Volleyball Tournament Fundraising Ideas

The biggest challenge that most of the volleyball tournament organizers face before their event is fundraising. Just because of the shortage of funds, a great tournament idea can turn into ashes.

At first glance, raising funds for your volleyball tournament looks like a daunting task. Indeed, it is a challenging thing to do, but with the right planning, it is just another step in organizing a successful volleyball tournament.

Here are the methods that will help you collect top dollars from the masses and make your tournament a big success.

Serve-a-thon Fundraiser

A “Serve-a-thon” is a fundraising concept that can be easily adapted to a volleyball tournament. It is similar to a walk-a-thon, but instead of walking, participants collect pledges and donations based on their serving performance.

Serve-a-thon is just a single idea. The same concepts can be applied to other volleyball plays like digging, blocking, spiking, and so on.

Participants seek sponsors who pledge a certain amount of money for each successful service they make. These sponsors are mostly from the friends and family of the player, and they pledge to give a small amount for each successful play (let’s say $1).

Now, set a specific time limit, like 30 minutes, during which players attempt as many successful serves as possible. This creates a fun and energetic atmosphere and lets them collect pledges.

To add an element of skill, place targets on the court that players aim to hit with their serves. Hitting a target could count for more in the pledge system.

A small percentage of the pledges go to the fundraiser all the way.

Volleyball Skills Clinic

Organize a volleyball clinic or skill center before the tournament where experienced players and coaches offer training sessions for a small fee, appealing to both beginners and advanced players.

This is a win-win situation for everyone, as it will attract a great number of people to your tournament since they will have an opportunity to learn from the real pros.

Silent Auction with Volleyball Memorabilia

Collect volleyball memorabilia and related items and hold a silent auction either during a tournament or as a standalone event.

Anyone can bring volleyball memorabilia to sale, and you already have a pool of buyers in the form of an audience and other participants.

A small flat fee for each sale will directly go to support the tournament.

Sponsorship Drive

Reach out to local businesses to sponsor your tournament, offering them advertising opportunities in return.

Businesses are always looking for advertisement opportunities, and if you have the right audience, they will be more than happy to sponsor you.

Offer them top spots for advertisements in exchange for extra fundraising. Here are some spots that you can offer to sponsors:

• Volleyballs
• Seats advertisements
• Logo on placard
• Poles
• Team jerseys
• Court borders
• Scoreboards
• Tournament banners
• Event website and social media
• Refreshment stands
• Player water bottles
• Tournament program booklets
• Entry tickets
• Prize or trophy sponsorship
• Net sponsorship
• Player bags or backpacks
• Warm-up gear
• Photo booths
• Parking area
• VIP area
• First aid stations
• Rest areas or lounges
• Interactive fan zones

Sponsors mostly pay based on the popularity and longevity of the event. So the sponsorship money depends on how long your tournament lasts.

Ticket segmentation

You will see this strategy in play in every sports tournament.

The seat that offers the best view is sold in top dollars. And the hierarchy goes on. Every seating tier will have different prices and perks associated with it.

Provide lunch/dinner/tea to the highest ticketing tier and give them places near players’ dugouts.

The second highest tier will have fewer facilities.

And so on and so forth.

Partnering with Payment processors

Another exceptional way that I found so helpful during our tournament fundraising is to partner with a payment processor and give a flat 5 to 10 percent discount to people using that payment method.

While you offer a small discount on tickets, you will get the sponsorship from that payment processor, as you are urging others to join their platform to avoid discounts.

Similarly, open the tickets one day earlier for people who are ready to pay with that specific payment processor.

Most often, this strategy has turned out to be the biggest source of funding for our tournaments as we bring customers to that payment processor and they sponsor us in return.

Apart from fans, this payment processing hack can also be offered to teams who want to register.

Have a Donation Option on the Registration Form

To keep things realistic, let me tell you that not all the teams will donate to the tournaments.

But this is a great way to get a significant amount of funds from participants while they are registering.

Many teams are willing to chip in extra dollars apart from the joining fee. This is your chance to grab the opportunity, so do not forget to put a donation option on the registration form.

Other than that, you can lead users to online merchandise right from the registration form.

The moment they hit the submit button, show them other services that you offer, like volleyball merchandise, clinics, and affiliate links, which will be a win-win situation for all.

