Support Your Cheer Habit: Creative Fundraising Ideas

One of the perks of being on a school cheer squad rather than opting for all-stars is that it costs you (and your family) much less money to participate. Still, without the private out-of-pocket contributions, the money to keep the program operational has to come from somewhere. Often, you will find your school’s budget for cheerleading covers almost none of your actual costs. To make up the rest of the expenses for uniforms, shoes, supplies, transportation to events, and so much more, therefore, you will have to rely on successful fundraising. When you first think of fundraisers, the image that comes to mind may be the uncomfortable task of begging your friends, family, and neighbors for money, but if you think creatively, you can actually make your fundraising a lot of fun. Here are some ideas for cool and lucrative fundraisers.

• Host a Cheerleading Camp – You have developed skills on the cheer squad that make you marketable—especially to younger girls who dream of being cheerleaders someday themselves. By putting together a cheerleading camp for elementary and middle school-aged kids, you can show them the ropes and also start cultivating new talent among girls who may eventually wind up at your school. Make sure to distribute flyers at the local schools and have a technically-inclined friend build you a website to market the camp. You should find that parents will be willing to pay good money for their kids to have the experience, especially since it will double as childcare.

• Car Wash – Raising money via a car wash is a classic fundraiser for a reason. It’s relatively cheap, you don’t need to invest in many materials, and you are providing a service people are willing to pay for. By donning bikinis and holding signs at street corners, you will easily attract your target audience. Have fun with your friends splashing around and doing a decent job washing people’s cars. As long as you choose a pristinely sunny day, your car wash should be quite lucrative.

• Restaurant Fundraiser – A fundraising idea that has become very popular recently involves you teaming up with a local business. See if you can get a popular restaurant to donate a small percentage of their profits from an evening to your cheer squad. Often, restaurants will be more than willing to give you 10% of their earnings knowing that you will bring in plenty of extra guests to make up the difference. Once you have gotten them to agree to the deal, make sure you spread the word all over your school and town to try to get as many students, teachers, and families to show up at the right time.

• Sell School Memorabilia – Most students love wearing clothes or sporting other memorabilia that features the school insignia. You can make a lot of money by cheaply acquiring these types of products (often stores that do custom work will give schools and teams a steep discount) and then marking them up to a price that will help you earn money for your squad. To spice up this kind of fundraiser, you might consider creating a custom calendar or other products that feature pictures of the girls from the cheer team.

• Throw an Event – You can make great money for your squad by putting together an event that students will gladly pay to attend. Organize a casual school dance featuring a hot local band, and sell tickets to students. If you want to be more ambitious, you can even put together a carnival in a local park. In addition to charging for admission, you can sell raffle tickets for prizes or have a dunking booth featuring the cheer coach or another teacher.

• Date Auction – You will probably want to run this idea by your administration, but if you get the “okay,” you can put together a date auction where the highest bidder gets to spend an evening with the cheerleader they bid on. Often, these events result in the boyfriends of members of the squad paying big money for dates with their girlfriends, but if you have a particularly eligible and single member of your team, your date auction may set up a new couple.

• Get to Work – Many times, local businesses will be willing to pay a cheer squad to help out behind the counter for an evening, knowing that your friends and family will come in to pay a visit. Inquire with restaurants and small shops to see if any of them are willing to participate. You can also ask at local stores to see if they will pay members of the team to bag groceries for an afternoon. It can be a quick and easy way to earn some extra cash, and the work will be less tedious when you do it with your friends.

• Silent Donations – Don’t overlook what is often one of the easiest ways to raise money for your squad without needing to put much work into it. You can send out letters to family, friends, and everyone in your community explaining why your squad is raising money. At the bottom of the letter, include a portion they can tear off and return with a check. Make sure to print boxes they can tick off with suggested donation amounts ($5 up to $50). Also include a line for an “other” amount in case you find a particularly generous benefactor.

No one likes asking for money. It’s something that everyone feels a little embarrassed about doing, especially when times are tough around the country. Keeping that in mind, if you are able to make the people donating to your squad feel like they are getting something in return for their contribution, you can make the situation a win-win for everyone involved.