20 Fundraiser Ideas for your Cheer Team

This fundraiser entails asking local businesses for sponsorships to have their business name and/or logo displayed on a t-shirt worn by your team.

Supplies Needed:

Sponsorship Form - To get the business name as it will appear on the shirt (along with the type of sponsorship, if applicable). Be sure to include the team member’s name on the form if you’re applying the sponsorship funds to individual members’ accounts.

Customized T-Shirt with Sponsorship Names/Logos - You’ll need one shirt for each team member. There are online companies that allow shirts to be customized and printed (just search for ‘custom t-shirts’).

Instructions and Tips:

Visit local businesses. As you do this fundraiser from year to year, you may want to keep a list of who has been sponsors in the past since this is a good place to start. Team members may also have connections to businesses owned by their family or friends of their family.

Be sure to point out that this sponsorship will be advertising their business. Let the businesses know when and where your team will be wearing the shirts. For example, if you are going to participate in another fundraiser like a chili dinner / spaghetti dinner, yard sale or car wash, this would be a great time to wear the shirts. You can also select a number of dates that they will be worn to school or in the community. If you host a cheer camp, you could order smaller sizes for the camp participants and wear this shirt at the football game where they cheer with you.

Design your t-shirt:

Select the color of the shirts and design the layout. You may want to put your team’s name and logo on the front and even reserve space for premium sponsorships there.

You may choose to list the business names on the back of the shirt alphabetically or in the order that the sponsorships were sold, or you can opt to print the names at the top and/or in a larger font for an additional price.

You may also choose between listing only the businesses’ names or include their logos (which the businesses can e-mail to you by a specific date).

To cover the cost of the t-shirts, you may require that each team member sell 1 sponsorship (which will pay for the shirt printing and any amounts left over will go into the team fund) and then subsequent sponsorships will be directly applied to their individual balances.

Alternatively, you can simply require each team member to pay the amount needed to print their t-shirt. You can then opt to divide all of the money earned from the sponsorships evenly among the team members or apply the funds to each member’s account that earned the sponsorship.

This is a tried and true fundraiser and is relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

Supplies Needed:

A great location. Try to find a business that will let you operate from their parking lot (and use their water) that is in a busy part of town. You can advertise ahead of time, but having it in a great location will ensure that you get lots of business from people driving by.

Poster boards / Markers to Advertise

Hoses with spray nozzle

Buckets

Dish liquid

Sponges / soft cloths

Instructions and Tips:

Find a team member with connections to a business that has a great location then select a Saturday with no rain in the forecast. Create signs to advertise the car wash that can be held by some of the team members to get people to stop by. (Be sure they are standing where they can be seen by passersby but will not be in danger!) Enlist parents to help.

You may choose to charge a flat fee for each car or truck/SUV with an option for drivers to leave tips but you may find that taking donations is more lucrative. Offering the ability to accept electronic payments/donations is an added convenience for potential customers and may increase your profits.

Wearing matching shirts and bows helps display what the funds are going towards. (If you’ve held a sponsorship t-shirt fundraiser, this would be a good time to wear that shirt.)

Having an event, like a pool party, afterwards can be a fun incentive for your team members to participate at the car wash. You may want to also have a cooler with cold drinks and snacks on hand for your team. Having shade available is also a big plus.

This fundraiser allows your team members’ families to declutter their houses/garages while giving your team some revenue. This is also a very easy and inexpensive way to earn money.

Supplies Needed:

A great location. Like the car wash, location is key. Try to find a business, fire station, home… that is in a busy part of town. You can advertise ahead of time, but having it in a great location will ensure that you get lots of business from people driving by.

Poster boards / Markers to Advertise

Folding Tables

Stickers / Price tags

Racks / Hangers for clothes

Lots of gently used treasures

Instructions and Tips:

Create signs to advertise the sale that can be held by some of the team members to get people to stop by. (Be sure they are standing where they can be seen by passersby but will not be in danger!) Enlist parents to help.

If possible, advertise the sale ahead of time.

Enlist each of your team members to clean out their closets, garages, rooms… and donate items for the sale. You may choose to collect the items ahead of time if you have somewhere that you can store them. This will allow you to group things together and set prices in advance. Otherwise, you can simply have your team members arrive at the sale with their items. Quickly put like things together (baby items, clothes, toys, kitchen / household items…) and mark the prices. You may choose to put items on separate tables based on price.

