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Published May 12, 2023
Basketball teams generate many expenses, such as uniforms, tournament fees, and sports equipment. Team members and staff can’t handle the bill alone. Fortunately, fundraising efforts can cover the cost of many things. Check out these successful fundraising ideas for your basketball team.
Do a Three-Point Competition
Invite community members to participate in a three-point competition after donating to your team. Challenge people to shoot as many three-pointers as possible within a specific time.
You can earn extra money by inviting other community members to the event. Remember to sell refreshments such as hot dogs, chips, and sodas.
Three-point competitions are fast. Consider planning additional activities throughout the event, such as a dunk contest or half-court shot challenge.
Display a prize for the competition winner. Large trophies, gift cards to restaurants, or team merchandise can all attract contestants and donors!
Host a Community Tournament
A community tournament is a successful fundraising idea for your basketball team. Spark some friendly competition among community members with a fun game! Encourage participants to form a team, select a group name, and wear matching shirts or jerseys.
Every team pays an entry fee to support fundraising efforts. Typically, you can organize costs per player. For example, you can charge $10 per player, resulting in $50 per team.
This fundraiser requires a lot of planning because the number of participants determines the venue and playing time. If you have several participants, you need a large venue, such as a school or community center gym, to accommodate everyone. Furthermore, you must determine the start time to ensure each team has adequate playing time.
To earn more donations, consider charging an entrance fee for viewers. This price can be $5 per person.
Athlete Assistance Program
A creative initiative is an “athlete assistance program” for your fundraising campaign. People can purchase the assistance of an athlete for various chores. Mowing lawns, repainting garages, moving boxes, and raking leaves are all examples of chores. Think of it as a handyman service for participants.
The team can divide into groups to tackle different projects and support community members. This idea is an excellent fundraiser that adds positivity to communities. Your team has the opportunity to connect with people, improve the neighborhood, and display gratitude for donations.
Remember to take photos to remember the awesome day!
Collect Donations Online
A simple basketball fundraiser idea is accepting online donations. Sometimes, you need a simple yet effective way to collect money. Team members can send a link to the donation page to potential supporters. For example, members reach out to friends, family, and community members for donations.
This idea is great for ongoing efforts to raise money for the team. For instance, if you need money to offset the cost of a big tournament, an online fundraiser can work. The donation page is open for an extended period, allowing people to donate multiple times.
With online donation pages, be sure to select a user-friendly site as your platform. This way, people can donate funds through a reputable page.
Sell VIP Seats at Games
Sitting on bleachers can be uncomfortable, especially during long games. A cool idea to combat discomfort is selling VIP cushion seats. Who doesn’t like special treatment?
Give your biggest supporters front-row, cushioned seats at home games. They must donate to the team to earn this incentive. You all can decide the donation amount eligible for this idea.
Add perks such as team swag (shirts, hats, drawstring bags, and more) or free concessions to elevate the experience. When people see the VIP treatment, they’ll want to participate too!
You may have two rows of cushioned seats with eager fans. Not to mention, more VIP seats mean a more sizeable donation to the team.
Serve a Pancake Breakfast
Pancakes are delicious treats that make for surprisingly good fundraiser tools. Sell tickets to a pancake breakfast to support the team. Here’s how to host a pancake breakfast:
- Recruit volunteers to cook the pancakes.
- Advertise the event on social media.
- Sell tickets to the breakfast.
- Obtain a suitable venue to host all attendees.
- Serve the pancake breakfast!
Boost the Breakfast
Offer add-ons for the breakfast, including coffee, juice, fruit, and additional menu items. You can charge for extra things such as bacon, sausage, and eggs. You’ll boost fundraising efforts while people enjoy a tasty meal. Be sure to mention attendees can purchase breakfast add-ons before the event.
Host a Basketball Camp
Your team, coaches, and volunteers know the ins and outs of basketball. Put everyone’s knowledge to use with a basketball camp. If your team has older players, such as junior high or high schoolers, let them be camp counselors for the younger campers.
The counselors can lead campers through drills, skills, and scrimmage games. Require participants to pay a registration fee to support your fundraising campaign.
It’s best to host the camp during the summer when kids are out of school. Additionally, you should consider creating T-shirts to identify campers throughout the event.
Do Guessing Games
Have you ever seen a game involving a jar of random items that you must guess the number of? For example, the challenge might be to guess the number of jelly beans inside a container. Make this simple game a part of your fundraising efforts. Set up a table with different jars of items during games. Attendees pay $1 to guess the number of items inside containers. Whoever guesses the exact number of items receives a prize.
You can make this game challenging with various-sized items. Have one jar with a high number of jelly beans and another jar with safety pins. Participants pay per guess in hopes of making the correct estimate.
Remember to tell participants to write their name and phone number on their guess sheets so that you can contact the correct winner.
Fundraising Tips for Your Team
Whether it’s your team’s first or tenth fundraiser, there are some tips to always keep in mind.
- Use social media to promote all fundraisers. A strong online presence is one of the best ways to gain attention from supporters. Share updates about the campaign, post photos of the team in action, and highlight the impact of donations.
- Involve coaches and parents in your activities. Ask for help with planning and executing various campaigns. They can reach out to their network of people to obtain donations too.
- Build relationships with your supporters. Thank everyone for their donations and showcase the results of fundraising efforts. For example, send donors a picture of the team in new uniforms or on the way to tournaments.
- Measure the success of the campaign. Track statistics such as the amount of funding received, the number of supporters, and the average monetary contribution. You can also evaluate impressions on social media.
Basketball teams are essential to schools and communities. They give youth a positive outlet to learn sportsmanship and engage with peers. Although overhead costs are expensive, there are ways to obtain money. Consider our team fundraiser ideas for your next campaign!
