Fundraising ideas for sports clubs

1. Take on a sports challenge

Use your team’s sporting prowess and enter some of the great sporting events we have here in Australia. With so many awesome sports events to choose from, we’ve helped narrow your search with some top suggestions. You don’t need big money fundraising ideas for sports clubs, just commitment and enthusiasm.

You can receive sponsorship in various ways, like flat donations, per-kilometre pledges or getting a company to match donations. You can also use social media to raise awareness. Post training updates on TikTok, inspirational messages and memes on Instagram, and gain support on Facebook sports-specific groups.

When choosing an event, don’t forget training time – you don’t want to injure yourself. For marathon fundraising, it can take about 12 to 16 weeks to train, while a casual fun run won’t need much at all. Don’t be too ambitious. You can still raise decent money while enjoying yourself.

8 sports challenge fundraising ideas:

1. Sydney Marathon, Melbourne Marathon or Gold Coast Marathon
2. City2Surf
3. Ultra-Trail Australia
4. The Aussie Ocean Swim
5. Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
6. Tough Mudder
7. Mother’s Day Classic
8. Run for the Kids

Simply start training with your team and set yourselves up with a GoFundMe page. Ask friends and family to sponsor you, with proceeds going to a specific team goal.

Don’t forget to share lots of updates on your GoFundMe and tell everyone how you go on the day.

2. Get local sponsorship for your sports club

This is a great way to get local businesses involved in your community.

First, prep your sponsorship proposal structure. This can include your sports club’s overview, the audience you expect to reach, the benefits for sponsors and logo placement options. Focus on building long-term relationships, such as annual partnerships or recognition events.

It’s very important that you time your outreach properly. Don’t start a few weeks before the event. A successful fundraiser usually starts months ahead.

Tips for getting your team sponsored:

• Create tiered sponsorship packages like bronze, silver and gold for different amounts.
• Write an outreach letter to potential sponsors that explains the benefits of supporting your team – the importance of the cause and the benefits for them.
• Speak to personal contacts, such as work colleagues and individuals from your local community.
• Ask individuals, groups and businesses from your local community, like gyms, hardware stores, realtors and car dealerships – there are plenty of options.
• Reach out to national corporations that might be able to help.

3. School holiday skills camp

You’ve got a team of kids with skills, right? Why not put them to work and help them teach their talents to others? Run a school holiday workshop for younger kids, where your more experienced players run through drills. They can even end the day with a small-sided game with the parents watching. This could be a footie coaching clinic, a netball skills workshop, cricket batting practice – anything that’s feasible. Divide these camps into age-appropriate groups, like U8s-U12s and teens.

Create a basic pricing framework, say $25-$50 per child per day, depending on the sport and location. Get your logistics in order. Book a venue, schedule volunteers to help run the event, and gather the equipment.

Market these camps using methods like school newsletters, social media and word of mouth. Remember that you have a duty of care, so screen all volunteers and arrange on-site first aid services.

4. Walkathon

This has always been one of the best fundraising ideas for sports clubs, as it’s something that you can easily do together as a group and it doesn’t have to take too much physical exertion.

5 walkathon fundraising ideas for sports clubs:

1. Choose a course in your local area that includes as many different communities as possible.
2. Take a 100 km challenge over several days or spread across a month.
3. Set up a relay walk where each member of the team takes turns to do their leg of the journey.
4. Do a family-friendly walk that’s suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
5. Organise a more challenging walk in the outback or along a coastal path.

Plan your route carefully, always check with your local council or other appropriate bodies about the logistics of organising such an event and whether you need a permit and insurance. It’s also important to check accessibility so people with wheelchairs can participate. You may also need to organise regular water stations along the route, if the walk is longer.

You can use various fundraising methods, like per-kilometre financial pledges, direct donations or corporate sponsorship. Engage your local community through media promotion and school partnerships, and encourage families to participate together. Invite as many people as possible to register and ask them to pay a participation fee. On the day, you could even have something special at the end, such as drinks for sale and a sausage sizzle.

5. Organise a competition

A tried and tested fundraising idea for sports clubs is to organise your own competition or event. For example, a charity tournament is a great way of bringing your club and the community together. It could be a junior football tournament, a touch footie competition or a netball shoot-out. Choose a venue that has insurance, ample parking and accessibility amenities.

You can use different tournament formats: round-robin, knockout or mixed abilities, for example. Set up food and drinks stalls and sell merchandise. Get the community involved too, using local media, social media and school partnerships.

