door.
And now, it’s easier than ever to set up fundraisers where supporters can purchase popcorn directly from a website.
23. Family Day
No need to call a babysitter—get the whole family together to enjoy a day of fun. This is a less common way to fundraise but is perfect for youth sports teams. You can host this event in or outdoors at a park, recreation center, school, restaurant or wherever you choose. Team members can invite their families and others to register for the event.
This day can be filled with fun games for friendly competition, arts and crafts, and contests. Advertise this event in the newspaper, community bulletin boards, on social media or by word of mouth to attract a large crowd.
24. Themed Game Night
A fun way to spice up game night! Host a ticketed game night with a twist by asking your attendees to come in costume. Your game night doesn’t have to be sports-related–it can involve trivia, board games, or cards!
You can even incorporate a costume contest. Attendees can register to attend the event and enter the contest, and the person with the best costume wins a prize! This is a great fundraising option during the Halloween season.
25. Ice Cream Social
For those with a sweet tooth or looking for a remedy to beat the heat, an ice cream social is perfect. Start by deciding on the date and location, preferably during warm weather and at an accessible venue like a park, community center, or school.
Select a range of ice cream flavors and toppings, and source your ice cream from local suppliers or consider partnering with your favorite ice cream shop. Plan activities to make the event more fun, such as an ice cream flavor-tasting contest or a sundae-making competition.
You'll need to set a price for the ice cream and tickets for entry or activities to generate funds. It may be beneficial to offer attendees an 'all-you-can-eat' ticket option, too.
Pro Tip: Put together a team of volunteers to help serve ice cream, run activities and aid in setup and clean-up—players and parents will be eager to help.
26. Scavenger Hunt
Everyone loves a good scavenger hunt, so why not host one as a fundraiser for your youth sports team? Have each scavenger hunting team pay a fee to register and then provide a prize for the winners.
Promote the event as early as possible to give yourself time to plan. Select a safe location such as a local park, a residential neighborhood, or even a virtual platform. You'll need to create a list of items, clues, or tasks for participants to find or complete within a fixed timeframe. If you want, you can spice up your scavenger hunt by adding riddles, challenges and obstacles that require creativity and brain power to solve.
Pro Tip: After the scavenger hunt is over, have concession stands, food trucks or food and beverages for those who participated in the event.
27. Pizza Night
Partner with your favorite local pizzeria and host a pizza night to raise money! Offer attendees pizza options with various types of crusts, sauces, toppings and cheeses (especially for those with dietary needs and food allergies).
You can charge an entrance fee for the event or have a pizza-eating or pizza-making contest to liven things up.
28. Garage Sale
Sell items you no longer want and put the money towards your fundraising goal. Encourage neighbors, friends, and family to donate items they no longer need, like clothes, toys, tools, furniture and electronics.
Once you’ve collected enough items, choose the date and location you want your garage sale to be held. Since these will be second-hand items, price them reasonably. Promote the garage sale within your community through word-of-mouth, flyers, social media, bulletin boards and more.
Pro Tip: Make it clear to buyers why you’re holding the garage sale so they know they’re supporting you and your team.
29. Bowling Night
Hosting a bowling night for your fundraiser is a “striking” way to raise money while having a ton of fun. Take advantage of your local bowling alley's special event packages and organize a fantastic event that brings your community together.
You can sell tickets to the event and have a bowling contest. Teams can enter to compete against each other and win prizes.
30. Recycling Drive
Hosting a recycling drive is a great way to get your community to help the environment and support a good cause. By urging community members to donate recyclable items like bottles, cans, paper, or electronics, you can collect and sell these to local recycling facilities–converting waste into funds!
Pro Tip: Apart from collecting recyclable materials, consider selling reusable shopping bags or other eco-friendly products. Importantly, you should communicate the dual mission of your event: raising funds for your sports team and promoting environmentally responsible behavior.
31. Cooking Contest
Hosting a cooking contest to raise money adds a savory twist to this traditional fundraising method that can help raise money for youth sports teams. You can even invite aspiring chefs from the community to show off their culinary skills.
Participants can register for the event for a fee and serve up their best dishes to judges and those who attend. Sports team members and parents can be part of the tasting and judging process.
Award categories like best appetizer, main dish or dessert for some friendly competition, and give the winner his or her “Master Chef” moment.
32. Video Game Tournament
If you have any gamers on your team or know any gamers, then host a video gaming tournament. Leverage the popularity of esports and gaming to attract gamers within your community. The tournament could be held either physically in a large venue with screens and gaming consoles or virtually, where participants can join remotely from their own homes.
Pro Tip: Live-stream the event, offering viewers the chance to pledge or donate to your team.
More About Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas
Here are some youth sports fundraising ideas by category.
Online Fundraising Ideas for Sports Teams
Other ways to raise money for your sports teams virtually:
- Gaming tournament
- Silent auction
- Online scavenger hunt
- E-commerce store
Youth Sports Fundraising Ideas for High Schools
Any of the fundraising ideas on this list can work for high school teams, but these could be extra fun:
- Talent show
- Sports clinics & camps for younger kids
- Car washes
- T-shirt sale
- Cookout
Travel Team Fundraising Ideas
If you have team members that aren’t all in one location, these travel team fundraising ideas work well:
- Selling gourmet popcorn
- Selling candy bars
- Merchandise and T-shirt sales
- Team calendar & photo books
Streamline Your Next Youth Sports Event
We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of some great youth sport fundraising ideas–and we hope you can use one of these ideas for your next fundraiser!
If you’re looking for additional support managing your next travel tournament, EventPipe is here to help. EventPipe offers a comprehensive tournament housing solution for event producers–and we work directly with several youth sports teams and organizations.
EventPipe is a modern, end-to-end housing solution that provides you with all the tools you need to create and manage hotel RFPs and housing contracts, easily launch custom booking sites, manage room blocks and sub-blocks, automate reporting and invoicing and access additional revenue opportunities.
At the end of the day, EventPipe can help maximize your event housing revenue–while saving you valuable time and energy.
Ready to level up your event housing management in 2024?
Chat with our team today.