Fundraising is often a necessary part of running a youth sports league. While players pay a registration fee, it doesn’t always cover all of a team’s expenses. This is where fundraising campaigns come in.
A fundraiser is, naturally, a tactic for raising funds. They are necessary when your team needs uniforms, sporting equipment, cared-for facilities, and more. But your fundraising efforts need the right team fundraising platform to bring in even more youth sports donations.
Throughout this guide, you’ll learn more about what a team fundraising platform can help you with and the top platforms to choose from.
What is a team fundraising platform?
A team fundraising platform is software that helps you more easily put on a fundraiser (especially an online fundraiser) and collect donations that are funneled directly into your team bank account.
These types of platforms may offer features like:
- Fundraising campaign page creation
- Peer-to-peer fundraising
- Crowdfunding
- Multi-team fundraising
- Text-to-donate
- Social sharing tools
- Donation tracking
They can help you create more successful fundraising campaigns, bringing in even more money with much easier process.
Using Jersey Watch to fundraise
Jersey Watch is a sports management tool that comes with a number of great features—the ability to accept donations being one of them.
Create your own sports organization website where you can accept online registration payments and additional donations from supporters. You can also create a fully separate donation page, like the one below, to ask for support from players and their families.
Once your page is live, you can highlight different sponsorship packages and even showcase your current supporters for visitors if you’d like.
Pros:
- All-in-one sports management software
- Easy to set up a donation page
- Can create additional pages to share info about in-person fundraising campaigns
- Offer sports sponsorships on your website
Cons:
- Monthly fees for access to the software
Top 12 sports team fundraising platforms for 2023
Different fundraising software offers various features and options to fundraise. So, it’s essential to look at your options to decide which will best fit your needs and your campaign plans.
1. GoFundMe
GoFundMe is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms out there. Often used for medical expenses, education, charities, and other emergencies, GoFundMe can also be used to raise money for sports fundraising.
This software is easy to use, but is the most basic of fundraisers. Essentially, you can create a donation page and share it with parents and other family members. You might decide to offer some sort of incentive for donations externally, but GoFundMe’s purpose is to simply crowdfund donations for your team.
Connect your team’s bank account to the app and keep track, as all donations are automatically transferred over. GoFundMe also has a 0% platform fee, so other than processing fees, you get to keep all donations.
Pros
- Easy to use
- For every $100 raised, you keep $96.80
- Wide range of sharing tools
Cons
- Crowdfunding only
2. Give Lively
Give Lively is a completely free team fundraising platform. The only fees to worry about are processing fees charged by the third-party platforms they have to use to help payments go through. These fees vary based on which payment processor you choose, like Stripe, Lob, or PayPal.
Create fundraising campaign pages, include donation widgets, let teams or individuals collect donations for a bit of friendly competition, and more—at absolutely no cost to your sports team.
Pros
- Completely free, other than payment processing fees
- Various features to take advantage of for your fundraising campaign
- Text-to-donate options
Cons
- Fees and disbursement time frames vary
3. Givebutter
Givebutter is a similar platform to Give Lively, offering the ability to create fundraising pages complete with donation forms and tracking functionality. However, this tool also provides features for hosting online auctions as well as a donor CRM and mobile app for ease of access.
This is another platform that is completely free—as long as you turn on “optional tips.” Optional tips is a feature Givebutter adds to donation forms so that donors can choose to give a percentage of their donation to the platform. These tips help keep the platform free.
However, if you choose not to turn on the tips, there will be other fees associated with the tool (1% Donation Form fee, 3% Fundraising Page fee, and 5% Event or Auction fee).
Pros
- User-friendly tool for hosting fundraising events
- Create fundraising pages to accept donations
- Hold an auction
- Text-to-donate options
Cons
- Must enable tips or pay associated fees
4. RallyUp
RallyUp is a fundraising platform that helps sports teams put on a number of different types of fundraisers. Use this tool to put on raffles, sweepstakes, auctions, a-thons, or basic crowdfunding events. You can even hold charity livestreams and create competitions amongst your team to see who can get the most donations. Your team page will showcase a leaderboard so everyone can keep an eye on the winners.
Similar to Givebutter, RallyUp also has an optional tipping feature that eliminates your team’s platform fees. If you opt out, you’ll be subject to a 7.5% platform fee. If you’re looking for even more features and access, RallyUp also offers a premium plan for $99/month.
Pros
- Bring a number of fundraising ideas to life
- Get live support from their customer service team
- Brand your donation page to match your team colors
Cons
- Must enable tips or pay associated fees
5. FundRazr
FundRazr is an easy fundraising platform to use. This is yet another one that focuses exclusively on crowdfunding, but it lets you create a visually appealing online donation page to share with new donors.
There are three payment types when creating your team page. First is the same optional tipping that we’ve seen on a few sites. This helps cover platform fees and ensure FundRazr can keep doing what it does.
The next tier wraps a 5% platform fee as well as donation processing fees into the actual donations. This means you receive less from each donation but don’t have overhead costs. The final tier is where you choose to cover the 5% platform fee, ensuring you get each full donation (minus the processing fees, of course).
