So you want to want a new type of fundraiser for your sports team or club to keep things fresh, but you’re not sure where to turn? Maybe you’ve tried a crowdfunding fundraiser and a lift-a-thon fundraiser in the past, so you need something brand new.

Well, the Calendar (AKA Pick-a-date or Donate-a-day) fundraiser could definitely be the solution you're looking for.

Before we dive into how to run one, let’s first walk through exactly what a calendar fundraiser is. In a calendar fundraiser, each fundraiser participant will receive a paper calendar with numbered dates 1 through 31 and “any amount” or “bonus” days. Each day listed on the calendar is representative of that dollar donation for that fundraiser participant. For example, choosing to donate, also called “sponsoring”, day 28 would be a $28 donation. Donating multiple days adds their value (i.e. day 28 and 29 would be a $57 donation).

When someone donates or sponsors a day, they place their name on that day of the paper calendar indicating that the day is complete and that the fundraiser participant is no longer seeking a sponsor for that day. The end goal is for the fundraiser participant to complete their entire calendar of 31 days and 4 “any amount” or “bonus” locations with sponsors.

Now that we’ve established what calendar fundraiser is, here’s how to run one from start to finish: ‍

Step 1: Notify the players on your team and their families about the calendar fundraiser and how it works

This part, which can be a team meeting or communication, is to make sure everyone is on the same page – with new fundraising techniques, it’s always a great idea to make sure every fundraiser participant knows exactly what’s going on and that the concept is explained in its entirety.

Usually, for individuals participating in a Calendar Fundraiser for the first time, there’s some recurring questions. Here’s a few that you can expect to hear (with answers in italics):

• ‍How much money is the entire 31 day Calendar fundraiser? If completely filled, a 31 donate-a-day calendar would raise $496 for your team.
• ‍Can a fundraiser donor donate/sponsor multiple days? Yes! When donating or sponsoring multiple days, the donation is just the cumulative total of the days. e.g. if you sponsor days 15, 16, and 17 it would be a $48 donation (15 + 16 + 17 = 48).
• ‍What happens if a fundraiser participant doesn’t get all 31 days sponsored/donated? In short, nothing! The calendar is just a fun way to implement a clear goal into your team’s fundraiser for each participant.

Step 2: Hand out the paper pick-a-date calendars

You can either create your own paper calendar, or there are plenty of customizable templates online that you can purchase. However, we also provide a ready-to-print, 100% free template for you to download and use which can get you started immediately. Ideally, the calendar you choose to use would also have an explanation for the fundraiser on it, which is why we think our template is great.

Additionally, your fundraiser participants can post the PDF Pick-a-date Calendar file on social media to promote the fundraiser digitally and gather more sponsors.

‍Step 3: Set a timeline and start collecting donations

After holding the kickoff meeting and handing out the Pick-a-date calendars, set a timeline for all the fundraisers to complete. This could be anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks, but you should give plenty of time for your participants to collect donations from their friends and family.

Ideally, setting up a wrap-up meeting time and date before launching will help the fundraiser stay on track.

‍Step 4: Fundraiser wrap up!

Once the deadline date you set for your fundraiser approaches, it’s time to collect your fundraiser participants’ calendars and donations! We’d recommend highly diligently tracking each participant's donations and calendars so that everyone is on the same page if any questions arise.

And there you have it, a calendar fundraiser (pen & paper style) from start to finish!

Side note: If you don’t want to use the old-fashioned “pen and paper” route for this Pick-a-date fundraiser, we offer a fully digital version of this that takes out all of the manual work of outreach, collecting, and tracking donations! If you’re interested in a fully digital Pick-a-date Calendar Fundraiser Just book a quick demo with our co-founder and we’ll show you how it works and why coaches love using Teamfi in just 15 minutes!