Fundraising Ideas for Individuals

I would make them understand that sports are expensive and they must choose one to participate in. Three sports at a time for such young ages is ridiculous! How do they possibly attend all practices and games for all three sports?

It was a crazy February and that was the only time the 3 sports coincided. Hockey was in the middle of the season, basketball was just ending and baseball practices had just begun. It's the only time of the year that it ever happens but thankfully they won't be playing basketball any longer! Typically they only play one at a time or one might be starting while another ends. DH coaches baseball and is able to schedule around the other sports.
 
I would not be interested in helping fund a child's extracurricular activities directly (my child has her own that I fund - and they only get more expensive, for the record), but if a neighbor was to post on our Facebook page that their children wanted to do some chores (under your supervision) like rolling trashcans to and from the street, raking leaves, or pet sitting, I'd consider it.
 
One of my dd's dances pretty intensely and the cost between classes and performances easily hits $5k a year. Since she is 15yo and can babysit (not enough free evenings for a job), we do expect her to pay part of her tuition. She pays $40 per month plus helps out with the company fee. She also has to pay part of her phone bill so she has little money for anything extra but these are her choices (she doesn't *need* a smartphone). She does ask for money for pretty much any gift giving opportunity (from us, we don't ask others unless they ask...).

At 9 and 7 though, it's hard to contribute much. I agree with other suggestions to limit activities and buy used equipment, which it sounds like y'all have already agreed to do. As far as earning money, my nextdoor neighbor's boys, who are 9 & 7 (like mine and yours) do a lemonade stand many weekends in the summer. They make a killing! One time last summer, my boys helped them for 2 hours so they split the proceeds 4 ways. My boys each made $10 so that means that $40 was made over 2 hours! Not bad money! Obviously location is key and we do live on a road that is a main entry/exit to our neighborhood.
 
Does the team have a boosters group or something similar? Not familiar with hockey in particular but a lot of the travel teams here fundraise for team needs like the uniforms or tournaments. You're still on the hook for equipment but it can help with uniforms even if not a travel team. My niece is hitting everyone up for a donation for a tournament, the boosters put it together and the girls just need to get people. Whatever they raise goes towards the costs to transport, house, and feed the team; that way it makes sure the whole team gets to the tournament by subsidizing it for the parents. I think they do something local like a car wash or something that helps with the uniforms at the beginning of the season.
If it's a group of people getting together to fundraise for a shared goal that makes sense, as the team as a whole benefits. Otherwise it's just a side hustle you're doing with a specific goal in mind for your own interests. Maybe there are like minded parents that'd be interested in doing something to benefit the team.
 


At 9 and 7 though, it's hard to contribute much. I agree with other suggestions to limit activities and buy used equipment, which it sounds like y'all have already agreed to do. As far as earning money, my nextdoor neighbor's boys, who are 9 & 7 (like mine and yours) do a lemonade stand many weekends in the summer. They make a killing! One time last summer, my boys helped them for 2 hours so they split the proceeds 4 ways. My boys each made $10 so that means that $40 was made over 2 hours! Not bad money! Obviously location is key and we do live on a road that is a main entry/exit to our neighborhood.

This reminded me of a situation a few years ago. I was part of a group training for a marathon and we were doing "hill training" one night (which, in this case, meant running up and down the same hill/street). It was a hot summer night and partway through the evening, a little girl (maybe 10-years-old) who lived in a house at the bottom of the hill, came out and set up a lemonade and Powerade stand at the end of her driveway. This hill is pretty popular for hill training because it is a dead end street with almost no traffic, so I suspect that she does that often. Alas, few of us had any money on us (and all had brought water/drinks).
 
One of my dd's dances pretty intensely and the cost between classes and performances easily hits $5k a year. Since she is 15yo and can babysit (not enough free evenings for a job), we do expect her to pay part of her tuition. She pays $40 per month plus helps out with the company fee. She also has to pay part of her phone bill so she has little money for anything extra but these are her choices (she doesn't *need* a smartphone). She does ask for money for pretty much any gift giving opportunity (from us, we don't ask others unless they ask...).