Offering the ability to accept electronic payments/donations is an added convenience for potential customers and may increase your profits.

Wearing matching shirts and bows helps display what the funds are going towards. (If you’ve held a sponsorship t-shirt fundraiser, this would be a good time to wear that shirt.)

After the sale, the parents can take any of their items back that didn’t sell, or you can donate them to Goodwill.

*** You may want to combine the yard sale with a bake sale for extra profitability.

These are booklets that contain a photo of the football / basketball team, a list of the team’s roster, the game schedule and some additional photos of the football or basketball team. You can also sell advertisement space in the back to businesses or parents/grandparents of the team’s members.

Supplies Needed:

Photos of the football / basketball team

The team’s roster

The team’s game schedule

Sign up form (for advertisements)

Instructions and Tips:

Let your team members sell advertisement spaces. (Businesses may choose to offer a discount code or special deal to respondents to the ads.) You may opt to offer different sizes for the ads for different prices (full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page…). Parents and grandparents of the players sometimes want to buy ad space to congratulate or convey special messages.

Design the program books using a word processor or via an online printer’s website. Print the booklets (either with your school’s printers) or using an online printing company. Staple the booklets together (or choose to have the online printing company staple them).

Let your team members sell the programs at the gate / entryway into the games and during half-time in the stands.

This fundraiser can require a lot of effort but can also earn a lot of money for your team. Having many helpers and careful planning is essential to making this a success.

Supplies Needed:

Crockpots with homemade chili or spaghetti sauce

Noodles (if spaghetti dinner) – Make these in advance, using oil to keep them from sticking together

Dessert (brownies / cookies / rice crispy treats…)

Rolls / Slices of French bread

Drinks (sweet tea, lemonade, water…)

Paper/Plastic plates / bowls

Plastic spoons / forks and knives

Napkins

Tables / Chairs

Posters / Makers (to make signs)

Instructions and Tips:

Enlist parents to help and to donate large crockpots of chili or spaghetti sauce. Sell as many tickets in advance that you can so you will have a good idea of how much chili/sauce and noodles will be needed. If you have the dinner on a game night (football or basketball), you can also sell tickets to those who arrive early to the game.

Advertise before and outside of the event. Having it in the school cafeteria will be a free venue with tables and chairs but you could also have it somewhere else in the community.

Any leftovers can potentially be donated to a local food bank / soup kitchen.

Like the chili dinner / spaghetti dinner, this fundraiser takes some effort but can be lucrative.

Supplies Needed:

Electric skillets (on loan from parents)

Toaster ovens (on loan from parents)

Pancake mix (the kind where you just add water)

Water (for making the pancake batter)

Mixing bowls / spoons

Spatulas

Sausage / bacon (can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a toaster oven)

Pancake syrup

Paper/Plastic plates

Plastic forks and knives

Napkins

Tables / Chairs

Instructions and Tips:

Enlist lots of parents to help. Sell tickets ahead of time and also at the door on the day of the event. You could host this at the school during the school week (for only students) or somewhere within the community on a Saturday.

This is a day camp for elementary school students to help them prepare for future tryouts for the middle school team. (However, they can be in grades where middle school is in the distant future. If younger students have fun, they will return to your camp for many years.) Each participant is given a t-shirt and a hair bow and is later allowed to cheer with the team at a football game.

Supplies Needed:

Flyer to be sent home with students to advertise the camp with details on how to sign up. (Be sure to ask for the child’s t-shirt size and emergency contact / allergy information during the signup process.)

T-shirts that match ones that the team members will also wear to the football game

Hair bows

Snacks (juice boxes, cookies, cheese/peanut butter and crackers…

Instructions and Tips:

Design and print the flyer with the details about the camp. (This can be done using a word processor and your school’s printers or from an online printing company.)

Go to the local elementary schools (wearing your cheer uniforms) in the springtime to announce the camp, which will be held for a few days during the summer.

Prepare a simple cheer (or two) that can be taught to the participants.

Design a t-shirt and get it printed - If you’ve held a sponsorship t-shirt fundraiser, you could have smaller sizes of that shirt made, or you could make tie dye shirts as a fun activity on the first day of camp.

