Supporting a kid on a baseball team is not cheap for today's parents. When times are tough, parents are looking for any way to defray some of the cost for their children to participate in organized sports.
They need to pay for equipment, transportation to away games, uniforms, field rentals, liability insurance, and other expenses. During economic downturns, many of the support local teams get from corporate sponsors gets cut, and parents are suddenly expected to pick up the slack.
That's where baseball fundraising comes into play.
We've put together some unique and successful ideas for your next baseball team fundraiser. You can choose one or a mix of these baseball money makers to help defray the costs, and have a successful baseball season:
Celebrity Hitter
One of the most effective baseball fundraising ideas is to host a celebrity guest. Getting a well known baseball personality to come and speak at your local club or church is easier than you might think. Granted, if the personality is represented by an agent, the cost might be prohibitive. But there are many well known, retired players or coaches who are always willing to come and give a guest speech and sign autographs and other baseball memorabilia.
You can make money with a baseball celebrity by either asking for donations at the door, or charging an admission fee. As you can probably guess, a celebrity can provide the league with a sizable profit.
Faculty vs. Student Ball Game
This is a great fundraiser for schools to get the whole community involved. When the game pits teachers and students at your local school against each other, it's sure to draw a crowd with a favorite in mind.
If you have a lot of students who want to play, you can always raffle off tickets for students to purchase for a chance to play in the game. The main money made from a student vs. teacher ball game fundraiser will come from selling tickets to attend the game.
Start advertising this game to the community as soon as the teams are picked, and get local businesses to sponsor the game with prizes and snacks in exchange for free advertising.
Little Leaguer T-ball Game
This type of fundraiser is cute when you get the little ones out on the baseball diamond. Everyone will want to see their tyke try to take a swing at the ball. Just be sure to schedule the game during an evening or weekend so you're able to accommodate the highest number of participants. Ask sponsors to donate food and drinks that you can sell at the game to raise additional funds.
Home-run Contest
Everyone loves hitting baseballs as hard as they can. It sure lets off some steam, so a baseball hitting contest where you charge participants a fixed fee for a chance to hit three to five balls will surely be a money making home run!
This is a very easy fundraiser to organize at zero cost. Simply set up targets on the baseball field, and make it a challenge to see who can get closest to the target. You will need to provide a prize for the winner, but it can come from a local sponsor.
Round Robin Baseball Tourney
Round robin style tournaments are always a great way to generate interest from a lot of people. These tourneys are traditionally day-long events that draw big crowds. You can make money by having teams pay an entry fee. The more teams you are able to sign up, the more you'll be able to raise.
Be sure to get the entire community involved, and ask local sponsors for food and beverage donations and set up concession stands the day of the game.
Pitching Contest
Like the home-run hitting contest, you can set up targets that participants can try pitching their baseballs through. The beauty of this fundraiser is that it doesn't cost anything to organize it. Simply set targets up on your school field, and provide a prize, again, donated by a local sponsor, for the winning pitcher.
