How to Run a Volleyball Serve-a-Thon Fundraiser

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.

Of course, it will be every team’s goal to win the serve-a-thon. That said, you should also set a fundraising goal for teams to keep in mind while they collect pledges.

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.

When planning your volleyball serve-a-thon, think about the following:

1. Before you start advertising your volleyball serve-a-thon, you should know:
   • The venue
   • The date
   • The fundraising goal
   • The team restrictions
   • The theme
2.  Start telling families about the volleyball serve-a-thon at least 2 to 4 weeks days before the event.
3. Participants should be signed up in your fundraising system and gathering donations for at least 2 weeks before the volleyball serve-a-thon.
4. On the day of the volleyball serve-a-thon, be sure to re-explain the rules and encourage participants to continue fundraising.
5. At the end of the fundraiser, give an update on the fundraising goal and thank all of the participants.

Players register in teams, from 6 to 12 players. The teams pay a registration fee, which helps cover most of the costs of the serve-a-thon. Teams also collect donations in the form of pledges from their peers.

The teams have a few weeks to gather donations, and then the fundraiser culminates in a volleyball tournament. The teams play each other until there is a winner. In most cases, you’ll want to have a prize for the winning team to help encourage them.

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.

Volleyball serve-a-thons are fun and engaging and great fundraisers if volleyball is popular at your school. Even if everyone participating isn’t an experienced player, volleyball is a less intimidating sport, making it easy for more people to participate.

FutureFund makes running a volleyball serve-a-thon easy for everyone. Easier for PTAs 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.

These rules are a great starting point for organizing your volleyball serve-a-thon.

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To participate in the volleyball serve-a-thon, you must register your team by [date]. Then, the volleyball serve-a-thon is on [date], which means you should start fundraising right away! Make sure to tell your friends, family, and coworkers that you’re fundraising, so they can donate.

All donations will be collected through FutureFund through this link: [link].

Unsure of where to start? Use this sample student and parent messaging to get the ball rolling!

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We’re serving up a new fundraiser! On [date], [school name] will be hosting a volleyball serve-a-thon to help fundraise for [cause]. You can help by registering a volleyball team and participating! Each team will be collecting pledges online through FutureFund: [link], so even if you can’t participate, you can still donate!

Let parents and supporters donate online with FutureFund’s online pledges. Try it out for free!

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Make your donation easily and instantly! Click this [link] to make your donation through secure credit or debit card payment.

If you prefer to donate by cash or check, just donate directly to the student you’re supporting. Thank you for your support!

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.