Fundraising Tips for Teams: Effort Beats the Platform
Here is the fundraising tip most platforms will not lead with: the platform you pick matters less than how hard your team works to actually send out requests. A fundraiser that gets launched and left alone raises very little, no matter whose software it runs on. A fundraiser where the coach or a parent volunteer keeps players asking, following up, and chasing a goal raises far more.
That is not a theory. We watched it happen with two high school soccer teams running Team Donor fundraisers at the same time.
Two Soccer Teams, Same Platform, Very Different Results
Both teams were high school soccer programs with 25 players each. Both ran their fundraiser at the same time, on the same platform, with the same 0% platform fee. On paper, they had identical tools.
The difference was the coach.
- Team A’s coach was less involved in the day-to-day push to get players asking.
- Team B’s coach was deeply involved, working hard to keep the team motivated to hit their fundraising goal.
| Team A | Team B | |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 25 | 25 |
| Platform | Team Donor | Team Donor |
| Coach involvement | Lighter | Hands-on, kept players motivated |
| Total raised | $4,563 | $10,958 |
| Per player | About $183 | About $438 |
Team B raised $6,395 more, about 2.4 times as much as Team A. Same sport, same roster size, same season, same software. The biggest difference was how much effort the adults put into getting players to ask.
Why Effort Matters More Than the Platform
People give when someone asks them. Researchers René Bekkers and Pamala Wiepking reviewed more than 500 studies on charitable giving and identified solicitation as one of the core drivers of donations. As The Conversation summarized their work, more than 85% of charitable donations happen because someone asked.
That puts the platform in its proper place. A good platform makes asking easier and cheaper. It cannot make the ask for a player who never signs up or never shares a link.
| What the platform can do | What only your team can do |
|---|---|
| Send donation emails automatically | Get every player to join and add contacts |
| Send reminder emails to non-donors | Get players to text grandparents personally |
| Process payments and track totals | Set a goal the team actually cares about |
| Keep fees low | Follow up with the players stuck at $0 |
Families are also being asked for more than ever. A Project Play survey found the average sports family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46% in five years. Donors are not short on requests. The asks that get answered are the personal ones that come with a reason and a deadline.
The Fundraising Tips That Separate Engaged Teams From Hands-Off Teams
Most of the gap between Team A and Team B came down to a handful of habits. None of them take hours. They take consistency.
| Hands-off approach | Engaged approach |
|---|---|
| Link sent once in a group chat | Joining happens together at practice |
| No team goal, or a goal nobody mentions | Goal stated out loud and tracked weekly |
| Players decide whether to participate | Every player is expected to ask |
| Nobody checks who has not joined | Coach knows who is at $0 and why |
| Campaign ends quietly | Final push with a clear deadline |
1. Make joining a team activity, not homework
The biggest drop-off happens before a single ask goes out: players who never join. Give players 10 minutes after practice to join the fundraiser and enter their contacts on their phones, right there. On Team Donor, each player adds 10 to 15 contacts and the platform sends donation requests on their behalf. That only works for the players who actually join.
2. Set a goal and say it out loud
A goal nobody talks about is just a number on a page. Tie it to something the players want, like new warmups, a tournament trip, or a team camp. Mention it at practice. Players respond to a target they can see.
3. Track progress and share it
Post the team total every week. Recognize the players who are pulling their weight. A little friendly competition goes a long way with high school athletes, and nobody wants to be the last one on the list.
4. Follow up with the players at zero
In many team fundraisers, a few players do most of the work and several do nothing. The coach who checks the dashboard, finds the players at $0, and has a quick one-on-one conversation recovers money a hands-off coach never sees. Often the fix is simple: the player never finished signing up.
5. Get players to send personal texts
Automated emails help, but a text from a player to a grandparent, aunt, or family friend lands differently. Ask every player to send their personal link by text, in their own words. Our guide on how to ask for donations for sports teams has scripts they can adapt.
6. Run a real final push
Pick a deadline and treat the last few days like a close game. Remind players at practice, re-share the team total, and ask each player to send one more round of messages. Deadlines move donors who meant to give but never got around to it.
If You’re a Parent Volunteer, Not the Coach
Not every coach has the bandwidth to run the fundraiser, and that is fine. What matters is that someone owns it. A parent volunteer can do everything on this list: run the sign-up session after practice, post weekly totals in the team chat, and follow up with families whose player has not joined.
The one thing a parent volunteer should still ask the coach for is a few minutes of practice time and a few words of support. Players take the fundraiser more seriously when the coach says it matters. If you are building a full season plan, the coach’s playbook for high school sports fundraising covers what to delegate and when.
Where the Platform Still Matters
This is not an argument that platforms do not matter at all. Fees still come out of what your team keeps, and automation still saves volunteers real time. A platform that sends requests and reminders automatically means your effort goes into motivating players instead of writing emails. You can compare the options in our breakdown of online fundraising platforms.
But the platform is a multiplier, not a substitute. A great platform multiplied by zero effort is still close to zero. A good platform multiplied by an engaged coach is how teams hit their goals.
What This Means for Your Team
If your last fundraiser came in short, look at the effort before you blame the software. Ask yourself a few honest questions:
- Did every player join and add contacts?
- Did the team know the goal and talk about it?
- Did anyone follow up with the players who never started?
- Was there a real deadline and a final push?
If the answer to most of those is no, switching platforms will not fix it. A more involved plan will. Our week-by-week guide on how to run a team fundraiser lays out exactly what to do and when.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important fundraising tip for sports teams?
Get every player to actually ask. Research on charitable giving shows most donations happen because someone was asked, so the number of personal requests your team sends matters more than any other factor.
Does the fundraising platform make a difference?
Yes, but less than most people think. Fees and automation affect how much you keep and how much work it takes. The amount you raise depends mostly on how many players participate and how hard the adults push.
How much time does a coach need to put into a team fundraiser?
Less than you might expect. Ten minutes at practice to get everyone signed up, a quick mention of the goal each week, and a few one-on-one check-ins with players who have not started cover most of it.
What if some players refuse to participate?
Talk to them individually. Often they never finished signing up, feel awkward asking, or do not know who to ask. Helping them list five family members and send one text usually gets them moving.
Start Your Fundraiser With a Plan
The two soccer teams had the same tools. The team with the more involved coach raised $10,958 to the other team’s $4,563. If you want a platform that handles the emails, reminders, and payments so your energy can go into motivating your players, start your fundraiser with Team Donor. Then put the plan above to work.
