The fundraising landscape inside schools is wild.
And I mean wild in the least fun way possible.
Depending on the school, you might have one booster club supporting every team. Or you might have a separate booster club for each sport.
I understand why. If your team is doing the work, you want the money to support your team.
But somewhere along the way, the process can become so complicated that the people doing the fundraising have no idea where the money is going, how quickly they can access it, or whether they can even use it for the thing they were trying to fund in the first place.
That is where my brain starts itching.
Because fundraising is already hard enough.
When the Process Gets in the Way
We recently spoke with a coach at a local school we work with pretty closely, and they walked us through how fundraising works inside their organization.
Opaque might be the nicest word for it.
There were layers of approvals, uncertainty around where funds would land, and restrictions around how money could be used. By the end of the conversation, I remember thinking: “How does anyone stay motivated to fundraise inside a system like this?”
Parents and coaches are already volunteering their time, planning events, asking friends and family for support, collecting orders, and doing the administrative work that comes with youth sports fundraising.
Then imagine doing all of that and still not being sure whether the money can pay for the equipment your players actually need within a reasonable time frame.
No thank you.
This is not about blaming schools or booster clubs. There are rules, accounting responsibilities, and real reasons organizations need controls around money.
But we can install controls and be transparent without increasing complexity unnecessarily.
What If the Fundraiser Paid for the Need Directly?
So naturally, my brain started trying to find a way around the problem.
What if a youth sports fundraiser did not always have to end with a check moving through multiple layers before a team could benefit from it?
What if, instead, the program could choose to receive part or all of its fundraising proceeds as a gift card to a sporting goods retailer?
If a baseball program needs balls, tees, nets, catcher’s gear, practice equipment, or replacement helmets, the value raised could already be sitting somewhere they can use it.
That feels wonderfully simple to me.
And simple is underrated.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that every school or program should handle fundraising this way. Different organizations have different rules, and teams would still need to follow their school policies.
But as we build out our partnerships with schools, I think there is real value in asking whether we can give programs more useful options for payout.
Especially options that make the connection between the work families are doing and the benefit players actually receive much clearer and quicker to see.
Transparency would be key in something like this. We would be sharing the total payout with families when we let them know that their orders were ready for pickup. That way, we could hopefully avoid someone pocketing the funds for personal use.
Hey, Sporting Goods Companies: Want to Play?
And then, because apparently I cannot have one idea without immediately giving it three cousins, I started thinking about partnerships.
What if a retailer matched some portion of what a team earned?
Let’s say a program raises $1,000 through a fundraiser and elects to receive that value toward sporting goods. Could a retail partner add another 10%? Could there eventually be campaigns where they match even more?
I do not know yet.
That is me thinking out loud, not announcing some secret partnership from behind a curtain.
But imagine the impact.
A team does the fundraising work. Strike Sports helps them create something families actually want to buy. The program receives meaningful value for equipment or other approved needs. Then a partner helps stretch those dollars even further.
Because the point of fundraising should not be to make parents work harder, but maybe the money raised could!
Fundraising Should Feel Worth the Work
This is one of the reasons we created our custom team trading card fundraiser in the first place.
I have never loved the idea of asking families to sell random stuff just because “that is what fundraisers do.”
If we are going to ask families and community members to spend money, I want them to receive something meaningful in return.
A trading card pack featuring the players they have been cheering for all season makes sense to me. It celebrates the kids, gives families a keepsake, and raises money for the organization at the same time.
But creating a better fundraising product is only one part of the problem.
We also have to think about what happens after the money is raised.
Can the program access it?
Can they understand where it went?
Can they use it for what they actually need?
Could the process be easier?
Those questions matter just as much as the fundraiser itself.
Better Systems Help More Kids Play
At Strike Sports, we talk constantly about access.
Usually that conversation is about the cost of playing baseball, getting enough reps, coaching resources, or eventually creating an affordable place where players can train.
Fundraising belongs in that conversation too.
A team that can raise money more effectively can replace worn equipment. It can help offset costs. It can create opportunities that might otherwise fall entirely on families.
So yes, I am thinking about gift cards.
I am also thinking about retail partnerships.
And I am thinking about whether we can remove some of the friction that makes school sports fundraising harder than it needs to be.
Maybe the answer is not exactly this. We are still learning.
But I am convinced the answer should not be, “Well, this is how we have always done it.”
Youth sports families are already giving enough of their time.
The systems around them should work harder too.
If you are a coach, booster club volunteer, athletic director, or sports parent, I would love to hear from you: what is the most frustrating part of fundraising inside your organization? Let’s work on finding creative solutions together in the comments.
