New jerseys, gear, entry fees, retreats—the list of ways to enhance your team’s experience is endless, but the methods to finance them are often limited. Interestingly, recent trends in online poker fundraisers have offered a new way to gather support from the community. Many sports teams and community groups are exploring online poker events, which engage local supporters in a dynamic way while generating necessary funds. Although there’s no universal solution to fundraising, events like these can provide the inspiration needed to kickstart your team’s next project and bring in substantial resources.
Whether its your booster club, team, or program looking to raise funds and increase school spirit, here’s a few of our favorite ideas that we’ve seen across the network:
Jail-N-Bail – DeSoto High School (KS)
$10 files a warrant to arrest members of the community with phony allegations like “impersonating a golfer,” “failure to yield at the end of a sentence,” and “wearing pants way too high.” Once served with the warrant for their ‘arrest,’ the jailbirds are placed in a jail cell, a mug shot is taken, and they must call family/friends to raise bail.
Cheerleading Day – Pickens High School (SC)
Blue Flame cheerleaders dedicated their time to teach younger members of the community motion drills, jump technique, stunting fundamentals and sideline spirit in a day camp for a donation to the program. The campers, led by the PHS cheerleaders, performed a showcase at the conclusion of camp.
Lap-a-Thon – Gilmer High School (GA)
Anyone who has ever ran distance before knows that the hardest part isn’t necessarily the physical aspect, but the mental component of the sport, and in true Cross Country fashion, the Bobcats’ ‘hardest fundraiser,’ forces participants to run for an hour and a half around the track without stopping, with the main goal of seeing who can run the most laps consecutively in that time. Each lap ran accumulates money from sponsors, and all proceeds go towards funding the team.
Lift-A-Thon – Avon Lake (OH)
Earlier this Summer, the Shoremen football team held their 26th annual lift-a-thon, where players perform their max in 4 lifts, including the squat, hang clean, bench press, and deadlift in front of a crowd. Donations could be made in a player’s name, or to the team generally. Whittier Christian (CA) has a similar event coming up, the Push-Up-a-Thon, and Gilmer.
3 v. 3 Soccer Tournament – Roy High School (UT)
In the warm up to the Utah Spring Season, the Roy Royals Boys Soccer team held a 3v3 soccer tournament. At $20 per player, it was billed as a tune up for the year’s games across all levels, with teams starting at age 6 through adult.
Home Run Derby – Desert Ridge High School (AZ)
To help assist a teammate with unforeseen medical costs, the Jaguars held a home run derby. Split into two age groups, “19 and over” and “18 and under,” participants paid $20 to hit baseballs out of the park. The total raised, including raffles, auctions, and concessions, was $2,671!
Top Golf – Lakota West High School (OH)
Instead of practicing their own sport, the Firebirds of Lakota West held a fundraiser at the local West Chester Top Golf branch. At $100 per golfer, the cost included heavy appetizers, soft drinks, and visits from Lakota West NFL alumns Jordan Hicks (Philadelphia Eagles) and Ryan Kelly (Indianapolis Colts).
Local Restaurant Events – Erie (CO), Lowell (MI), Westonka (MN)
If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s food. Several schools connected with local restaurants and held fundraisers there. Whether the deal was for a portion of the day’s earnings donated back to the school (Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings are good national candidates for this), an ‘all-you-can-eat’ Belgian Waffles special, or selling coupons, this idea is a simple turn-key way to start earning.