Check with your school officials to determine if there are any waivers that will need to be signed by the participants’ parents.

Host the camp at the school where the team practices for a few days for 3-4 hours per day during the summer. Teach the campers the cheer, cheer motions, how to stand at football games, simple stunts…

Your team members should interact with the campers and give them lots of attention.

At a football game early in the season (before it gets too cold) invite the campers to come and cheer with the team wearing their camp shirt. Your team members should also wear their matching shirts. The campers should only participate for a short portion of the game-time cheerleading (early in the game), and can perform the cheer(s) and stunts with the rest of the team that they learned at camp.

This fundraiser is like musical chairs except all of the participants have a chance to win a cake! It’s fairly easy to do, is lots of fun and can be quite lucrative.

Supplies Needed:

Cakes – Lots of cakes in a variety of flavors

Tickets

Numbers placed on the floor

Corresponding numbers for the drawings

Bag / Box / or other Container for the number drawing

Folding table(s) to hold the cakes

Music / Sound system

Instructions and Tips:

Make and decorate cakes in a variety of flavors. This can be a fun team building exercise to make and decorate the cakes in groups or you can simply assign each team member to bring 2-3 cakes each. Wrap circular or square pieces of cardboard in foil as a disposable tray to hold the cakes. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap and label the flavor of the cake and frosting. (Toothpicks inserted in the top of the cakes can be used to keep the plastic wrap from messing up the frosting… just make sure they don’t puncture the plastic.)

This event is best held indoors (such as the school gym) but could also take place outside if there’s some place cool and shady to keep the cakes.) If you can get the whole student body to be able to attend the event (perhaps on a Friday afternoon before an exciting football / basketball game) you will be able to raise more funds. Be sure to announce the event a couple of weeks beforehand so that everyone can bring cash for purchasing the tickets.

Tape numbers to the floor. If you have access to long rolls of paper this could be used to mark off squares of numbers or you could laminate numbers. These numbers will be walked on, so they should be somewhat durable. - You can place the numbers around the perimeter of the room or even have them go into the middle of the space. Numbers could also be affixed to the walls if this is preferable. - The amount of numbers you have will dictate the number of players that can participate for each drawing (so the more the better).

Make smaller copies of each number that is on the floor that can be used to draw the winners. Place these numbers in a bag or container so the person drawing the number cannot see them.

Select someone to be the DJ. The music played should be upbeat and popular.

Ensure before beginning each round that there is a number available for everyone participating in the walk. Each person should be standing on a number. Your team members should collect each participant’s ticket before the music starts. – Anyone not playing should be able to sit in the stands, socialize with friends and enjoy the music but not be walking close to the cake walk area.

Play the music for a minute (or more) depending on how much total time you have and how many cakes you have. As the music plays, the participants walk around the numbers. When the music stops, each participant stops at a number. The participants can move to an available number if they were walking beside someone and there are no empty numbers close to their location. (There should be enough for everyone because you ensured this before starting the music.) No one should be allowed to change places once the drawing begins. (Your team members can be dispersed around the area to make sure that everyone stays on their number … this is especially important if there are some open numbers.)

Draw out a number and call it out. The person standing at that number gets to come and select from the remaining cakes which one they would like. You may want to put their name with the cake and keep it for them, (at a table separate from the available cakes), until after the cake walk so they can continue participating. – If no one is on the number that was called, draw another number.

Bake sales are great to combine with other fundraisers where participants may enjoy a snack while joining in the main event. Examples of fundraisers where a bake sale could be done at the same time are yard sales, car washes, cake walks, car shows, miniature golf… You may also have success at selling bake goods at football or basketball games, during lunchtime or at other events held at your school.

Supplies Needed:

Homemade baked goods that are easy to wrap individually

Table(s) to display the goodies

Instructions and Tips:

Making the baked goods in small groups can be a fun team building exercise for your team or you can simply have each team member bring as many cookies, brownies, cupcakes, etc that they can. Be sure to impress upon your team the importance of pulling back their hair when baking and keeping everything extremely clean.

If any of the goodies contain tree nuts or other ingredients that are likely to cause allergic reactions, be sure to indicate this and keep them separate from the other baked goods.

Near the end of the sale, you may want to offer discounts on the items or the leftovers can become snacks/desserts for a pool party, pizza party or other fun team building event after the sale.

