Each year, local leagues around the country implement fundraising plans to help raise money to support league operations. In local league communities, donations come in a variety of forms – from local businesses to individual donations to parent and player fundraisers.
Here are some best practices to help your local Little League® program with its fundraising plans this year:
- Make the concession stand a profit center for your league. Organize the concession stand to be open during games and practices, staffed by volunteers or parents of players in the league. Utilize club stores to make bulk purchases of concession goods. Work with local distributors to purchase goods at preferred, non-profit, or tax-exempt rates.
- Encourage parents to donate frequently purchased products to your league concession stand which can be resold at a profit for your league.
- Conduct a league-wide fundraiser to encourage volunteerism and connectivity with parents. Use activities like raffles to encourage members of the community to see your league and its benefits.
- Host a movie night or Little League World Series viewing party at the field encouraging families with kids to attend. Charge a small admission fee and open the concession stand up for families to buy food and snacks.
- Remember, players can only be a part of one fundraiser per year, think of fun ways to include them in an effort that will make raising money to support your league a fun activity for everyone, like a hit-a-thons.
- If your registration fee includes a fundraiser buy-out from parents, make sure that is clearly communicated, so families know they have options and opportunities to make the local Little League experience as affordable as possible for everyone.
- Work with your local high school, college, or professional baseball and softball teams to see if they’ll do an in-game collection to support your local league efforts.