Sports can cost not just your time, but it can really rack up the dollar signs. I remember canning constantly, and I absolutely hated it. So, I’m here to tell you that there are so many other ways you can raise money for your team. To get the best out of any fundraising that you do you want to:
Be Super Organized- Nobody likes a mess. So you want to have certain leaders for the day of the events. It also helps to have only one or two point people that answers all the questions
Share, share share! – Create handouts that your team can hand out, bring to local businesses (they may let you put them at the front desk, spread the word on Facebook, Instagram, on your website. Contact us, we can create some killer graphics for you to spread the word! Mention this blog and we will give you your first graphic free! Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth! Tell everyone you know!
Get Samples of Products – If at all possible, get samples! Not only do you want to see if it’s a great product. It’s helpful to have samples to sell whatever product you are getting. People love to see exactly what they are getting into!
Keep Tabs on your Profits – When you are dealing with a lot of cash flow. Do yourself and your team a great favor and keep tabs of it all with either a accounting program like Quickbooks, or even just an Excel Sheet. Create a spreadsheet for each fundraiser as well. You’ll want to keep track of how much you are spending, what fundraisers work and don’t work, what you get your most ROI (return on investment) on.
So, let’s get to it! Here is the MEGA LIST – 85 Ideas for Fun Fundraisers for your Cheer Team!
- Clothing Fundraiser
You can sell clothing with your team’s name or catch phrase on it. Don’t just do one and done. You can do new styles with each season; tanks and shorts for summer and hello hoodie season!
We can create clothing fundraiser two different ways. You choose your styles, we have hundreds of options to choose from. Then we create designs for you or just use your actual team logo. After that you can either have a page specifically for your team on our website. We then take, make and ship all of the orders. Then mail you a check of your profit. Or we can create a form for you to print and hand out for your teammates. You then collect all the orders and one big bulk order.
- Sponsor Tees
Not only do you want to do a clothing fundraiser but you could also do sponsor tees. These are T-shirts where your team wears them all season long or even do them for a big completion/event. You get your team logo on the front and sell “sponsorship” spots for the back of the shirt. You can ask local businesses and in return they get their logo and info on the back of those shirts. Great exposure for them and money for your team!
Along with selling sponsorships to business, you can have friends and family purchase a spot on the shirts too. Sell a line for a shout out for specific girls on the back of those shirts.
- Sponsorships
Not only do sponsor shirts work you can sell spots on your team’s website and even sell banners to business. These banners can be displayed in your gym or on football fields
- Candy
Timing can really help this one! If you want to sell more candy, time this fundraiser near Valentine’s day. You can also sell candy at each football game, or during a cheer completion of your team hosts one.
- Jewelry
This one can be really great if you time this one for prom season or Mother’s Day. Make sure you get a company that has jewelry beautiful enough for prom night!
- Get Flocked!
This one can be great fun! This is where you take those lawn flamingos and they “flock” to someone’s house. Have people give you money for each flamingo. The more flamingos they buy, the more flamingos that go on their lawn. You go out one day and put he flamingos on each house that purchased the flamingos.
- Flowers
The usual times people sell flowers are for Mother’s Day, Easter. Take a step outside the box and sell bouquets of flowers for Senior Day, Prom, Or Competition Day.
- Gift Auction/Tricky Tray
This one will take up a lot of your time but if you do it right, you can take in a lot of money for your team. If you haven’t been to one, this is where people buy tickets to try and win prizes that you are auctioning off.
Collect gifts/items/ gift certificates to be auctioned off. Hit up local businesses to see if anyone will donate anything first. You also want to try and get someone big to draw people on. If you can’t get businesses to donate something big use money from other fundraisers to purchase items like TVs, iPads, or even Disney passes, Etc.
So basically, you take all the prizes and put them together in baskets to be auctioned off. Have different price points too. So people will have to purchase less expensive or more expensive tickets to put in for the prizes they want to win.
Some other great items for s night like this are lottery or scratch off tickets!