At 9 and 7 though, it's hard to contribute much. I agree with other suggestions to limit activities and buy used equipment, which it sounds like y'all have already agreed to do. As far as earning money, my nextdoor neighbor's boys, who are 9 & 7 (like mine and yours) do a lemonade stand many weekends in the summer. They make a killing! One time last summer, my boys helped them for 2 hours so they split the proceeds 4 ways. My boys each made $10 so that means that $40 was made over 2 hours! Not bad money! Obviously location is key and we do live on a road that is a main entry/exit to our neighborhood.

Does the team have a boosters group or something similar? Not familiar with hockey in particular but a lot of the travel teams here fundraise for team needs like the uniforms or tournaments. You're still on the hook for equipment but it can help with uniforms even if not a travel team. My niece is hitting everyone up for a donation for a tournament, the boosters put it together and the girls just need to get people. Whatever they raise goes towards the costs to transport, house, and feed the team; that way it makes sure the whole team gets to the tournament by subsidizing it for the parents. I think they do something local like a car wash or something that helps with the uniforms at the beginning of the season.
If it's a group of people getting together to fundraise for a shared goal that makes sense, as the team as a whole benefits. Otherwise it's just a side hustle you're doing with a specific goal in mind for your own interests. Maybe there are like minded parents that'd be interested in doing something to benefit the team.

I think we will try a lemonade stand when the weather is better (like you said @wendow) and possibly find another family that is having the same issue (like you mentioned @miztressuz). Many of the kids play inline because it's so much cheaper and other parents have expressed that the cost keeps them from transitioning to ice. Perhaps we'll set up a stand a few times this spring and summer!

I agree that 7 and 9 is very young and typically I wouldn't ever mention to them that cost is an issue since I think they never really needed to be aware but I think now they're old enough to at least understand that this isn't cheap and they need to REALLY want to do it. And, should they REALLY want to, until mom and dad can make room in the budget, they may need to set up a lemonade stand and sell some of their unwanted, unused toys.
 
Maybe I'm the nay-sayer here, but I'm good with making them understand value and having to do chores above and beyond to "fund" their sports. Yes, this means you'll pay for it technically, but value on time and finances starts young.

My own case in point: oldest child wanted to have new shoes for basketball. Current shoes were perfect, but the new ones were shiny! At age 10, said child was assigned to extra chores around the house that had monetary value (stacking wood, moving a pile of bricks, etc.). When it came time to buy the new shoes, child had earned half of the price. And those shoes were worshipped and cleaned. Funny thing, child's best friend had the same pair bought. "It's not fair I had to work for mine" chimed in my kid. But, then I pointed out the value my kid put on the shoes, how nice they stayed and appreciated they were. Light bulb moment was fun to watch.

This story isn't to belittle parents who buy their kids shoes. I've caved and bought plenty of things. It's just a little slice of a teaching moment. Not sure a 7 and 9 year old would get the depth, but YMMV.
 


I would make them understand that sports are expensive and they must choose one to participate in. Three sports at a time for such young ages is ridiculous! How do they possibly attend all practices and games for all three sports?
My kids did it, it actually ended ds19’s hockey career at 8. I remember it was a particularly busy Saturday with back to back baseball/hockey/soccer games. We told him that after that season, he had to choose between hockey or everything else. He is a soccer kid, so chose everything else (including basketball and roller hockey).

Ds15 runs track this spring, plays on a fall HS soccer team, plus a club soccer team. The HS team is more of a mix of all of the 3 spring teams playing in a spring league, it’s voluntary, with a big roster, so guys are encouraged to skip if they have another commitment (I think they hav3 25 guys, too many to even have on the bench).
 
I would make them understand that sports are expensive and they must choose one to participate in. Three sports at a time for such young ages is ridiculous! How do they possibly attend all practices and games for all three sports?

My kids are only allowed one activity (unless they want to learn a musical instrument and then we will allow that plus a sport/dance/theater) so I tend to agree with you that three is too much. It sounds like OP's kids are not doing all these sports at the same time.
 
They can sell candy bars door-to-door

be VERY CAUTIOUS with this-in many cities it has become illegal for minors to sell door to door (and it is enforced). the schools, scouts and sports teams where we previously lived hated it when this was enacted.

