Use these templates to keep your Serve-A-Thon planning on track:

• Canva Serve-A-Thon Infographic
• Canva Running a Serve-A-Thon Checklist

• Event Coordinator: Oversees the entire Volleyball-Serve-A-Thon, including planning, coordination, and post-event activities. Liaises with the school, sports clubs, and other stakeholders.
• Registration Team: Manages participant sign-ups, and distributes information and materials.
• Volleyball Coaches/Instructors: Experienced teachers or players who provide guidance on serving techniques, rules of the game, and safety practices.
• Scorekeepers and Statisticians: Keeps track of serves, scores, and other relevant statistics during the event.
• Set-Up and Tear-Down Crew: Responsible for setting up volleyball courts, nets, and equipment before the event and dismantling them afterward.
• Referees: Oversees the games, ensuring fair play and adherence to volleyball rules.
• Snack and Hydration Station Volunteers: Manages stations providing water, snacks, and possibly light meals to participants and volunteers.
• Photographers/Videographers: Captures moments from the event for future promotion and participant keepsakes.
• First Aid and Safety Officers: Provide basic first aid and ensure the safety of all participants.

Here's a Canva template of sample Serve-A-Thon rules. Click "Use template for new design" to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!

• Canva Serve-A-Thon Rules Template

Here are some Canva templates to help you spread awareness for your Serve-A-Thon on social media and in your community! Click "Use template for new design" to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!

• Canva Serve-A-Thon Template for Instagram Story
• Canva Serve-A-Thon Template for Instagram Post
• Canva Serve-A-Thon Template for Printable Poster

Example caption: Support [insert school name]'s Serve-A-Thon from [insert date range]. Help our school community raise money for [insert cause] by registering to hit as many volleyballs as possible in the gym!

Here are some examples of sponsorships you can offer:

• Direct donations-either towards your fundraising goal or to help cover the costs of supplies.
• Corporate matching is where a business makes a donation equal to all or a portion of the funds you raise from the community.
• Selling sponsorships on FutureFund via advertising on your campaign page.

• Official welcome and launch announcement to all participants.
• Gathering of students, volunteers, and teachers in the school's gymnasium or outdoor volleyball area.
• Brief overview of the Serve-A-Thon rules, scoring system, and the day's schedule.

• Students start their initial serving round.
• Volunteers stationed at courts for guidance, scoring, and ensuring fair play.

• Short break for refreshments and hydration.
• Engaging activity, such as a serving technique demonstration or a motivational talk.

• Continuation of the serving rounds, with participants rotating through different courts.
• Ongoing tally of serves and pledges collected.

• Lunch period with a selection of healthy meals and snacks.
• Casual volleyball activities or rest for participants.

• Participants complete their final serving rounds.
• Final efforts to maximize fundraising pledges.

• Completion of the last serving rounds and final tally of results.
• Announcement of the total number of serves achieved and funds raised.
• Recognition of top participants and teams, and distribution of awards.

• Distribution of thank-you notes to participants, volunteers, and donors.
• Cleanup of the event area with the help of volunteers.
• Debrief session with organizers and volunteers to gather immediate feedback.

• Announcement of the event's success and special acknowledgments via school communications.
• Survey distributed for feedback from students, teachers, and parents.
• Compilation and review of financial outcomes and pledges using FutureFund.

• Organize a celebration (such as a pizza party or ice cream social) for the class or group that raised the most funds.

A volleyball serve-a-thon is made up of 2 main parts: the pledge collection and the tournament. Give teams at least 2 to 4 weeks before the tournament to register and collect donations.

The tournament should be at least 1 day, usually a Saturday or Sunday. If you have a large amount of teams, it might need to be a 2-day event. A typical volleyball game is 60 to 90 minutes, so plan around 90 minutes per game.

Teams will compete by seeing which class or grade can hit the most serves-but you can tie this to fundraising by providing a specific number of balls based on the number of pledges raised by each group. This motivates students to fundraise while also encouraging a healthy competitive spirit during the event.