You can also sell sponsorship spots for this fundraiser. Have businesses or shout outs just like you did on the shirts, but instead of shirts you put them in the programs for that night or swag bags you may hand out.
- Raffle for King & Queen
So, this one can be fun for the winners! Have students pay a dollar for a chance to become King or Queen for the day. This could mean they get special perks for the entire day, best parking spot at school, free lunch, maybe even special announcement at a school event like a football game, a state fair (buy then passes for all the rides/food vouchers)
- Beauty Pageants
You can host a beauty pageant, can even make it double the fun by doing a mother-daughter or mother-son themed one.
Ways to make money with this one. Have entry fees to actually participate in the pageant. Sell tickets to get into the pageant as a guest. Sell food, drinks, candy at the pageant. Have some baskets to be auctioned off at the event. Sell sponsorships. Host a money raffle at the event.
- Fashion Show
Rent some amazing gowns or even team up with local fashion businesses. They will have great exposure from the day of the event. You can raise money with this one just like the pageant!
- Casino Night
Much like the others, this one will take up a lot of time planning, but the outcome can be great. This one, you don’t typically see around. You can jazz up a hall or even the school gym.
Hire a casino company to come in, there are some that bring all the tables, equipment and such needed to Bring the casino to you! Blackjack tables, roulette, etc.
- Comedy Night
This is great for good laughs! Hire a comedian, sell tickets, food and booze! If you don’t want the headache by doing all the food and drinks, see if a local restaurant or banquet hall will do all that and you get percentages of the profits from the night
You can sell tickets to get in, possibly have food to purchase or just a buffet. Sell casino bucks , and also have a smaller gift auction and money raffle.
- Summer Fun!
This one we can certainly help you out with. We have these amazing flip flops and slides that can be customized with your team names and colors on them. Match them with beach towels, beach bags and sunglasses all with your team logo on them.
- Car wash
This one is tried and true, host a car wash for the day! The kids have fun hanging out with each other while they wash cars and people pay them to wash their cars.
- Turkey Time
Time this one during Thanksgiving. You can sell frozen turkeys for a profit and also look up fundraisers that offer pies, cheesecakes or other delicious treats for Thanksgiving Dinner!
- Pig Roast!
This one is just like hosting a party! You can obviously sell food at this one. But also think outside the box. You can rent a bounce house, or other fair rides and sell tickets to get on them.
Have games where the participants need to pay to join in on the fun. Dunk Tank, see if the principal, some teachers or coaches will get in there!
- Cookie Dough
What’s better then raw cookie dough, yum! There are companies that do these and time this one near Christmas time! Who doesn’t love cookies near Christmas!?
- Wrapping Gifts
Speaking of Christmas, I personally hate wrapping gifts. Have people pay you to wrap their gifts too! The overhead is low, all you need is wrapping paper, tape and scissors! The more teammates and parents you have involved, the more presents you can wrap.
- Cupcake Or Water Balloon Wars!
Sell cupcakes not just for eating but you can also host a cupcake war! The more cupcakes you buy, the more you can throw at people!
If you don’t want to waste a perfectly tasty treat, you can have water balloon wars. You supply all the water balloons and people can buy each water balloon for you. Hit up the dollar stores or see if business will donate some water guns to buy that day as well!
If you are doing a water balloon war, I’m sure it’s in the summer and it’s hot out. So maybe have some lemonade to purchase!
- Face Painting
Another great idea is to have a face painter at any of these event that will have kiddos. I know my daughters love their face painted!
- The Straw Draw
This is also a great extra for any of your events, even think about doing this at a football game! It’ll give the younger siblings something to do.
So all you need is a pack of straws and small prizes. Write down a perk or a prize and attach it to each straw. Have people purchase to Grab a straw. It’s a win-win, they get something and you raise money for your team
- Pizza and Movie Night
Who can resist a hot, Chelsey delicious slice of pizza!? Host a pizza night and either have an outdoor movie or see if you can set something up on a projection screen in your local school gym.
You can try and collaborate with a local pizza place or just purchase a couple of pies and charge by the slice. Sell tickets to get into the movie and don’t forget the drinks and movie candy!
