Boosters
Booster club fundraiser ideas, ranked by how much work they are.
Booster clubs fund the season. Uniforms, travel, competition fees, the bus. These booster club fundraiser ideas are ranked by the hours they eat against the money they bring in, and most of them are things Brian does not sell.
Booster club fundraiser ideas tend to pile up. Concessions, the banner program, the golf tournament, the discount cards, the car wash the seniors run. Every one of them raises something. The problem is that the same five parents are running all of them. This list ranks the common ones by hours against money, so you can keep the ones that earn their place.
The ranked list
- Two-week product sale. Each family gets a store link. Relatives, coworkers and neighbors in any state order online and the box ships to their door. Program orders come to the director or treasurer pre-sorted. Two weeks, a kickoff and a finish. The fewest hours for the money, and the one Brian runs.
- Business sponsorships and banners. Local businesses pay to hang a banner on the fence or land in the program. Real money, mostly from a few phone calls by the right parent. Renews every year.
- Concessions. Steady cash every home game. Also a volunteer shift every home game for the whole season.
- Golf tournament. Good money if you have the business connections. A committee, a course, sponsors and a full Saturday.
- Discount cards. Kids sell cards good at local businesses. Decent return, and someone has to recruit the businesses first.
- Spirit wear. Steady small money if the store stays current.
- Direct give or sponsor-a-player. A letter and a link. Easy. Taps the same families every season.
- 50/50 raffle. Fast money at the game. Check your state’s rules.
- Car wash. A Saturday, a hose and the whole team. Great for team spirit. Rarely worth the hours.
Where a two-week product sale fits a booster year
It is the one big push. Run it in a clean two-week window that misses game weeks and competitions, and let sponsors and concessions carry the rest of the season. Brian builds the calendar with the director or coach, writes the kickoff and the midpoint push, and tracks delivery. Giving Market runs the online store, ships every order and runs the VIP Duck collectibles and prize program. A 150-kid middle school band in Asheville sold $15,000 in an October sale this fall. The write-up is on the case studies page.
Where boosters usually get stuck
Too many small fundraisers
Six things that each raise a little and burn out the board. Keep sponsors, concessions and one product sale. Drop the rest.
Only reaching the parking lot
Concessions and car washes sell to the same families. The online store reaches an aunt in another state.
Money arriving late
Fees are due in the winter. A fall product sale puts the check in the account before the first competition invoice.
Nobody owns it
Brian is the owner for two weeks. One phone number for the director, the treasurer and the parents.
The treasurer’s view
Online orders are paid at checkout through the store, so no cash passes through a parent. Paper orders are collected by the program the way the boosters collect now. Brian walks the treasurer through both before kickoff and the admin site shows every order as it comes in. The prize program tallies itself. On delivery day the program orders arrive pre-sorted, so the treasurer is handing out boxes rather than reconciling them. The money is in the account before the first competition invoice. That is the whole reason a fall sale beats a spring one for most boosters.
Band, chorus, cheer, drama and athletic boosters all run the same program, described on the teams and groups page. The step-by-step is on how it works. Boosters in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana can see the South Central page.
Questions people ask
What is the best booster club fundraiser for a small roster?
A two-week product sale. The online store lets a small program reach relatives in any state, so the roster size matters less than how many families share the link.
Can boosters run the product sale and keep concessions and sponsors going?
Yes. Those run all season. The product sale is a two-week push on top, timed so it does not land on a game week or a competition.
Does the booster club pay anything up front?
No. Zero upfront cost and no minimum. The treasurer gets a walkthrough of how online and paper orders come in before kickoff.
Who is the contact during the sale?
Brian. Director, coach or booster president, whoever runs point gets his direct number for the whole two weeks.
Ready to raise more this year?
Tell Brian about your school or team. He replies within one business day with a plan and a date.