This fundraiser is good to do during field day, school carnival day or other outdoor school events. It allows student drivers to display their cars or cars owned by their family with a chance to win a prize. You can also open this event to the public and host it off school grounds.

Supplies Needed:

A section of the parking lot that can be roped off or isolated

Sign Up Forms (prompting for the name of the participant, car make/model/year)

Printed Forms for voting for the winner(s)

Pens

Prize(s) – Preferably ones donated by local businesses (gift cards, merchandise, etc) – You can also offer a monetary prize from some of the proceeds of the fundraiser or from donations.

Instructions and Tips:

Participants showing their cars are charged an entry fee. You may choose to offer different categories (i.e. best sports car, best looking, best sound system, etc) with a prize for each one, or just an overall single winner.

The cars’ owners should be allowed to stay with their car during the show and your team members should be on hand to ensure the safety of the cars and to facilitate voting. (You can have the team work in shifts.)

You can choose to charge a small fee to enter the show or have free admission (depending upon the level of interest). Attendees fill out the form to vote for the winner(s). Conclude the voting period so there is enough time to tally the votes and announce the winner at the end of the event.

When you partner with a local restaurant to receive a percentage of their proceeds for a particular time period on a specified date, this fundraiser can be a win-win for everyone. The patrons get a delicious meal, the restaurant gets increased business and your team gets a percentage of the sales during the selected time range.

The more popular the restaurant, the more successful this fundraiser will be. It also takes getting the word out so that everyone is aware of how they can support your team by simply eating at the restaurant at the given date and time.

Supplies Needed:

A restaurant to partner with

Instructions and Tips:

Be sure to advertise the day and time period for which customers can go to the restaurant to support your team and let them know if it requires mentioning a specific code or phrase to activate the deal.

With this fundraiser, participants fill out a form to bid on the price they will pay to purchase items that are for sale. Each item will go to the highest bidder… think eBay. You could even offer a ‘Buy Now’ price, especially if you have more than one of an item.

Supplies Needed:

Items for sale – Preferably these items will be donated or can be purchased at a significant discount. Examples are gift cards or services donated by local business, gift baskets that you create from donated items, free lessons, art work (which could be donated from the school’s art class or your artistic team members), handmade crafts…

A place to display the items that are for sale

Forms to place bids (with space to enter the item name/number, the bidder’s name and contact information)

Instructions and Tips:

You may want to have the bidding period span a couple of weeks or several days to allow the best bids to be received. Items can be on display at particular times, like during lunchtime. At the end of the bidding time period, announce the winners and give a time in which the items can be paid for and picked up before the next highest bidder is given an opportunity to purchase the item.

This fundraiser appeals mostly to parents, grandparents and families of the team members. It is a great option for Christmas time because it can be given as a gift.

Supplies Needed:

High resolution photos of individual team members and the team

Instructions and Tips:

You may want to schedule a photo shoot to take individual shots as well as a team photo but you should also try to incorporate lots of candid shots too. Include photos from competitions, pep rallies, games, performances, team building activities… Enlist your team members to capture pictures during practice and ask your team and their parents to submit any photos they’ve taken throughout the season to a shared online location (like Google drive, Dropbox…)

Design the calendar at one of the many websites that offer printing services. (During the holidays, most offer substantial discounts, especially for multiple orders.) Be sure to choose layouts that allow for many photos to be positioned for each month. There will we more interest in purchasing the calendar if every team member is showcased repeatedly. You may want to sell the calendars on a pre-order basis (with only a few extras printed).

This idea requires quite a bit of creativity and construction but if you host it annually and have the storage space, you can reuse many of the materials. This event is a good option to do during the school’s field day, carnival day or other outdoor event. You can also set it up on a Saturday somewhere off campus and open it to the community. It can also be held indoors, like inside a gym or other large space.

Supplies Needed:

Construction supplies for building the holes (plywood, cardboard, bricks, cinderblocks, tubes/pipes, wood, oatmeal containers, plastic cups … just about anything can be used. The materials you use depend upon your design, budget, course size…)

Golf balls / Putters OR Croquet Set (to make the course easier)

Prize(s) – optional (You may simply have the fun of completing the course be the ‘prize’.)

