Online Fundraising for a High School Football Team

Overview

As a coach of a high school football team, raising funds can be a challenge. From budget gaps to new equipment to travel expenses, the cost of running a successful football program can quickly add up. In a recent survey by Coach & AD Magazine, 83% of High School Athletic Directors said that they faced some sort of budget gap. In that same survey the average gap they needed to cover was large, about 14% of their total budget! Fortunately, online fundraising and crowdfunding offer a great way to engage your community and raise money for your team. In this blog post, we’ll explore some tips on how to use online fundraising to raise money for your high school football team.

Here are our tips for using online fundraising to support your high school football team:

1. Identify an online fundraising partner

The first step to launching an online fundraising campaign is to find a digital fundraising partner. What is the best online fundraising platform for football teams? Here are some questions to ask to help you find a company that best fits your needs:

• What does it cost? Most online fundraising companies operate on a revenue share basis – they keep a % of the funds raised and your football team gets the rest. This percentage ranges from 2.9% + $0.30 a transaction to 40% of funds raised.
• How much time do I have? This range in revenue share percentages above reflects the level of effort and time that will be required from you and your team – from significant time and effort on the low end of the range to minimal effort at the high end of the range.
• Are there any hidden costs? Some online fundraising partners charge hidden fees, everything from credit card fees to participation fees (if a certain % of your student-athletes don’t participate in the campaign). Top online fundraising companies, like eTeamSponsor, pay for credit card processing and never charge hidden fees.
• When do I get my funds? More established online fundraising companies, like eTeamSponsor, will send you your money quickly, every 30 days or so. Other, less reputable, fundraising companies wait up to five weeks after your campaign is completed before you get your funds.

2. Promote your fundraising campaign

Once you’ve created your fundraising campaign, it’s time to promote it to your community. The top online fundraising tools, like TeamFunder from eTeamSponsor, will do this automatically by having your student-athletes upload a list of emails and mobile phone numbers of potential donors (typically family and friends). You can amplify this outreach by sharing the link to your fundraising page on your team’s social media accounts and website. Encourage team members, coaches, and parents to share the link on their personal social media accounts as well. You can also reach out to local businesses and community organizations to see if they would be willing to share your fundraising page with their network.

3. Offer Incentives

4. Say Thank You!

Finally, it’s important to thank your donors for their support. The more effective online fundraising companies, like eTeamSponsor, will make this process easy by automatically sending a thank you (we actually send two, one from us, and another from the student-athlete). If your fundraising partner doesn’t do this for you, be sure to send personalized thank-you notes to everyone who donates to your fundraising campaign. You could also create a video message from your team, thanking donors for their support and sharing how their donations will help your team.

Conclusion

In conclusion, online fundraising offers a powerful way to raise money for your high school football team. By finding the right online fundraising partner, promoting your campaign, offering incentives, hosting a virtual event, and saying thank you, you can engage your community and raise the funds you need to support your team. If you have interest in learning more about how eTeamSponsor can help you raise 2-4X more for your team, fill out the form below and we will be in touch!

Sources:

1 – January 2023 Coach & AD Magazine High School Athletic Director Survey