Ready to hit it out of the park with your next baseball fundraiser? Coming up with a creative idea to raise more for your team can sometimes be difficult, so we compiled 10 creative baseball fundraising ideas to fuel your next season. Along the way, we'll share some tools to help you raise even more. Read on!
Baseball is an all-American sport. It has been a part of American culture since 1869, and it garners the support of around 70 million people every year. Baseball fundraising helps more people get the experience of playing this time-honored game.
But raising money for your team is easier said than done! However, don’t be daunted by the process. In this article, we share some creative baseball fundraising ideas to help you raise more – and play more!
While it is important for you as a parent or supporting fan to help raise funds for your child’s baseball team, this is also an opportunity for your athlete to build character.
Studies have shown that, when kids help fundraise for their own projects, it develops a sense of responsibility and ownership. Kids are also empowered to continue positively impacting their community.
Have fun with fundraising, and show kids how fun it can be to take responsibility for their baseball team!
This baseball fundraising idea is sure to be a hit!
A hit-a-thon is a sponsorship program where loyal fans and donors sign up to donate a certain amount of money per hit and per home run hit.
When creating a hit-a-thon, your fundraising planning committee needs to determine how much money to charge per home run.
Create a sponsorship option for donating per hit. Charge a certain amount for every hit a player makes. Make sure to choose your best hitters for people to sponsor!
Also, create a VIP sponsorship packet that includes additional donations for home runs!
How skilled your team is will determine how much to charge. If you think the likelihood of home runs is low, charge more. If the likelihood is high, charge less.
Pro tip: Get your baseball team players or hitters to raise extra donations with peer-to-peer fundraising. Each can create their own fundraising page where they can tell their stories, add images and videos to showcase their journey, and inspire some donations from friends, family, their school, and the local community.
With an effective fundraising tool like Donorbox, your team can easily create branded donation pages to receive not just one-time donations but also recurring donations that come in daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
The kids who are not yet exceptional players deserve to play a role in baseball fundraising, too!
Take team pictures at your first practice, and get an individual shot of each player. Post a picture of each player one by one on social media with a short bio, asking people to sponsor the player for the whole season through donations. Explain exactly what that money will help buy.
Will it buy a new uniform? Help with travel expenses? Help buy new equipment for the team to use? Whatever you are using it for, be specific!
Pro tip: Build a donation page and make it easily accessible so people don’t have to put a lot of time and energy into finding how to donate! You can add a donate button on your website homepage. Also, put the link in your bio on social media and direct-message a secure donation form for payments via PayPal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay to interested sponsors.
Check out how the Future Stars Series Foundation uses Donorbox donation pages to raise funds for their baseball players!
What’s better than freshly baked cookies? This popular baseball fundraising idea helps teams raise money with a delicious product to sell!
Sites like Just Fundraising or Fundraising Zone collaborate with nonprofits and individuals to help them raise funds by selling gourmet cookie dough. Get your baseball team excited and start selling! Since the cookie dough is frozen, your supporters can buy it in bulk and enjoy cookies all year long.
Pro tip: Make it fun for your team members. Create a competition-based strategy and offer a reward for the baseball team member who sells the most dough to family, friends, and others! That way the word about your team will only spread further.
Merchandise is always a popular baseball fundraiser, especially when it is branded to your team. Loyal fans want to show up and show out, so provide them with options.
Baseball caps, pop sockets, tee shirts, leggings, coffee mugs … get creative with your items! YT==
Pro tip: Do not pre-order your items! Instead, use brands like Custom Ink or Bonfire that create your merchandise only when someone purchases a piece.
Share the link to one of these platforms via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter. That will make it easy for people to support your baseball team in style!
Ask your school if you can utilize its cafeteria on a Saturday or Sunday morning before the kick-off of your baseball season to host a pancake fundraiser. With this free space, all you will have to purchase are the cooking supplies for the event. Pancakes are a low-cost item, and so are eggs and other breakfast essentials, making this event perfect for baseball fundraising.