Pros
- Easy to use
- Quickly set up your crowdfunding page
- Accept payments in multiple currencies
Cons
- Must enable tips or pay associated fees
- Crowdfunding only
6. Mightycause
Mightycause is the perfect tool to use for raising funds before a specific event, like a playoff game or tournament. Easily create templates that your team members can use when setting up their own fundraising page, plus keep track of donations in real time.
While Mightycause makes fundraising easy, it does not have a free option. Pricing options are $59/month or $99/month for the two tiers. Interested teams can get a demo to see everything the platform has to offer.
Pros
- Real-time metrics and tracking
- Group fundraising capabilities
Cons
- Paid plans only
- Crowdfunding only
7. Donately
Donately is another crowdfunding option for your sports team. Donately works with nonprofit organizations, schools, churches, sports teams, and more to help make fundraising a success.
Create your team page and share it with team members and local families to help raise funds for new uniforms, sporting equipment, and facility fees. Showcase donations in real time and see how close you’re getting to your goal.
Donately does not have a completely free option, as their free plan still comes with a 4% platform fee. However, it does simply come off the top of donations, so you have no overhead fees. Premium plans start at $15/month plus a 3.5% platform fee.
Pros
- Quickly set up your crowdfunding page
- Accept recurring donations
Cons
- Must pay platform fee or monthly subscription
- Crowdfunding only
8. FlipGive
FlipGive helps raise funds without needing to ask for external donations. Instead, teams can invite players and/or player parents to join and start getting cash back from purchases at participating stores.
The team will receive up to 25% cashback made from purchases through the FlipGive app. There are over 700 participating brands, ensuring that parents can help the team generate cashback through purchases they’d already be making.
Pros
- No need to ask for additional donations
- Can use FlipGive to open a sports bank account
Cons
- No way to tell how much you’ll earn and if you’ll hit fundraising goals
9. BetterWorld
BetterWorld can help your team hold auctions, put on raffles and giveaways, and even sell tickets to games and other events in order to raise money for your team. Plus, you can also create a fundraising page for additional crowdfunding events.
This tool is completely free, no matter what. It’s supported by optional tips from donors. This means you don’t have the option to turn off tipping, but there are no additional funds or fees (other than processing fees) coming out of your pockets or donations.
Pros
- Can help with a number of fundraising ideas
- Easy to set up and get started
Cons
- Must include the option to accept donations for the platform
10. Vertical Raise
Vertical Raise can help you crowdfund to meet your fundraising goal. Create a campaign page that you can easily share via social media, text, and email. Consider adding a raffle element by offering raffle tickets for each $5 or so that each donor sends in.
You’ll get to see a progress bar on your page as well as a list of all recent donors so you can keep track of how close you’re getting to your goal. The platform is completely free to use so you don’t have to worry about any upfront costs when setting up your fundraiser.
Pros
- Free to use
- Easy to set up and get started
Cons
- Crowdfunding only
- The page design isn’t super modern according to some users
11. Handbid
Handbid is a little different from some of the other platforms on our list. This tool is specific to holding auctions as a form of fundraising. Consider asking team members and their families (or even sponsors) to donate items that can be used in the auction.
You can then use Handbid’s software to help you host a virtual or in-person auction, enabling participants to bid on items they’re interested in. Handbid’s software helps with ticketing, guest check-in, and bidding.
However, the software also offers peer-to-peer fundraising if you’re looking for a tool with more than just auctioning capabilities. Keep in mind that due to its more complex usage, Handbid is not free. You can contact their team to get a quote based on your needs.
Pros
- Hold auctions to make fundraising more fun and engaging
- Accept donations on top of bids
Cons
- Must pay a fee to use
12. Bonfire
Bonfire is another tool that helps you put a different spin on fundraising. Instead of crowdfunding, consider creating a team t-shirt that you can sell to fans and supporters in exchange for donations. Bonfire helps you create a design for your shirts, and then send out order forms so your supporters can buy shirts that are sent directly to their doors.
There are no inventory or subscription costs. In fact, there are no fees that your team has to deal with at all. Create your design and start promoting your t-shirts. Purchasers pay for everything, and you get your cut of the proceeds.
Pros
- Offer an incentive for donations
- Create fun merchandise to sell to your supporters
- No fees associated on your end
Cons
- Takes 2-8 days to get requested payouts
- Can’t get payouts over $10,000 through PayPal—must contact the team to request a check
Find the right team fundraising platform for you
Start raising funds for your youth sports team. There are endless possibilities when it comes to raising the money you need to properly fund your team or league. And Jersey Watch is here to help. Whether you need fundraising help, a league website, or other sports management assistance, look to Jersey Watch.
Team fundraising platform FAQs
What is the best team fundraising platform for youth sports?
There are many different online fundraising platforms based on your needs. Jersey Watch is perfect for building a website where you can accept donations through. Bonfire is a great option for creating team t-shirts that supporters can buy. Handbid is great for online or in-person auctions.
How do you set up a team fundraising page?
Take advantage of Jersey Watch’s easy-to-use software to build your team website or fundraising page. Easily send out the link to parents and supporters so they can help you reach your fundraising goals.
Which team fundraising platform is free?
Most fundraising platforms are free to use, but may take a small percentage of your raised funds. FundRazr touts itself as being a free-to-use fundraising platform.
Is there a better team fundraising platform than GoFundMe?
GoFundMe is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms out there, but there are several sites more suited for youth sports fundraising specifically.