- Cake War!
So this night can be loads of fun and you can make a lot of money. Host a night where everyone comes in a decorates their own cake. Have everyone go around and put money in the cake that they like the most. The person with the most money wins! Have a small prize for the winner and you just earned a lot of money for your team.
- Pictures with Santa or the Easter Bunny
People are paying to get their kids ( and pets!) with Santa and the Easter Bunny. So be sure to hire a real good Santa, and bunny and have a local photographer or you can take the pictures yourself. There are printers you can bring in and pricing great quality prints right on the spot!
- Vendor Fair
This one is great to host around Christmas time. You can sell spots to vendors and businesses in your area. They will love the exposure and the fact they are helping out a local team. You can then sell tickets to get into the vendor fair, and raffle off items (hopefully donated by your vendors) , money or lotto tickets !
Double and even triple up fundraisers by having Santa come to this one! Sell money for the vendor fair and pictures with Santa! Host it for breakfast and have breakfast with Santa. Sell food, drinks, and a good fun!
- Gingerbread Wars
Same as the cake challenge, but do this one decorating gingerbread houses. You can host this part at at vendor/breakfast with Santa!
- Pumpkin Patch
You can go to a local farm and buy pumpkins, then sell them for a profit.
- Pumpkin Carving Contest
Much like the cake and gingerbread wars, apply the same concept to carved pumpkins!
- The Olympics
This one can be fun all around. You can host a local Olympics. You can have a field day by doing all sorts of Olympic Games. Where everyone participates to try to win the final prize.
You can charge registration fees for the teams competing, on lookers to get into watch the days events. Also good, drinks, raffles , the day is action packed, money making machine for your team.
- Scavenger Hunt
Host a day where participants go through a scavenger hunt. By the end of the event, the team with the most points win. You can charge registration fee to play.
Ask local business to supply the winner with a prize!
- Karaoke Night
This could be fun for a night of singing! Team up with a local restaurant for this one. Many restaurants host nights where they give portions of the proceeds from the night to the team or organization. Double it up with karaoke night where participants must pay to sing!
- Chain of Support
For this one you can have people pay to write their name and short message on a piece of paper. You can do hearts, stars , silhouette of your mascot, or just make a paper chain. Then have that chain displayed in your organizations gym, school, etc.
- Paint and Sip
This one is a great night! There are many local businesses that host nights like these. It’s usually BYOB, but you can gather a group, and pay to learn how to paint a certain way. Each participant has to pay to be there and your team will get a portion of the proceeds
- Learn a Trait
Much like the paint and sip, this one you sell tickets to get in. Think outside the box! You can hire an expert in a specific trait. Whether it be gardening, pottery, painting, photography, etc. So, people will pay for a class with this expert, and a portion of the proceeds!
- Tie-Dye Day
So with this one you can either sell plain white tees or you can have us put your logo on white tees. We can Screen print them, so they are less expensive. Just contact us at sales@tamelessdesigns.com to get your order in. So anyways, you can host a day where you Sell the T-shirt’s and make a profit. And then you can sell tie dye kits. This one can be double duty, you get to have some time with the team and make money. Each person does their own tee and shows off their uniqueness. after the event you’ll have the tees to show off and some great memories!
If you don’t want to do just a tie dye event, team it up with another day event! Whether you do it at a football game, competition, vendor fair, pig roast, or event at pizza and movie night
- Golf Tournament
This one you can sell registration fees. You can also sell sponsorships locations to businesses. Where you can get local businesses to donate money per hole. Then post a small banner of that business information at that exact hole.
You can also have participants have raise funds themselves. They can collect pledges from friends and family to donate towards your teams fund.
- Marathon, Walk-a-thon or Bike a thon
Same goes for each of these events. Sell registration fees. And each participant can get their own sponsors to pledge money for them. By them doing the marathons people will donate either some money per mile or just something for them to participate. However you’d like to run it!
