With Spring right around the corner, that means teams are gearing up and getting ready. With a new season, comes new costs. So with new costs, it’s time to start thinking about fundraising. If you are like me, I dread fundraising time, but let’s see if we can put the “FUN” in Fundraising.
Fundraising is an important part of travel baseball. As a result, the additional funds can help alleviate some of the financial burdens on the parents. The costs of travel, tournament or even select teams can be substantial. For our team, we typically purchase new uniforms, practice uniforms, helmets, bat bags, pay for tournaments, gate fees, and team equipment with fundraising money subsidized additionally by parents. There are potentially thousands of dollars in costs per season, so every bit of money we can raise help. (We won’t even get into administrative fees, coaching fees, and travel expenses.) Anyway, everything we can raise goes directly to the team and alleviates some of the out-of-pocket costs to the parents.
Our team has done several fundraisers, some more successful than others. Also, keep in mind, that success depends on how involved the parents are. Don’t forget to get the kids involved too! Remember this is for them and there is no reason they can’t participate! When my son gets involved he has a vested interest and understands the importance. Here are a few fundraisers I’ve heard of (some of which we have done):
- Super Bowl Squares (this can be done with almost any sporting event – World Series, NBA bracket play-offs, etc.)
- Sponsorships
- Team Banner
- Raffle (Ice Chest filled with goodies, Alcohol Basket, etc.)
- Car Wash
- Calendar Money
- Dial-A-Thon
- Flip Give (and others)
- Bake Sale