The most important thing for a team is to have a love and passion for what you are doing. Being a part of a team is great for building relationships, developing leadership skills, learning new things, and improving and pushing yourself. This being said, teams need money for all kinds of reasons; travel expenses, jerseys, equipment, facility upkeep and much more.
Here are some ways that you can fundraise for your team:
1. Crowdfunding
Starting a crowdfunding campaign is a great way to raise money for your team. Crowdfunding is expected to continue growing globally in the coming years.
Platforms like Kickstarter, are great ways for new products and start-up businesses to generate funds but crowdfunding can be used for much more. There are many specialized platforms for sports teams and clubs to generate funds.
Check out some of these crowdfunding platforms:
After choosing a crowdfunding platform to launch your campaign on, there a some key things you can do to make it more successful:
Finding a real-life sponsor is an ideal situation for most teams. Local business often sponsor teams in exchange for promoting their brand during games. Consider placing signage around during games, placing logos on jerseys, and making sponsored posts on your social media pages.
3. Fundraising Events
A fundraising event could be a fun and memorable way to raise money for your team as well as connect with the community. There are so many different options when it comes to fundraising events, here are some examples:
Here are some ways that you can fundraise for your team:
1. Crowdfunding
Starting a crowdfunding campaign is a great way to raise money for your team. Crowdfunding is expected to continue growing globally in the coming years.
Platforms like Kickstarter, are great ways for new products and start-up businesses to generate funds but crowdfunding can be used for much more. There are many specialized platforms for sports teams and clubs to generate funds.
Check out some of these crowdfunding platforms:
- GoFundMe
- MakeAChamp
- athlete.com
- Sportfunder
- RallyMe
- Dreamfuel
- pursu.it
After choosing a crowdfunding platform to launch your campaign on, there a some key things you can do to make it more successful:
- Introduce the Team: It’s important to make a connection with potential funders. People want to know who they are supporting and that their money is going towards something good. Include information about the team, who you are and the passion you have.
- Get Detailed: It’s important to set a specific goal for the amount of money you want to raise and explain exactly what that money will be used for. Contributors want to know where their money is going and that it will be used for something specific.
- Create a video: A video is your main vehicle of communication with your audience. A professional, high-quality video can make or break your crowdfunding campaign. At House Edge Sports Network (HESN), we can help you create a captivating and high-quality video for your team. Visit hesn.co for more information.
- Give cool rewards: Crowdfunding contributors are typically given cool perks for helping fund the project. For example, putting the contributors name on new uniforms if they fund them.
- Plan a campaign: Creating awareness for your crowdfunding efforts can be one of the biggest challenges. Social media can be a key part of successfully promoting your crowdfunding campaign. Also consider partnering with local websites, news outlets and businesses.
- Getting started: Many crowdfunding platforms have specific guidelines and occasionally require some time to process a new submission. Make sure to choose the right platform for your team and give yourself a few extra days to get started.
Finding a real-life sponsor is an ideal situation for most teams. Local business often sponsor teams in exchange for promoting their brand during games. Consider placing signage around during games, placing logos on jerseys, and making sponsored posts on your social media pages.
3. Fundraising Events
A fundraising event could be a fun and memorable way to raise money for your team as well as connect with the community. There are so many different options when it comes to fundraising events, here are some examples:
- Exhibition: This is the perfect way to show off your skills and raise money. This could also be used as a way to recruit new players.
- Bake sale or car wash: These are classics when it comes to fundraising. Players, coaches and their families can volunteer to wash cars or contribute baked goods to sell. The Bell Warriors Football Club of The NCAFA have hosted a carwash in the past years.
- Restaurant Night: Local restaurants often partner with teams to offer a night where a portion of their profits go towards a team. Boston Pizza often offer this type of promotion for local sports teams.
- Raffle: Give people a chance to win a big prize by selling raffle tickets. Prizes could be related to the team, lessons or VIP seat tickets, or un-related, a gift basket from a sponsor. The Cumberland Panthers have held a WestJet raffle in the past that have helped raise funds for the club.
- Fundraising run: People could sponsor a team member or pay a fee and run alongside the players.
- Coach punishment: Attendants could pay a set amount for the opportunity to “punish” their coach. A dunk tank or pie in the face are typical examples of this.
- Silent Auction: On April 22nd, Cumberland Panthers Varsity hosted a fundraising night and silent auction to raise money for their OPFL travel teams. They managed to raise close to $4000. If anyone is interested on how to host an event like this, please contact info@hesn.co for more information.
4. Merchandise
Branded sports merchandise is a $700 million dollar industry so selling merchandise can be a very successful fundraiser for teams. People love to support their favourite local teams. Merchandise can strengthen your relationship with fans and generate revenue. Today it is very affordable and easy to created branded merchandise that can be sold at games or through an online store.
5. Player Auctions
Player auctions are when team members are auctioned off to do do chores or give lessons to the highest bidder. This can be done in the typical auction format or you could rent out players for set increments, usually 30 minutes, for a set price.
6. Offer Lessons
The team can offer lessons to the general public. This allows the team to show off and practice their skills while also generating more interest in the sport. People can sign up as individuals or in a group as a team-building exercise. Promote the lessons on social media and at local businesses around town.
7. Share Your Facilities
If your team has their own facilities, renting out the space when it’s not in use could be a great option. Tumblers Gymnastics in Orleans have applied this technique and have been very successful with their drop in programs and birthday party room rentals. Want to host a birthday party at Tumblers Gymnastics? Contact them at http://tumblers.ca/
First, create a schedule of when the facilities are not being used by anyone. Then, figure out which teams don’t have their own facilities and offer to rent it out to them. This will be a way for your team to make money and also benefit other teams in the area.
This tip isn't only for facilities, it could also work for equipment. Think about what you have that might be useful to others and ask yourself if it is something that you could rent out.
8. Discount Cards and Voucher Books
Everyone loves a great deal. Selling discount cards and voucher books are great way to offer people saving to their favourite stores and restaurant while making money for your team. Many companies offer packages to help make fundraising easy. Search the internet for the company that is right for your team.
9. Text-to-Give
Text-to-Give refers to when you text a word or phrase to a certain phone number and a donation is made by taking money out of their phone bill. This is very popular amongst large charities. Text-to-Give is available to even smaller organizations. There are a number of companies who can help you launch this type of fundraising campaign.
Remember to include the details on your social media pages to get the word out to as many people as possible.
Crowdfunding, event and sponsors can be very successful for generating funds for your team. Consider making a plan and schedule of all your fundraising efforts to keep organized. Fundraising can be a big and difficult task but if you put in the work it can be done.
Have you done fundraising for your team? What worked well, what didn’t? We want to hear about your fundraising experiences.