I agree with others who dislike the go fund me or facebook requests for help with kid's extracurricular activities, I feel it's on the parents and if it's not feasible financially then the kids need to be made aware of it. if it's a matter of simply foregoing vacations then if the parents are o.k. with that and ALL the other kids in the household are on board with it then that's the choice (if it's just for one or two of the kids in a household w/other siblings who don't do any of these costly activities I don't feel it's fair to them to just arbitrarily opt to take all the 'vacation/entertainment' money for the year and funnel it to the one or two that do the costly activities).

as for making money at age 7 and 9 that might be difficult. I know I wouldn't want a 7 or 9 year old doing any work around my house short of maybe raking leaves. we also didn't do any kind of work at home to earn money for something we had already explained to the kids wasn't in our budget (them doing a job for us that we weren't already planning to pay someone else to do wasn't going to make that money magically appear in our budget-and we wanted them to realize that). both my kids each got a modest allowance-if there was something they wanted that was of an ongoing nature that we either couldn't afford (in whole or part) or we didn't feel we wanted to pay for it, there was the option they could save up or if the cost was less than their monthly allowance they could allocate a portion to pay/help pay for it. with one it was a membership related to video gaming-he got a gift of membership for a couple of months for some holiday but after that if he wanted to continue he had to budget it (and it's telling how much a kid values something when they are taking the financial hit and paying out of pocket).
 
Oh and speaking from experience (friends who have kids in hockey), hockey tournaments will be your vacations. You won't be able to go anywhere else, both from a financial standpoint and the team won't allow it.

Oh for certain! Couldn't agree more!

Our neighbor's son is on the Junior Admiral team, and he travels all over the place for tournaments.
We live in WI, and they just had a tournament in Nashville. They left on Wed afternoon, so he missed 2 days of school. Paid for 4 nights of hotels. It's at least $7-8K per year commitment.

And....the family had to pass on an unbelievable opportunity to go to Maui....because of hockey, and it cannot be missed!
 
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My daughter was a club swimmer. Our club hosted a lot of meets, and I found out that the persons who ran the concessions/hospitality received a substantial discount on their fees (50% for the fall session,which was the bulk of the cost). When the previous concession person retired I jumped on it, and did the job for 6 years. I signed a commitment contract which outlined which events I would cover. I was able to be at all the meets, got to see all her events, and got to be on the pool deck because I was a working the meet. Saved me thousands of dollars. Check and see if something like that is available in your league.

My other daughter did some camps associated with doing guard for band. They were supposed to have a fundraiser to pay for it, but it did not happen. We cleaned house and had a garage sale, she sat out there all day and earned enough to pay for her camp payment.
 
Please don't. It's not reasonable for you to hit up other people to fund your children's sport. Either find a way to pay yourself, or tell them you can't afford it.

Your boys are too young to do much to earn outside cash--a yard sale, maybe dog-walking if they can be counted on to be super reliable. I like the idea of them contributing, but I don't see where people would hire them, outside of maybe their grandparents or something.

I like the PP's suggestion of you working concessions. Along a similar vein, sometimes there are discounts to be had--if I volunteered at my kids' dance studio, I would get a tuition discount, for example. Something like that is worth looking into.
 
Please don't. It's not reasonable for you to hit up other people to fund your children's sport. Either find a way to pay yourself, or tell them you can't afford it.

Your boys are too young to do much to earn outside cash--a yard sale, maybe dog-walking if they can be counted on to be super reliable. I like the idea of them contributing, but I don't see where people would hire them, outside of maybe their grandparents or something.

I like the PP's suggestion of you working concessions. Along a similar vein, sometimes there are discounts to be had--if I volunteered at my kids' dance studio, I would get a tuition discount, for example. Something like that is worth looking into.

I tried reading my post over to see where I said I'd ask others to pay for it? You aren't the first to comment on it so I am honestly confused. In no way would I EVER ask someone else to donate money. I stated I would NOT do a Gofundme or the sort and there seems to be a common misconception that I'm asking people for funds. I would not.

I'm asking how THEY (my kids) can raise funds. I've got great input so far. Having a yard sale of their old toys (and unused) and a lemonade stand were a couple ideas.

I wish I could volunteer in some aspect. The rink is not run by volunteers.

Editing to add that I don't expect them to contribute the entire amount. Dropping inline and basketball will save us a few hundred alone. Next year we will work it in our budget though.
 
