8 Steps to Seamless Youth Sports Fundraising

This post is sponsored by TeamSnap, a company that does its very best to make back-to-school sports as easy as possible by providing the best tools to help teams and parents run their organizations smoothly.

It’s back-to-school time! And one of the first orders of business for sports teams will be meeting with parents to talk about fundraising, among other things.

Fundraising is perhaps one of the biggest hassles in youth sports. But unfortunately, it is something that every team must deal with. As a team parent, you have the opportunity to help the team reach their financial goals efficiently and smoothly.

Here are some guidelines to make fundraising as smooth and painless as possible:

• Prepare a team budget and figure out the total cost divided by the number of players on the team. 

• Spell out expenses clearly from the beginning. This is especially important for travel teams and even middle and high school teams.

• If your team decides to go with fundraisers, choose one person as a fundraising specialist. He or she will be the point man for all fundraising activities.

• Ask parents to pay. Some parents would rather just pay a fee instead of fundraising. If your team chooses this option, then be sure to establish payment options. You can either give parents a payment schedule so they don’t have to pay all at once or you can ask them to pay it all at the beginning of the year. If you estimate the cost for snacks, coaches’ presents, and other foreseeable costs, you can divid it between the number of player and charge each family that fee. This keeps you from asking for money several times in the season.
  
• When choosing fundraisers, look for Easy and Efficient. Parents do not want to spend a lot of time on these projects. That’s why raising funds through sites like Flipgive are perfect. With them, parents can simply shop and raise funds online, and invite their friends to do the same.

• If your team decides to do a more complicated fundraiser, choose one that provides an opportunity for team-building and working together. My husband’s teams always did car washes and the results was hours of great team bonding.

• Don’t be afraid to ask. Be specific with your requests to family and friends. Tell them exactly how much you are trying to raise. Simply saying, “Our team needs money” is not as effective as saying, “Our team needs to raise $500.” People like to see a goal and track the progress.

• Use Facebook and Instagram to get the word out. Be creative with images and slogans to draw people in. In a sense, you are marketing and need to put a little effort into advertising the fundraising.

Fundraising was never on my list of fun-things-to-do as my kids grew up. But with dwindling school budgets and the growing presence of club and travel teams, it has become an important task for every team. You cannot hide from it, so make it as smooth and efficient as possible!