Yard Sale

Encourage the volleyball team members, their families, and the local community to donate items for the yard sale.

These items can include sports equipment, clothes, books, household items, and other goods in good condition. The more diverse the items, the wider the appeal to different buyers.

Now, choose a location that is visible and easily accessible to the public. This could be a school gymnasium, a community center parking lot, or a large backyard. 

Advertise the yard sale well in advance using social media, local newspapers, community bulletin boards, and flyers. Highlight that the sale is for a good cause, as this can attract more people.

Before the sale, organize the items into categories (like sports gear, books, clothing) for easy browsing. Price items reasonably with the goal of selling as many items as possible.

To make the yard sale more appealing, consider adding elements like music, a bake sale, or a lemonade stand. You could even have some team members demonstrate volleyball skills to entertain visitors and promote the tournament.

Have a cash box with plenty of change, and if possible, set up a way to accept electronic payments like credit cards or mobile payment apps. This makes it convenient for more buyers to make purchases.

After the event, publicly thank everyone who donated items, helped with the sale, or made purchases. This can be done through social media, a local newspaper, or a community newsletter.

Host a Volleyball Carnival

Set up a carnival with games, food, and activities at your tournament venue, charging for tickets and booths.

The carnivals must be in full swing on tournament days as they will attract an audience in big numbers.

Volleyball Marathon

The idea is to increase the number of matches (for more sponsorship opportunities) while giving players more practice at the same time.

Host a day-long volleyball event where teams compete in a continuous series of games, raising funds through entry fees and sponsorships. (Alongside all the other opportunities that can also be used on the actual game day).

Celebrity Volleyball Match

If you can get access to some celebrities, there is a great opportunity to cash it on.

Organize a volleyball game featuring local celebrities or well-known athletes to draw a large crowd, with ticket sales supporting the fundraiser.

Do not forget to market the event on social media platforms for the best results.

Raffle Tickets Sale

Nothing can beat raffle ticket sales for tournament fundraising.

Viewers love to put things at stake and be on their toes to win prizes. This will be your time to seize the opportunity and collect funds.

Sell raffle tickets for prizes donated by local businesses or community members, which can be drawn at a volleyball event.

There are endless possibilities to offer prizes in exchange for raffle tickets.

BBQ and Volleyball Day

There can be a lot of cool volleyball tournament ideas that can attract people towards your event.

And this is one such idea.

Combine a friendly volleyball tournament with a barbecue, charging for food and participation to raise funds.

Do not forget to bring in some music and aesthetics along the way to attract more and more people to the event.

Invite players to the event and offer premium seating near players to attract more funds.

Volleyball Equipment Swap Meet

Before the tournament starts, you will see a lot of players rushing for new equipment.

This is the time when you can host a swap meet where players can buy, sell, or trade volleyball equipment, with a portion of sales going to the fundraiser.

Online Crowdfunding Campaign

Perhaps the first thing that comes to most minds for fundraising is this.

Set up an online crowdfunding page to collect donations from a wider community.

Write an irresistible vision for your tournament to lure donors. For this, crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, Patreon, Fundable, MightyCause, and others are the best options to attract a broader audience.

Raising funds using a crowdfunding campaign is only possible if you are moving donors emotionally.

Not to mention that you need to add attractive creatives and constant updates to your event to attract more donors.

Volleyball Trivia Night

Host a trivia night with a volleyball theme, charging teams to participate and offering a prize for the winners.

This is a great strategy as it will even attract those teams that are not participating in the tournament. Non participating teams see it as a networking opportunity to connect with other players for a small fee.

Personalized Video Messages

A power volleyball tournament fundraising idea is to ask players to record small personalized video messages or shoutouts for fans in exchange for donations.

I have seen people going crazy over this idea when they get to hear their names from their favorite players.

Streaming Pay-Per-View

Selling a streaming service is only recommended if your tournament has a good following and demand. Otherwise, it could be a double-edged sword.

If the tournament has a notable following, offer a pay-per-view streaming service for those who cannot attend in person.

Also, you need to keep a fine balance between sponsors and the streaming paywall.

If your sponsors are paying you well, offering it to a broader audience for free is also a sane approach as it will help your sponsor reach more audience and, hence, more funds for you.

