If you have a little athlete, get prepared to get involved in some kind of sports fundraising event. Kids who are involved in non-school funded sports will have to come up with more money than kids that are in sports funded by the school. However, sports funding budgets are continuing to decrease. As a result, schools are asking kids and parents for help more frequently.

If you're asked to come up with some sports fundraising ideas, keep two things in mind. One, you want to maximize your profit. Two, you want to come up with something that people who are not involved with the sport will want to buy.

Discount Coupons
In the past couple of years discount coupons have become a popular form for sports fundraising. Discount coupons can be applied to a variety of different places. However, restaurant and entertainment coupons tend to be the most popular.

When you get involved in a discount coupon sports fundraiser, you have to do a little legwork. You're the one that has to go out and find merchants in your area that will want to participate in the program.

Think about which local vendors might like to participate in a discount program. Sandwich shops, pizza places and other local restaurants will usually sign on. Florists, tanning salons, car washes and dry cleaners are also good businesses. Make sure to tell them that they'll get "free" advertising out of the deal because the company name will be placed on the card. They'll also get people coming into their store, which will ultimately mean more profit.

To get the team involved, ask each kid to sign up one or two merchants. Many of them will get this done quickly. But, if you're having a hard time motivating some of them, remind them that they're doing this to fund new jerseys or a tournament.

Discount coupons usually sell really quickly because they offer something that customers like — discounts. For $5 to $10 (the price depends on the card) customers can get great deals on services they use anyway!

The Weekend Wash
Weekend carwashes are popular sports fundraisers, especially in the spring and fall. You're going to need to do this on a very busy corner or your not going to get enough business. Sometimes gas stations (that don't have carwashes) will let sports teams set up shop in their parking lot if the lot is big enough.

This is a great sports fundraiser because it's cheap and if placed in the right spot, will generate a lot of customers. It's cheap because all you have to pay for is soap, sponges and towels. It's also something people need, especially in the muddy months. The one downside to this fundraiser is weather. Whenever you host an outside sports fundraiser like this, you risk running into bad weather that could shut down the fundraiser.