Also reach out to local business to sponsor the event. You can sell event shirts (contact fundraising@tamelessdesigns.com). You can sell food, drinks and do raffle for the day of the event!
- Color or Mud Run
This one is just like the marathons but your participants are going through the race on a mud course or have colored powder thrown at them while they are running!
- Cheer Competition
So, this one will take a lot to plan but if done right you can gain a lot of revenue. By hosting a cheer competition, you can raise money by having: team registration fees, vendors tables, flowers, shout outs, candy grams, food and drinks and host raffles that day.
- Cheer Showcase
So in the beginning of the season your team can host a showcase. This will be the first time your team will showcase their routine in front of a crowd. Invite friends and family! Be sure to charge admission fees and sell candy grams, shout outs before each team goes to do their routine. Raffles, Flowers, vendor tables could also bring some money for the day.
- Best Seat in the House
This works great for schools. You can raffle off the best seat to the winner for a sporting event. Sweeten the pot by adding on some team swag to the winner. Sports Games get packed, so spread the word through the whole school.
- Principal (or head coach) punishment
This one can be loads of fun. Run this for a while and have all the students or teams participate. Each person can vote for their favorite punishment by donating money. The punishment with the most votes is exactly what will Happen.
This one can be as simple as a silly costume or to be put in a dunk tank at another event your hosting.
- Popcorn
Much like candy, this one is selling popcorn. Choose a popcorn vendor with high profit margins and plenty of flavor options. Do this around the holidays or sporting event for most participation.
- Talent Show
Host a talent show to have fun and raise funds. Raise money by having registration fees and admission fees. Bonus is you sell merchandise for the show as well as food and another raffle at the event. You can also sell vendor tables
- Book Drive
Ask friends and family to donate books they no longer want. Host a used book day at a local school or organization. Be sure or organize the books according to topic! The more organized it is, the easier it will be for people to find books.
- Football Boxes
This one is great for Super Bowl or even just when your team is playing a big game! You have a grid and sell each box in the grid.
There are many ways to play. One way would be to have a winner at the end of each quarter and then the final score. The winner is determined by the s looking at the last number in each team’s score for that quarter. You then match those numbers on the grid, see whose box is intersecting those two numbers.
- Auction A Date
This is where you auction off a date with well-known person within your community. Could be a local celebrity, local athlete superstar.
- Photography
Who doesn’t love photos of their children?! Have a photographer come in and take photos of each individual and then as a team. The photographer then takes orders for the prints. You then get a portion of the proceeds
- Photography Slates
Speaking of photography, we have these pretty amazing skates that we can actually print your photography onto them. They could be great sellers for your team too! Just let us know you want to make it into a fundraiser for the team!
Fundraising@tamelessdesigns.com
- Keychains
To keep the photos going, we also have keychains available to be printed on! We have a variety of shapes available like footballs, megaphones, circles and more!
- Christmas Ornaments
Not only do we have the photo slated and keychains. Why not make a Christmas time fundraiser! We have Christmas ornaments that we can print your pictures on!
Fundraising@tamelessdesigns.com
- Girls day!
You can have an afternoon of pampering. Have local vendors come in and you can work out to have a Portion of the proceeds. Make it themed, fun and relaxing! Manicures, Pedicures, massages, spa treatments, even bring in some local jewelry and clothing boutiques.
- Solo Cup Party
Have a cocktail party where guests must buy their solo cups at the door. Make sure it’s a wildly inflated price!
- Sky Lanterns
Host an event where you set off sky lanterns m. Each person sending off wishes for something at send off. Sell the lanterns as part of the fundraiser
- Haircut party!
Find local hairdressers that are willing to donate their time or just willing to give portion of the proceeds. Could do makeup , or even team this fundraiser with the day of pampering!
- Yard sale
People always have something they need to get rid of. Have them donate their items to a team yard sale.
- Dog wash
Have a day where your team washes dogs for the day! People love their pets, even more when they smell great!
- Coupon Book
Reach out to local businesses to see if they’d like to participate. They offer sweet deals and you sell the coupons in one big book!
