The World of Fundraising from the Professional Sports Perspective

Before I worked in sports, I was certainly one of the fans who assumed that every executive professional at every team had a pile of tickets on their desks just looking to get into the hands of fans and community members. It wasn’t until I spent almost 10 years in the sports industry trying to raise money for various causes in two very different markets that I realized resources are in fact low and interns are certainly not drowning under piles of tickets, autographed items and game worn merchandise.

I started to ask myself – why is it so difficult to raise money for the communities we live, work and play in when the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA platforms have such great reach? The answer is actually fairly simple. Everyone is asking these brands for the exact same thing. INSERT ANY ORGANIZATION NAME HERE has the same assumption I had prior to working in the industry and comes to the leading brand in their market with their hands outstretched asking for help. For a small nonprofit, an autographed item or a pair of tickets can have unmatched fundraising potential. Furthermore, an opportunity to do something alongside this brand may be the catalyst needed to hit their goals or change more lives during that fiscal year.

However, due to limited resources, most times the ask is made, sports foundations are forced to say “no” because that organizations values do not align with their mission or because a corporate sponsor has a monopoly on that specific area. In fact, there may be a multitude of reasons that they have to say no and many times this has absolutely nothing to do with the organization itself nor does it have to do with their impact areas or values.

At Fanthem, we aim to give professional sports foundations the resources, platform and tools to give an enthusiastic “yes” to everyone who comes their way with an ask. In fact, we aim to go beyond the ask. Using our outreach tools and onboarding potential, clients who work with us are allowing all nonprofit organizations within their communities the opportunity to fundraise alongside their brands to raise more money for everyone in the community they live, work and play in. Reach out to learn more about how we can help you and your organization start saying yes!