Best Booster Club Fundraisers To Support High School Sports
Sierra Swigert Last updated: December 11, 2025
Booster clubs give school sports programs the financial lift they need to thrive. With support from these volunteer groups, teams can cover important costs like uniforms, equipment, and travel that fall outside district budgets.
If you’re leading a booster club, you need fundraising approaches that feel simple, effective, and easy to manage. The right tools and a bit of early planning can help you reach your goals while keeping the process low-stress.
Let’s explore some of the easiest fundraising ideas for busy booster clubs and how to implement them successfully.
Why booster club fundraisers matter
School district budgets are tight, and they don’t always have the funds to cover everything sports programs need. Booster clubs fundraise money to pay for expenses that aren’t included in the district budget — like tournament travel, new equipment and facilities, and even scholarships.
These fundraising efforts keep school programs accessible and inclusive for any student who wants to play. Booster club fundraisers also keep athletic programs thriving with the equipment, uniforms, and coaching that teams need to play their best.
A strong fundraising event can shape a team’s entire season. When athletes know their major costs are covered, they can stay focused on playing well. Fundraisers also bring more energy to the school community by inspiring school spirit and building a growing fan base for each game.
How to plan a successful booster club fundraiser
Successful fundraising events start with early planning and good communication between booster club members. Organizing a fundraiser is a big job, so try delegating key tasks to members based on their roles and skill sets. You might even consider forming committees for event coordination, finances, and marketing.
Digital tools built specifically for nonprofit youth sports can help you stay organized during the event planning process. Jersey Watch can help booster clubs collect payments, organize documents, and communicate with parents and team members.
Below is a simple breakdown to help you carry out your fundraising ideas.
Set clear goals and timelines
Before you start working on the fundraiser, get together with your booster club to brainstorm ideas and set goals.
During this meeting, identify specific funding targets you want to focus on, like new uniforms or facility upgrades. Talk with players, parents, and coaches to figure out which expenses are most pressing, and share your findings with everyone involved for transparency.
Next, build a detailed schedule that helps keep everything on track. Choose a date for the main event, then outline planning and promotional deadlines that lead up to it. After the fundraiser wraps up, hold a follow-up meeting to review finances and map out next steps.
Budget and secure resources
Raising money often requires some upfront spending, so begin by reaching out to local businesses and community partners who may be willing to help cover event costs. A business might sponsor part of your event in exchange for visibility at games or on your website.
Community members might also be willing to provide in-kind donations to help the event run smoothly. For example, local restaurants might be willing to provide food and drinks for your fundraiser. If your booster club is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, your community partners can write off their in-kind donations on their taxes.
Once you confirm your sponsors and partners for the event, create a budget to keep spending on track. Estimate how much you’ll spend on expenses like decorations, venue rentals, and food, and look for ways to save without compromising on quality.
It also helps to project how much you expect to raise based on the number of attendees and typical donation amounts. Use that projection as a reference point so you can make informed choices throughout the planning process to avoid overspending.
Market your fundraiser effectively
Finally, be sure to spread the word about your fundraiser to get the local community excited! Post updates on social media and send out email invitations to your contact list. Work with your school leadership and local business partners to reach a wider audience. Simple in-person marketing strategies like flyers can also make a big impact in your community.
If you have a dedicated high school sports website, it can serve as an online hub for your fundraising event. Your website is the perfect place to share event details and post updates — you can even create a donation page for anyone who wants to contribute, but can’t attend the in-person fundraising event.
As you spread the word, keep your branding consistent across all materials. Adding touches like team colors, logos, or mascots helps make your promotional content more recognizable and memorable.
A booster club website built using Jersey Watch
Popular booster club fundraising ideas
Need to fundraise, but not sure where to start? Use these fundraising event ideas to spark your creativity.
1. Sponsorship drives
Sponsorship drives are fundraising campaigns designed to attract season-long sponsorships from local businesses. With a sponsorship, local businesses pay a certain amount of money to have their logo featured on the team’s uniforms, on banners at games, or on your website. Consider offering tiered sponsorship packages at different price points, with options available for businesses across a variety of budgets.
To do this, work with your team to compile a list of local businesses that could make good sponsorship partners. Then, start connecting with these businesses. You can do this in person at local networking events, or reach out via email or social media.
When networking with potential sponsors, highlight the visibility they can gain. If your football games regularly bring in crowds of several thousand fans, make sure businesses understand the level of exposure that comes with supporting your team.