- Paddle Race
Host a paddle race contest at the beach. Take registration fees, host it with a BBQ to sell some food and drinks. Also let he beach goers place bets on who will win.
- Volley Ball tournament
Host a fun volleyball tournament. Each team should have to pay a registration fee. Let bystanders place bets on who will win.
- Football Swap
Have the cheerleaders swap places with the football team for one big charity Game.
- Kickball tournament
For most, this game will bring back great memories from gym class! It’s one of the first many kids learn, so mostly everyone knows the rules! So, anyone can have a team! Be sure to take registration fees
- Hold clinics
This can be great if you have coaches or a team that’s amazing. You can host themed cheer clinics. Break it down so you can host more than one. Invite local teams and coaches!
Have one for tumbling, stretching, flying, basing, backspoting, dance, stunting, building core muscles, conditioning, etc. Be sure to charge entrance fees
- Beer Pong Tournament
Many people love beer. So make it fun and host a beer pong tournament! Adults only!
- Bowling Games
Have a fun night of bowling! Gather teams and charge registration fees. Be sure to sell event tees, food and beverages for the day!
- Host a Chili Cookoff!
What’s better than a hot steamy bowl of delicious chilly. Have participants pay to enter the contest. You have either judges or have everyone put money in a cup by their favorite chilly. The bowl of chili with the most money wins!
- Popsicle Stand
Something great for the summer! Sell popsicles or other sweet and cold treats on a hot summer day!
- Pancake Party
Pancakes are super easy to make and are relatively inexpensive. So, host a great pancake breakfast, all you can eat! Yummy
- Garage Band Bash
Host a garage hero’s concert. You can have local bands donate their time for a good cause. Be sure to sell event tees, food and beverages! Plus, you can reach out to local vendors that might be willing to pay to have a table at the event
- Cute Baby Contest
Everyone has the cutest baby! Host a contest where each participant needs to lay an entrance fee to get into the contest. You then have everyone vote, the baby with the most likes wins ! Make it a really juicy prize so more people join in!
- Fundraising Bracelets
Simple, inexpensive and can bring the team together m. Take preorders for those fun silicone bracelets with your team’s name on it
- On Site Tameless Day!
We can come to you! People LOVE custom clothing, and I get many people that are super excited to see their shirts made right there. So, we can come to you! If you are holding an event, we bring the tees and our equipment. You don’t have to buy any kind of inventory upfront, we bring everything- you get percentage of the event’s sales.
What’s so great? We can create a custom logo, or a few different options for people to choose from. We can put custom names on the spot, or even change it to specific colors right then and there!
84. Water Bottles
Since you are doing sports, these can be a huge hit! We have water bottles that we can customize to your liking. We can put your logo, team name, team pictures, etc! Sell them as a fundraiser to make some extra cash.
85. Food Trucks!
Talk about delicious treat! At any of your events, or just hold a food truck day at your gym! Have a variety of food trucks come to you and get percentage of the proceeds. Don’t forget the ice cream truck!
Fundraising is a whole lot of work. With SO many organizations out there raising funds for their cause, you want to make sure your fundraising stands out from the crowd. So be sure to be super organized and make it as fun as possible. Have meetings with your teams, boards , or whoever you put in charge of fundraising. Make sure you don't have just one person doing it all either. There is only so much one person can do! Gather a team of people who can focus and work together on the fundraising to make it the best year yet!
One final, bonus idea! People LOVE Free and they LOVE Winning! So with ANY of these fundraisers, make it a game. Whether you have a full year, or monthly, (however you'd like to run it) contest among everyone in your organization. The team or person with the most money fundraising gets a special prize at the end! Whether that be a party for the team, maybe some free cheer clinics or privates for individuals, free team swag, or just reach out to local businesses for some prizes. A massage maybe, or even a weekend getaway?! - they'll want to relax at the end of all that hard work! Incentives most definitely work so use them to your advantage!
Do you have an idea that I haven't listed? Want to share your experience in fundraising using one of these ideas? Comment below, message us or even tag us in your fundraising posts! We'd love to see them!