Local sports teams can really bring a community together. They can help young people all the way to older adults stay active and are also a great way to make friends. Local teams, however, are usually run entirely on community support. This means that someone volunteers their time to organize events and make things happen.
While volunteering and working together do go a long way, sometimes your team will just need money. This might be to make a tournament happen, it may be to give your chosen sports pitch an upgrade, or it may be for charity. Regardless of why you may need to raise money to support your local team, here are the top four ways to do it:
1. Sell Custom Merch
Merchandising is a smart way to drum up both morale and financial support. It’s also very easy to do. For example, you can create a series of shirts to sell at your games. Or you can even sell equipment. You can create your own custom pickleball paddle, for example, and sell the extras that your team isn’t using to drum up funds for the rest of the season.
Custom merchandise can be swapped out on a year-by-year basis as well. It’s what professional teams do to not only date the merchandise they sell but also to keep fans coming back for more. Depending on the size and visibility of your local team, you, too, can make a killing at selling small collections of merchandise to fans.
2. Host Charity Games
Host charity games between you and a rival team where all tickets go towards your specific cause. This cause can be to refurbish your training facilities, or it may go directly to a charity of your choosing. Either way, having a friendly game, or going through themed challenges for money, has long been a great way for sports teams to drum up interest and money.
3. Partner with Local Businesses
Raffles are another great way to raise money. If it’s for a good cause, like supporting a kids’ team or a charity, you can likely get local businesses to donate items for the prize fund. The money you raise will then go directly into helping your community in one way or another. As a repayment for the donation, you will then advertise that business to those supporting your community movement.
You may just support the businesses during the raffle event or may put their logo on your jersey. It’s up to you and the specific deal you work out with your donators.
4. Have Donation Boxes
Donation boxes or their more modern equivalent of a tap to pay £5 is a great way to get donations, especially for good causes like youth engagement programs or other charity programs. Anything that’s organized for kids, in particular, is a good candidate for this type of funds raising since parents and families want to support their own kids, their friends’ children, or their child’s friends. It’s a great way to give kids a chance to grow up safe and supported in their wider community.
