Football Fundraising
Football Fundraising — Zero Fees
Helmets, pads, jerseys, travel, field maintenance, training equipment — football is expensive. Run lift-a-thons, walk-a-thons, and online campaigns to fund your program. Zero platform fees.
Football fundraiser ideas that work
Forget selling candy bars and coupon books. Your players signed up to compete, not go door-to-door. These fundraisers turn workouts and game days into money for your program.
Lift-a-Thon
THE football fundraiser. Donors pledge per rep or per pound lifted. Your linemen benching 225 for 10 reps with $1/rep pledges from 20 supporters raises $200 per player. Scale that across a 40-man roster and you're pulling in $5,000-$8,000 from a single afternoon in the weight room.
Walk-a-Thon
Donors pledge per lap or per mile. Great for off-season conditioning — your players walk or jog laps around the field while raising money. A player doing 20 laps with $1/lap pledges from 25 supporters raises $500. Easy to organize and parents love watching.
Tackle Dummy Drive
Flat donation campaign for specific equipment needs. Need new tackle dummies, blocking sleds, or training pads? Set a goal, give every player a personal donation page, and let them rally their network. Concrete goals drive donations — "We need $3,000 for new tackling equipment" converts better than "support our team."
Online Donation Campaign
No event required. Every player gets a personal donation page with a unique link and QR code. They text it to family, post it on social media, and hand it out at Friday night games. Perfect for helmets, pads, jerseys, travel costs, or field maintenance.
Move-a-Thon
Donors pledge per activity — push-ups, burpees, sprints, whatever your coach picks. Turn a conditioning day into a fundraiser. A player doing 50 push-ups with $0.50/rep pledges from 20 donors raises $500. The whole team competes, and the leaderboard drives friendly rivalries.
Football programs raise $5,000-$15,000 per season
A single lift-a-thon with a 40-man roster can pull in $5,000-$8,000 in one afternoon. Add an online donation campaign running alongside it and you're looking at five figures before the season even starts.
With PledgeAthon, 100% of every donation goes to your program. No vendor cuts. No inventory to manage. No kids going door-to-door. Set up a lift-a-thon on Monday, have players sharing links by Tuesday, and deposit the first donations by Wednesday.
One lift-a-thon. One afternoon. More money than a semester of bake sales.
Built for football fundraising
Every feature your program needs to raise more money with less work.
Personal Donation Pages
Every player gets their own page with a unique link and QR code. They text it to family, share it on Instagram, and hand out QR codes at games. Each page tracks their individual fundraising progress.
QR Codes for Game Day
Print QR codes on the back of programs, tape them to the concession stand, post them in the press box. Fans scan, donate, and your team raises money while they play.
Per-Rep / Per-Activity Tracking
Log reps, laps, or any activity after the event. Per-activity donations calculate automatically. Donors pledge $1/rep, your player lifts 15 reps, and every donor gets charged the right amount.
Zero Fees + TipShare
Every dollar goes to your program. Zero platform fees. Plus, we share 10% of donor tips back with your team through TipShare. The only cost is standard Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30). Cash and check donations have zero fees.
Live Leaderboards
Football players are competitive — use it. Leaderboards show who's raised the most in real time. Post it in the locker room, share it in the group chat, and watch fundraising turn into a team competition.
Real-Time Dashboard
Track every donation as it comes in. See who's raised the most, who still needs to share their link, and your team total — all in one place. Perfect for booster club treasurers who need reporting.
How it works
Create your fundraiser
Name it, pick your event type (lift-a-thon, walk-a-thon, flat donation, or both). Set your goal. Takes about 60 seconds.
Add your roster
Upload a CSV or add players one by one. Each player gets their own donation page with a shareable link and QR code.
Players share their links
Players text their link to family, post it on social media, and hand out QR codes at Friday night games. The more they share, the more they raise.
Run the event, collect donations
Log results after the event (reps, laps, etc.). Per-activity donations calculate automatically. Money deposits to your bank within 1 business day.
Frequently asked questions
How does a lift-a-thon work for football?
Players collect pledges from friends and family — donors commit to a dollar amount per rep (e.g., $1/rep on bench press). On event day, each player maxes out their reps while coaches log results. PledgeAthon calculates each donor's total automatically. A player with 20 donors at $1/rep who hits 12 reps raises $240 from one lift. Multiply across your roster and you're looking at $5,000-$8,000.
Can our booster club use this?
Absolutely. Booster clubs are our biggest users for football. The organizer (usually the booster club president or treasurer) creates the fundraiser, adds the roster, and manages the dashboard. Players share their links. The booster club's bank account receives payouts directly through Stripe. You get full reporting for your treasurer's records.
How much can a football team realistically raise?
Football programs typically raise $5,000-$15,000 per season depending on roster size and how actively players share their links. A 40-player team where each kid gets 20 donors at $1/rep and lifts 12 reps raises $9,600 from a single lift-a-thon. The key is getting every player to share — leaderboards help with that.
What are the fees?
Zero platform fees. The only cost is standard Stripe processing: 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction. On a $50 donation, that's $1.75 — your team keeps $48.25. Cash and check donations have no fees at all. Plus, we share 10% of donor tips back with your program through TipShare.
Can we fundraise for specific equipment?
Yes. Run a flat donation campaign with a clear goal — "$4,000 for new helmets" or "$6,000 for an away game bus." Concrete goals drive donations because donors know exactly where their money goes. You can run this alongside a lift-a-thon or as a standalone campaign.
How do payouts work?
Connect your bank account through Stripe (one-time setup, takes 2 minutes). After that, donations deposit within 1 business day. No waiting until the campaign ends — money flows as it comes in. Your booster club treasurer can track everything from the dashboard.
Ready to fund your football program?
Set up your first football fundraiser in 60 seconds. Free forever — no platform fees, no contracts, no credit card required.