Four Major Perks of Switching to Online, Team Sports Fundraising

No matter the size of your team, fundraising has become a crucial component of many teams' yearly budgets. But while bake sales and raffles may build camaraderie, many teams cannot rely solely on the amount of money generated through this type of fundraising.

Technology is replacing these traditional methods in the form of online spirit wear stores, which can generate significant income for a team or organization looking for ways to offset increasing budgets. These shops sell the most sought after logoed apparel online 24/7. If you are looking for a new way to raise money for your sports program, here are four major benefits of fundraising through an online spirit wear store.

1. They're easy to set up

Your platform partners will handle everything from start to finish, including web hosting, credit card processing, store merchandising, inventory management, custom decorating, delivery, and customer service.

Platforms like SportsEngine Gear, powered by SquadLocker also offer a wide variety of choices for team gear, including brands like Under Armour, CCM, and Champion in various sizes and styles on your team site. In just a few clicks, you can upload or design a logo, select top merchandise, set a fundraising percentage, and let your fans shop.

2. You don't need to recruit volunteers

A major pitfall of any standard fundraising effort is the amount of time required by volunteers to run them. Parents and coaches have to juggle personal responsibilities on top of managing their kids and athletes, and student-athletes may be too busy with homework or extracurricular activities to provide a solid volunteer base for fundraising events. While coaches can make team involvement mandatory, finding adults to volunteer and supervise can be time-consuming and difficult.

Online spirit wear stores eliminate these problems by making it easy to run a fundraising campaign for your organization without the need for so many volunteers. Once your store is open, promote, promote, promote! Simply share your link within your team’s social media channels, post it on your website and send it out in an email. Some teams even hand out flyers and remind parents to shop upon registration.

Once setup is complete, your store will be a one-stop site for fans to support your team or league with spirit wear and cash flow.

3. They're open year-round

Traditional team fundraising is often limited to a few weeks either before or during the season. With all the time spent trying to raise money or recruit volunteers, the amount of funds raised may not always be worth the effort.

By utilizing an online spirit wear store, leagues and organizations can give themselves the opportunity to fundraise throughout the entire calendar year. If a hockey player’s parents want to buy a team warm-up jacket in July, he or she can do so at the click of a computer mouse or tablet keyboard, with no phone calls or emails to you. By expanding the accessibility and timeline of your fundraising window, you can increase your potential for profit year-round.

4. They make you money in your sleep

When you expand your fundraising potential to 365 days a year, you increase the number of potential opportunities to generate revenue for your team.

A good apparel platform should provide you with a minimum 5 percent rebate based on online sales, which is significant when thinking about the amount of apparel that teams purchase every year.

Some even allow admins to markup merchandise by 5, 10, 15 or 20-percent for additional fundraising. The best part? You'll no longer have to invest in inventory that you won't sell or don't need. Your apparel partner will house all of the inventory for your online storefront, and produce the items needed as orders come in. It's that simple.

Online fan shops are a great way to raise money for school sports teams without the headaches. Whether you're a coach, equipment manager, parent, or biggest fan, learning about the benefits of online team fundraising will undoubtedly hit a home run with your team.