As Judge Judy would suggest. "go pickup cans and bottles and recycle them". The bonus is you are doing a community service by picking up litter.
Or ask if there is overtime available at work.
Or just do without something to save money.
 
Since children so young can’t really earn a significant amount, I would not let them begin an activity that wasn’t in the budget. If they fall in love with it then there will be an ongoing cost. Yard sales and lemonade stands will only take you so far.

We always paid for whatever activities our kids were involved in. It’s just part of it to us.

Do you and your DH both work? If not then it might be time for the SAHP to get a job. If you both already work, then it’s time to cut the budget if you really want them to take up an expensive activity.
 
I think using the word fundraiser is what people are having issues with. I don't think you mean it the way it sounds.

I would second picking up cans. You can make it their job to crush those cans. It wont give you a fortune but it is definitely work they can do at their ages. You could also have them ask neighbors and relatives to save their cans for them. I think people would be happy to help in this way. It would take some commitment for the kids to follow up and pick up what people save for them.
 
I tried reading my post over to see where I said I'd ask others to pay for it? You aren't the first to comment on it so I am honestly confused. In no way would I EVER ask someone else to donate money. I stated I would NOT do a Gofundme or the sort and there seems to be a common misconception that I'm asking people for funds. I would not.

I'm asking how THEY (my kids) can raise funds. I've got great input so far. Having a yard sale of their old toys (and unused) and a lemonade stand were a couple ideas.

I wish I could volunteer in some aspect. The rink is not run by volunteers.

Editing to add that I don't expect them to contribute the entire amount. Dropping inline and basketball will save us a few hundred alone. Next year we will work it in our budget though.


You specifically asked if fundraising would be in poor taste. My answer is, Yes, it would be. Fundraising is asking other people to pay for your activity. Asking your children to pitch in for expenses, to the extent that they can, isn't "fundraising".
 
You specifically asked if fundraising would be in poor taste. My answer is, Yes, it would be. Fundraising is asking other people to pay for your activity. Asking your children to pitch in for expenses, to the extent that they can, isn't "fundraising".

Got it. I guess we all have different views on the term fundraise. I believe your definition of "asking others to pay for my kids' activity" would be along the lines of crowd funding i.e. Gofundme (of which I would NOT do). But again, that's my point of view (and others who have chimed in with their ideas).

When I was a kid I would have hoped that if I wanted to do something (something that kept me out of trouble, kept me active, taught me responsibility and about teamwork) and my parents couldn't afford it, I would hope that instead of them saying they couldn't afford it they would say we can't afford it entirely but you can work for it and we'll help you in the process.

Different parenting styles I guess. And that's ok. It's very easy to say no thanks in terms of fundraising or "paying for other kids' activities". I do it all the time. However, there are some that I do donate to when I have a few spare dollars. Nobody is forcing me one way or the other.

Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate your opinion.
 
While I would not allow kids to pick up litter, we did a variation of that. As kids our grandparents would save their recycling to give to us so we could get the cash for it and our parents would take it to the recycle with us. It's not worth it these days unless you have a soda or beer drinker in your family making a decent amount of cans/bottles available on a regular basis though...

This isn't the first time they'll ask for something that is beyond your reach and I think it's good you told them they'd have to chose and are trying to make this come within your reach. My parents always told me if something was too expensive and it trained me from a very young age that some things in life, no matter how much I wanted them, are too expensive. This included trips I wanted to do in jr high and high school that sold themselves as developing my interests and helping me get into and prepare for college. Those are hard sells for parents to turn down but they were just too expensive for my parents at the time and they told me so. We would talk it out and while disappointed I wasn't angry, I understood. And: I survived and thrived without the expensive trips and experiences. My parents did what they decided they could afford and even managed to send us through college at the end of all of it. You need to do what works for YOU- and it sounds like you're doing exactly that so serious kudos. It's hard saying no, but sometimes it's even harder when it's no* (* meaning it could be yes but we'll have to eliminate other parts of our family life, vacay, sports, etc.). Whether it's overtime work for you or cutting back on your vacation and/or some other aspect of your budget I hope you'll find the balance you're looking for to make it work. (And as much as I remember picking up cans from my grandparents as a kid and doing yard work, I'll be the first to acknowledge that those things are not going to get you anywhere near what you need.)
 

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