Scorecards (if keeping score for prizes)

Instructions and Tips:

You may want to ask local businesses to sponsor a hole. For donating the cost of the supplies (or even designing / constructing a hole!), their name and logo can be prominently displayed and even have a table / booth at the event.

Creativity is key. You may want to ask each team member’s family to design and construct a hole or get artistic volunteers from your school’s art or woodshop classes. ‘Holes’ can be as simple as a croquet wicket or a hole cut in a cardboard box or something more extravagant involving wood. Be sure to include obstacles and/or ramps to make the course more challenging. You could start with a smaller course and add additional holes each subsequent year that you host this fundraising event.

Determine the ‘par’ for each hole (the average number of strokes to complete the hole).

You might consider offering a discounted rate for groups or for families.

*You may want to also have food trucks (with a deal to get a percentage of their sales, host a bake sale, or combine one of the other fundraiser ideas at this event).

Alternatively, you may opt to host a ‘real’ golf tournament at a local golf course (especially if they will allow you to use the course for free or at a heavily discounted rate).

This event is a good option to do during the school’s field day, carnival day or other outdoor event. It involves setting up stations for participants to make their own tie dye t-shirts.

Supplies Needed:

White 100% cotton T-shirts in various sizes (These can be purchased online or at craft stores, like Hobby Lobby.) Be sure to keep your receipt so you can return any that are unused.

Soda Ash Fixer (aka Sodium Carbonate) – This can be found online, at Walmart or in grocery stores near the laundry detergents.

Dye (in various colors) - Maybe just your school’s colors to keep it simple

Water (to mix with the soda ash fixer and dye)

Rubber bands

Plastic ice cream buckets or other containers and/or squirt bottles (for the dye)

Funnels (if dye is poured into squirt bottles)

Folding Tables (covered in plastic)

Plastic gloves

Plastic ziploc bags

Markers (for writing the participants’ names on the bags)

Instructions (telling how to let the shirt stay in the Ziploc bags overnight and then rinse it until the water is clear and wash/dry it separately)

Smocks / Aprons (optional – to protect participants’ clothes)

Instructions and Tips:

Soak the shirts in the soda ash for 5-10 minutes. Be sure to let the helpers who are soaking the shirts wear googles, dust masks and gloves since it is mildly caustic. Wring out the shirts.

Having your team members create their own shirts in various styles before the fundraising event is a fun team building exercise. The shirts they create can then be worn to the fundraiser to show the different options. Let your team members work with small groups of the participants and demonstrate how to scrunch and tie the shirts with the rubber bands for the desired pattern or design. (You may want to also have instructions and images posted.)

Dip / squirt on the dye in the desired color / pattern.

Place the dyed shirt in a plastic Ziploc bag and write the participant’s name on the bag with a permanent marker. Resist the urge to untie the shirt!

Give the participant printed instructions on how to wait 24 hours before removing the rubber bands, rinsing the shirt until the water runs clear and then washing the shirt with warm soapy water (by itself).

Be sure to set your prices high enough to cover the cost of all of the supplies, especially the shirt, and still make a decent profit.

*Alternatively, you can have your team make the shirts and then sell them. You can take pre-orders to ensure that you don’t make more than you can sell or that you make the right number of designs / sizes.

Like the a miniature golf fundraiser, this idea will take some effort but can be very lucrative. Think of this as a mini prom. Participants should dress up but in spite of the name, does not have to be ‘formal’ attire.

Supplies Needed:

A venue (preferably the school or other free location)

Decorations (streamers, balloons, lights, glitter, tablecloths, etc) – “Party City” is your BFF

Folding table(s) – For snacks

Snacks (punch / sodas, chips / pretzels, cookies, cupcakes, finger foods, veggies / dip, etc) -- You can enlist your team members to make baked goods if the budget is tight

Paper plates / napkins / plasticware / cups…

Music / Live entertainment – Hiring a professional DJ is recommended

Photographer – You can sell pictures taken at the dance as an additional revenue source (or include one photo in the price of the tickets with the option to purchase more).

Chaperones

Printed tickets

Tiara / Crown / Flowers (if selecting a King/Queen)

Instructions and Tips:

It can be helpful to select a color scheme and a theme for the event. Enlist parents to help with the planning and setup and of course have your team members help plan and decorate.