6. Trivia night

Everyone loves a trivia night, don’t they?! It’s one of the best fundraising event ideas. Organise one to raise money by charging for entry and selling drinks and snacks.. For venues, you can use RSL clubs, pubs or community halls.

Ask someone to be the quizmaster or use online platforms to generate questions. Use popular Australian themes like sports, local history, modern pop culture and regional geography. Promote your event in every available channel. Create a Facebook event, and have it featured in school newsletters and the local media. Word of mouth is also powerful.

7. Start a GoFundMe for your team

One of the easiest ways of fundraising for sports clubs is to start a GoFundMe. You could connect it to an event like a walkathon or use crowdfunding on its own.

Set up a GoFundMe fundraiser with a clear goal and a compelling story, and enhance it with photos or videos. Include your club history, why you need help and what your specific needs are, like jerseys or equipment. Emphasise the positive impact that fundraising will have on your team. Create realistic targets based on your club size and community reach. The optimal duration for you should be 30-60 days.

Promote your fundraiser on social media, school networks and local media. You can also use email outreach. Make sure to provide weekly progress updates, milestone celebrations and thank-you messages from team members to give positive feedback and encourage more community participation.

Sports club fundraising examples

Now that you have fundraising ideas for sports clubs, here are examples of successful sports fundraisers.

Saving Ardmona Football Netball Club

Ardmona Football and Netball Club asked their community to help save their club from extinction.

With a long and proud history, the club’s spirit remained high during challenging times. However, this togetherness could only get them so far, and they needed help financing the club rooms and ground facilities that were falling into disrepair.

With the help of crowdfunding, they have a safe, happy, healthy outlet for the Ardy Bush Cats.

Helping a local club achieve a renovation dream

Bells Park Sports Club have used GoFundMe to help raise money for a desperately needed renovation. The function room and member facilities needed an upgrade, but unforeseen events blew out renovation costs and delayed the re-opening of the club.

They used crowdfunding to urgently appeal to members of the community to make donations, ensuring their facilities open again to loyal members.

Bundaberg basketball flood recovery

When Bundaberberg basketball experienced flooding, their community needed help to get their facilities repaired and their basketball community back to playing the sport they love. By starting a GoFundMe, they were able to raise the funds needed to repair the basketball court, replace equipment, and other needs.

Junior sports fundraising considerations

Unlike fundraising ideas for adult sports clubs, those for junior sports teams come with specific considerations.

• Parent engagement: When asking for assistance, create realistic time commitments and communicate clearly. Rotate responsibilities and celebrate their contributions.
• Age-appropriate activities: Carefully choose the sports activities, bearing in mind the age of the children. Make sure that all ages of kids can safely participate in the fun.
• Safety and supervision: Remember that parents are placing their children’s safety in your hands, so you should diligently screen volunteers, provide first-aid support and be mindful of your duty of care.
• School partnerships: Promote your fundraiser through school networks and parent communities. You can also approach a school to provide facilities if necessary.

Finally, don’t let the fundraising aspect overshadow the kids’ playing time.

How to set up a team fundraiser

If you’re looking to raise money for your sporting team and feel inspired by our fundraising ideas for clubs, then get started on GoFundMe. Donating is easy, meaning GoFundMe appeals to people who haven’t donated online before.

Follow these 8 simple steps to set up a team fundraiser:

1. Enter your personal information.
2. Set your fundraising goal – create realistic targets based on club size, community reach, timeframe.
3. Create your GoFundMe account.
4. Add a cover photo or video
5. Tell your story about why you’re raising funds – craft a compelling narrative about why your club needs funds.
6. Complete your fundraiser registration.
7. Share your fundraiser – describe it clearly and concisely, focusing on benefits. Promote it on social and local media, school networks and via email.
8. Provide weekly progress updates, send thank-you messages and celebrate milestones.

As you can see, setting up your GoFundMe fundraiser couldn’t be easier. There are also heaps of expert fundraising tips on our blog to help you raise the most money possible for your worthy cause.

Start your sports club fundraising journey today

Now you have a great selection of fundraising ideas for sports clubs. You can organise traditional events like sponsored challenges, sports camps, walkathons and trivia quiz nights;  the options are only limited by your imagination.

Combining different methods works better than a single approach. And don’t forget all the modern digital ways to raise money. Fundraising is very achievable with planning and community support.

Your next steps? Choose your fundraising idea, set realistic goals and start a GoFundMe.