Interesting. I was browsing the internet for some interesting softball news and this small article about a softball fundraiser caught my eye. Los Gatos High School girls softball program is holding a 1st annual wine tasting later this month to raise funds for their program. Now, I’ve never been to a wine tasting, (though I have friends that go regularly to these things) but I’d certainly check it out for a softball fundraiser!
Sounds like a pretty fun fundraiser if you ask me. This particular one also includes appetizers and live music – so cool!
I hope it goes well for them.
Have you heard of any unique softball fundraisers recently? If so, please leave a comment below and share them here. I’m sure many programs out there are looking for ideas for the upcoming season.
A fundraiser that is successful for us each year is a Hit A Thon. It has no overhead cost. All you need is a pitching machine and time to mark some measurements on your field. Players all get sponsors to donate either a flat donation or a certain amount per foot…and it helps to type up a sponsor sheet with the rules and let the girls have a week or two to get sponsors before the event. During the event, players each get 10 strikes from the pitching machine (we set it at 50mph). Their furthest hit is recorded for the fundraiser. After the Hit A Thon they just go collect from all their sponsors. We raise between 1500 and 3000 each year with this fundraiser. You can either paint or chalk some semi-circle hashmarks in the outfield using a string from home plate. We usually measure off 100ft, 125ft, 150ft, 175ft, and 200ft. Than when each player is hitting you only need to measure from the closest hash mark and either add or subtract the number of feet from the hash to get your actual distance instead of measuring each ball from home plate after each hit…you can also save time by waiting until all 10 strikes have been pitched and measure the one or two that are clearly the longest distance and not measure all the ones at shorter distances. Hope this helps.
Just like the Hit-A-Thon mentioned, we have an upcoming Bowl-A-Thon. The girls also fill out a sponsor sheet with either a flat pledge or a certain amount per pin. They then bowl three games and take thier total score (series) and times that to what was pledged. If it’s per pin, then it’s usually 10 cents per pin. There is even a grand prize for the girl who gets the most pledges…
Should we really be promoting the use of alcohol for kids sports?
@CJC
I was thinking the same thing. My kids are 12u this year. Do I want them involved in serving alcohol? I bet it makes tons of money. I don’t think I’d suggest it though. I struggle enough with the candy sale type things because I don’t encourage the candy eating, but this really gets me.
I even think at a High School age it promotes the wrong message.
Try a rummage sale! Everyone goes through the spring cleaning phase. Why not get the girls to solicit donations from friends and family, organize, and run the event. They could sell snacks & refreshments, do something fun for young kids, and get a local business to sponsor them by letting them use a portion of the parking area.
This would encourage team building and responsibility.
http://www.glitterheadbands.com
This site has many colors of cute glitter headbands that athletes of all ages will love! Sell them to the girls of one school or have a table at a tournament.
My high school sold steaks, chicken, and pork. It was a really good sale and we usualy made enough to cover all pay-to play ($150 each), new uniforms, and warm-ups. I cant remember who we did it thorugh tho. But before we went out to sell the steaks, the people would come and do a tasting for people who wanted to test the merchandise before they bought it (the items were a little pricey).
This WOULD be a fun fundraiser…for adults. I do agree with several of those who responded. By including an alcohol-based activity, our community would frown if this is for students. The message would be clear enough when we say we need funding for our sport.
What we did was to send out letters to our community businesses (several hundred). We asked for funding for “a box of balls”. Most gave the money, some gave a box of balls, several came forward to check on our other needs. What a way to connect with our community partners!
In reply, the girls will sign thank you notes and personally deliver to those who contributed. We will even send a ‘thank you’ to those we sent letters to (even though they did not contribute). We want to continue to make them feel included in some way. Lastly, we will put in an ad in the paper thanking our community for their support.