Advertise and sell tickets in advance of the event so you can plan and prepare accordingly.

You may want to have seniors wear a specific color or have a special dance time for them.

This is a great fundraiser for Valentine’s Day! Students send candy along with a personalized message that are delivered during the school day to each recipient.

Supplies Needed:

Large candy bars / lollipops (buy these in large boxes from Sam’s Club / Costco) OR Hershey kisses / miniature candy bars

Food-grade Cellophane bags (if using Hershey kisses/mini candy bars - available at Walmart or Party City or in bulk online)

Small cards/envelopes OR design a pre-printed form (i.e. “Happy Valentine’s Day” with an image of hearts … To: ____ From: _____ Message: _____ )

Spools of Curling Ribbon (in Valentine’s Day colors … red, pink, white...)

Instructions and Tips:

Let the purchaser fill out the form / card (writing a short message to the recipient) at the time of purchase.

Let the purchaser select the type of candy bar (unless using bags of miniature candy bars / Hershey kisses)

Sell the candygrams a couple of weeks ahead of time … during lunch or in-person from your team members.

Tie the card/form with curling ribbon around the selected candy bar or bag of candy.

Let your team members deliver them to the recipients during the school day on Valentine’s Day (or the Friday beforehand if it’s on a weekend).

Preparing the candygrams as a team can be a fun team building activity if you add music and snacks or pizza. (Everyone can contribute a small amount each to cover the cost of the food.)

Any leftovers can be sold individually during lunchtime or by your team members between classes.

This fundraiser can be one of the easiest to do and most rewarding. The key is to have a highly desired prize.

Supplies Needed:

Prize(s) - You can ask local businesses to donate a prize (a product or service, electronics, gift certificate, cash…) or you can simply offer a percentage of the proceeds. The monetary prize that is a percentage of your proceeds can incentivize those who have purchased a ticket to encourage others to buy tickets too, so that the prize is greater.

Printed Tickets with a unique number (with a duplicate copy or perforated section for the drawing)

Instructions and Tips:

*** It’s important to check your state, county and city’s laws to ensure that you don’t unintentionally break any rules concerning raffles. Some areas require a special permit or require that tickets are sold and the winner drawn during an event on the same day.

Design your tickets and get them printed. Include a space for your copy for the drawing with the contact information of the purchaser.

Keep the tickets and ticket stubs in a secure area.

When drawing the winner, ensure that all of the tickets are well shuffled. Select an unbiased person to draw the winning ticket stub, making sure that they cannot see the tickets as they draw. The drawing should be done with many witnesses (i.e. at a pep rally, or school assembly). If you have multiple prizes, draw the 2nd, 3rd place winners…

This is a great event to host a couple of months before Prom. You can contact local businesses that sell or rent formal apparel and ask them to lend clothing for the fashion show. They may even be willing to pay a fee to participate since this event will be great advertisement for their business!

Supplies Needed:

Clothing – Formal wear or other clothing / shoes (preferably on loan from local businesses)

Models – Select team members and other students to model the clothing

Emcee – to announce each model

Tickets

Music / Sound system

Venue with a stage or stadium seating (i.e. the school auditorium or gym)

Instructions and Tips:

Sell tickets to students to attend the fashion show. Partner with the local businesses that sell /rent the clothing to offer discounts to the models. You may also be able to have a give-away to those in attendance for a store gift card (either one large prize for a single winner or a small discount for everyone).

Announce each model’s name during the show along with information on where their outfit can be purchased or rented.

This fundraiser is a great way to showcase the talent in your school’s student body. Including teachers and other faculty members in the show can add to the fun.

Supplies Needed:

Musicians, singers, dancers, comedians…

Prizes (this is optional but may help increase the number of performers - partner with local businesses to donate gift cards or services)

Emcee – to introduce each act

Tickets

Sound system

Venue with a stage or stadium seating (i.e. the school auditorium or gym)

Judges and scorecards OR Voting Forms (if the audience decides)

Instructions and Tips:

It’s recommended to hold an audition to ensure that the performances are entertaining and meet criteria that you set.

You may want to limit the number of categories for the acts (singing, playing an instrument, dancing, comedy…). You could also award prizes for each category or have a single prize.

Be sure to have some of your team members (if they are not performing) working backstage to ensure smooth transitions between each act.