2. Online donation campaigns
Digital campaigns are a cost-effective way to reach your fundraising goals. With this type of fundraiser, friends, family, and alumni can donate from anywhere, rather than attending a live event.
A central donation website is essential for this type of fundraiser. Include clear instructions for how to give, which payment methods you accept, and how those funds will support the team. Photos of your athletes can make the page feel more inviting.
Once you create your donation webpage, share it via social media and email to encourage donations.
With Jersey Watch, you can accept donations during registration as well as on a dedicated Donate page
3. Merchandise and spirit wear sales
Selling gear branded with your team’s name, logo, or mascot is a fun way to make money and boost school spirit in the process. T-shirts, hats, hoodies, and jerseys are all great options that you can customize and order in bulk for the fundraiser.
There are several places you can sell your team merchandise:
- Sell at the concession stand during games.
- Sell at a booth during other school and community events.
- Sell online using a third party platform such as SquadLocker.
You can promote your merch on your team’s website and social media pages. This also means that family or alumni who live out of town can still buy your merch and rep your team.
4. Event-based fundraisers
Event-based fundraisers bring community members together and create memorable experiences. They raise money while also giving families and fans a chance to socialize and make friends.
Here are some popular choices for event-based fundraisers:
- Car washes
- Movie nights
- Fun runs or walk-a-thons
- Scavenger hunts
- Talent shows
- Trivia contests
- Board game nights
- Silent auctions
- Golf tournaments
Choose activities that match your community’s interests, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box with creative twists that reflect your team culture.
To help the event succeed, begin promoting it a few weeks ahead of time. During the event, encourage attendees to make their donations with digital payment tools. Platforms like Jersey Watch make it easy to collect donations online, saving your booster club volunteers time that would have otherwise been spent handling cash and checks.
5. Seasonal fundraisers
Seasonal school fundraisers make great annual traditions, giving both the team and the community something to look forward to every year. Plus, hosting a fundraiser at the same time each year gives your booster club a predictable source of income.
For the winter holidays, you could host a themed bake sale or gift raffle. December is a particularly lucrative month for donations, as many people are looking for year-end tax write-offs. In 2024, nonprofits generated about 40% of their online revenue in December.
For Valentine’s Day, the team could sell chocolates or other candy grams, and summer fundraisers are great opportunities to host outdoor cook-offs or field days to take advantage of the warm weather.
Tips to boost participation and success
Strong community participation is key to any fundraiser’s success. Here’s how to get people involved — and maximize donations.
Communicate often and clearly
Provide regular fundraising updates to athletes, parents, community volunteers, and donors. Even simple reminders via text message or email can help boost event attendance. Many donors also like hearing how their money was spent after the event is over.
Keep in mind that you may need to send more than one event reminder to get your audience’s attention. With busy schedules and crowded inboxes, messages are easy to miss the first time.
To save time and effort, try writing updates ahead of time and using automated messaging tools to send them in bulk. Jersey Watch’s announcements feature makes it easy to post updates to your club’s website or send them via text and email.
Show appreciation and celebrate milestones
A simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way with your donors, sponsors, and volunteers, making them more likely to get involved in future fundraising events. There are plenty of creative ways to say thank you, whether it be a personalized thank-you note or even a spotlight post on your social media pages.
Sharing exciting milestones is also a fun way to boost morale and excitement. After the fundraiser is over, share a recap on your website and social media pages announcing the total amount raised and sharing fun photos from the event.
Evaluate and improve for next time
Once the fundraiser is over, have a follow-up meeting with your booster club to identify what went well and what to adjust to improve future events. Short surveys are a great tool for this: Create a quick questionnaire with Google Forms or a similar platform and email it to attendees to collect their feedback.
Keep a record of your notes, survey responses, and event data so you can refer to them when planning your next fundraiser.
Simplify fundraising and communication with Jersey Watch
For many school sports teams, booster club fundraisers make a meaningful difference. With thoughtful planning, strong communication, and a bit of creativity, you can host an event that helps your athletes reach their fundraising goals.
Hosting a fundraiser doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Jersey Watch can help you manage the event from start to finish on one convenient platform. With Jersey Watch, you can create team websites with event pages, send updates to club members and donors, and even collect donations online.
Make your next fundraiser your most successful one yet: Get started with Jersey Watch today!