Use Donorbox Events to sell tickets to your pancake breakfast. Create unlimited ticket tiers, boost sales with promo codes, ask for additional donations on top of ticket sales, and easily check your guests in with a unique numerical or QR code for every ticket.
Check out how this organization priced tickets at different tiers for adults and children.
This way, you can easily manage your ticket sales and collect any additional information like dietary restrictions. Be sure to send a thank you following your event!
Baseball fundraising during the off-season is so important! Once the season rolls around, you will be so busy going to practices, games, and other events that fundraising might become a chore.
So, during the off-season, host a one-time-only students-versus-teachers game at your school.
Get unexpected people involved: don’t just ask coaches and those already invested in your baseball program to join. Ask the math teachers, art teachers, science teachers, secretaries, school counselors, and anyone who is willing to play!
Market this special event on your team’s Facebook page or at other school events. Create a crowdfunding page for teachers who participate to involve their friends and families in the event.
With a Donorbox Crowdfunding campaign, you can tell your story and the reason why this game matters. A campaign of this type should have a goal meter, a way to post updates, and a donor wall where your supporters can leave comments.
Here’s an example –
Pro tip: Get your teachers to shoot a video of them speaking about this game and your baseball team. Add these videos to your campaign. They’re sure to garner some extra attention and bring potential donors.
Also, if you would like, sell refreshments at the game to make some extra cash! Use a nonprofit point-of-sale system to collect payments.
For anyone familiar with baseball jargon, stealing in baseball is not actually bad. In fact, it’s a learned skill that can make or break a game.
Invite fans to participate in the fun and raise money at the same time!
Partner with a few local businesses to agree to donate a certain amount of money every time one of your players steals a home base. Give them a steal of a deal by announcing their business’s name any time a home base steal happens, thanking them for their generosity and support!
Pro tip: Create these sponsorships in the off-season and benefit from them when your team is busy playing. This can be a great low-effort baseball fundraising option for your players. Offer different sponsorship levels to appeal to all kinds of businesses.
Show up to a team practice and get team pictures and individual pictures of all members of your team. Also, make sure to snag some action shots during practice!
With your baseball fundraising committee, create a calendar that features pictures of your team. Sites like Calendar Fundraising or Printing Center USA make it simple for teams, clubs, and individuals to create custom calendars and raise funds.
You can sell calendars online through a Donorbox donation page, or in person at your games.
Use a donation kiosk to collect in-person payments for your calendars and other merchandise. The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app turns your tablet and card reader into a nimble donation magnet. Your donors can give with their cards, smartphones, or smartwatches.
Learn more in this short video!
Build Your Donation Kiosk Today
During the summer, consider hosting a one-day or multi-day baseball boot camp for beginners. Create a schedule for what each day will hold. For example, if you host a three-day boot camp, perhaps day one is spent learning how to pitch, day two is spent learning how to hit, and day three is spent learning how to play well in the outfield.
Once you have created this schedule, reach out to community members and let them know the date, location, and schedule for this boot camp. Encourage players on your team to tell their friends and classmates about the boot camp. Create a Donorbox Events page to sell tickets to your camp for an easy way to collect registrations, donations, and any additional information needed about your campers.
Pro tip: On your first game of the year, have an “all-star” from your boot camp throw the first pitch and incorporate boot camp attendees into your seventh-inning stretch entertainment. This is an extra incentive for them to participate, and it is a good way to generate intereste for the next boot camp!
This baseball fundraising idea will require some connections. If anyone in your team’s network knows a professional baseball player, ask them to donate a signed item to raffle off for your baseball team. Host an in-person or virtual raffle and turn this into a fun event for your team!
You can sell raffle tickets online through a Donorbox donation page or Events page. This will make it easy to draw your winners, as you will know exactly how many tickets each person purchased.
The unsung heroes of every baseball season are the fundraisers. That’s you! You are a hero, helping your kids have access to team sports, build their confidence, and more.
With these baseball fundraising ideas, your team can raise much-needed funds for travel, individual development, and new gear. Good luck on a winning season and winning baseball fundraisers!
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Megan Koontz