Start telling students about the Serve-A-Thon at least two weeks before it starts.

Students should be signed up in your fundraising system so they can gather donations for at least seven days before the fundraiser starts (although it's still okay to take last-minute sign-ups).

Volleyball is a team sport, so you should create some ground rules to keep the teams as fair as possible. Think about how many children, female players, and playtime each team should have.

On the day the fundraiser starts, be sure to re-explain the rules and encourage students to continue fundraising.

Players register in teams, from 6 to 12 players. Teams spend two weeks collecting donations in the form of pledges from their peers before the event.

During the event, each team is awarded a number of balls to serve based on pledges raised. Once all balls have been hit, the final number of points is recorded and a winner is announced. Points are awarded for correctly serving a ball, and bonus points may be awarded for hitting special targets.

You'll need a volleyball court to host your Serve-A-Thon. For a smaller tournament, you might be able to use your school gym.

For bigger teams, you should book a volleyball center or large gym for the event. Typically, you'll want enough courts for all teams to be able to play at once, minus two teams, so everyone has the chance for a break.

Volleyball Serve-A-Thons are usually held indoors, so you can host them any time of the year. That said, you probably want to save the warmer months for outdoor activities, making fall or winter the ideal time for a Serve-A-Thon.

To make the tournament as fair as possible, you should create some general rules for teams. Some factors to consider include:

• Number of players
• Age
• Gender

For example, if the teams are open to all ages, you should make sure every team has a similar amount of children. So you can make a rule saying each team needs at least 2 players age 12 or under.

Serve-A-Thons promote physical fitness, are broadly accessible to most students, and require few startup expenses.

FutureFund gives you the ability to generate financial reports for fundraising campaigns in just a few clicks. To do this, navigate to Store and click the Reports tab near the top of your screen. Then choose Campaign Summary from the drop-down menu and click Generate Report.

Yes - FutureFund lets you create a list of the volunteer positions you'll need to fill, then add a volunteer page to your registration portal so parents can sign up in just a few simple clicks. See the steps for signing up volunteers here.

FutureFund makes running a Move-a-Thon easy for everyone. Easier for PTAs and PTOs to run, for students and parents to participate, and for donors to donate.

Instead of dealing with paper pledge forms and cash and cheques, FutureFund takes the process online. Donors can donate instantly online with their credit or debit cards.

FutureFund makes it easy to track how the fundraiser is going. Easily view how much money has been raised and more with detailed reporting.

Each student will sign up as a participant in the fundraiser. Then, they can collect pledges individually by credit or debit card. You can also accept cash pledges, but be mindful of properly storing and tracking cash you collect.

If you are using FutureFund, you can record these pledges and they will automatically count towards the student's total and the grand total for the fundraiser.

Before launching your fundraiser, confirm what records you need to collect from donors.

If you are using FutureFund, it's easy for students to sign up, especially if their information is already in the system. You can bulk sign up entire grades or classes. All donor payments are automatically entered into the system, so you can instantly see each student's total and the grand total.

Fundraising campaigns that accept online donations perform much better than fundraisers that only accept cash or check.

If you are using FutureFund, you can accept payments online. Donors are given a donation link and can pay by credit or debit card. Any cash donations can also be noted in the system to be collected later.

Teams can get into the competitive spirit with an Olympic theme. Each team represents a country and competes for the gold medal.

Volleyball is a team sport, which means pretty much any team costume goes! Encourage each team to coordinate a costume like superheroes, flower patches, mimes, and more.

Celebrate the holidays and fundraise with a holiday-themed serve-a-thon. Plan a Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, or even a St. Patrick's Day tournament.

Color coordinating is a classic theme. Let each team choose a color and get creative, including neon, glitter, and patterns to make each team stand out.

A movie or TV-inspired theme gives teams tons of options to choose from. Teams can dress up as anything from The Avengers to Care Bears.