Sponsored Challenges

Create challenges, like hitting targets with serves, with businesses sponsoring each challenge and participants paying to enter.

Here are some opportunities for these challenges:

• Serve Accuracy Challenge
• Digging Drill Challenge
• Speed Serve Contest (Measure the speed of participants’ serves using a radar gun. The fastest serve wins a prize)
• Set and Spike Accuracy (Where participants must set and then spike the ball to hit a specific area or target on the court.)
• Volleyball Juggling Contest (Challenge participants to keep the volleyball in the air using their hands or feet. The longest juggle gets a prize)
• Vertical Jump Challenge
• Underhand Serve Challenge
• Toughest Setter Challenge (Setters compete to see who can make the most accurate sets under challenging conditions, like odd angles or long distances.)

Customizable Team Jerseys

Offer teams the opportunity to have custom jerseys made with their names and logos for an additional fee.

The teams with their kits already printed will be good to go, while those teams that are yet to prepare for the tournament can get their kits printed with your services.

Food and Beverage Stalls

We have talked about volleyball tournament food table ideas for players.

But what about setting up a bake sale during volleyball tournaments, selling homemade goods to spectators and players.

While you can give stalls for rent to sellers, it is also a great way to catch eyeballs for sponsors.

And what about partnering with local food vendors to set up stalls at the event, with a portion of the proceeds going to the tournament fund.

The catch here is to keep an eye on the quality of the food to avoid any damage to reputation.

Photography Services

Hire a photographer to capture team photos or action shots during the tournament and then sell the photos to participants and spectators.

Offer photography services to the teams as well, which can hire professional photographers, and the fee goes to the fundraisers.

Exclusive Event Merchandise

Sell exclusive tournament merchandise such as hats, water bottles, keychains, and much more.

This idea will only go viral if you manage to market your tournament well and people get their emotions attached to your event.

Keep your merchandise prices lower to reach a broader audience and, hence, more funds.

Halftime Entertainment and Competitions

Organize entertaining halftime shows or competitions with small prizes, which will help in keeping the audience engaged.

While this idea will not directly contribute to your tournament funds, it will urge more people to view matches in court by purchasing tickets.

Car Washing Service

Offer car wash or even oil changing service to participants.

For this, just get some people to wash cars and a couple of mechanics on a freelance basis, who will be doing their jobs during the tournament.

Players get their car once they come back after the tournament, and you get the funds in return.

Online Shopping Fundraiser

Partner with online retailers who donate a portion of sales to your volleyball tournament when shoppers purchase through a special link.

In simple words, be an affiliate of different online stores and promote their products on your social media handles or website.

When players or participants purchase through your links, you get a commission in return, which will fund your tournament.

Market these products at every step of the tournament, from registration form to thank you emails.

Face Painting

Offer face painting services outside the gates.

Fans are always looking for ways to cheer up their teams, which makes face painting a highly popular way.

Not to mention that you can also sell team flags and jerseys outside the gates and even in the stadium for fundraising.

Text-to-Give

Set up a text-to-give campaign where supporters can donate directly from their phones.

They can send a message to a predefined number and donate directly from their mobile phone balance. Surely, a clear, handy way to get funds.

Pre-Tournament Gala Dinner

Organize a gala dinner before the tournament with tickets sold at a premium price, possibly including auctions or guest speakers.

Try to invite players as well to get better outreach.

In-Kind Donations

Seek in-kind donations for necessary items like equipment, refreshments, and gift items, which will eventually reduce the overall cost of your tournament.

Parking Fees

Charge for premium parking spots close to the tournament venue. For non premium spots, charge a relatively lower parking fee.

Autographed Memorabilia

Sell autographed volleyball gear or memorabilia at the tournament or through an online auction.

Fans love it, and they are always ready to pay top bucks for autographed merchandise.

Date Auction Fundraiser

Arrange a get-together with players in exchange for a small fee that goes directly to the fundraiser.

Final Words

Organizing a volleyball tournament is never difficult and should not be stopped just because of a lack of funds.

Each and every tournament has the potential to be funded in one way or another.

The only thing that you need to do is to adopt a right fundraising strategy and market it well to get your desired audience.