Five Must-Haves for a Successful Tournament Fundraiser
Planning a pickleball tournament, cornhole fundraiser, three-on-three alumni basketball tournament, or annual charity volleyball event and unsure where to begin? A successful charity sporting event requires the right mix of tools, people, and strategy. The article breaks down five essential elements every tournament fundraiser needs to run smoothly, attract players and sponsors, and maximize donations.
1. An Event Venue
Every great tournament starts with the right setting. Choose a venue that fits the size and nature of your fundraiser—whether it’s a local pickleball complex, golf course, or school gym. Look for features like multiple courts or fields, easy parking, restrooms, and space for check-in and sponsor tables. Be advised that the venue will likely be one of your most significant expenses, but a welcoming, well-appointed venue sets the tone and helps everything run smoothly.
Unsure where to start in finding a venue? Here are some tips:
Start with your board or committee.
Consider non-traditional venues.
Explain your event as a fundraiser.
Consider negotiating.
2. An Event Website
Your event needs a place to live online. An event website makes it easy to collect registrations, promote the cause, and share details like schedules, maps, and fundraising progress. Make sure it’s mobile-friendly and easy to update—this is where players, donors, and volunteers will go for everything.
Importantly, an event website also opens up important sponsorship opportunities–especially when it’s built to show off and streamline sponsorship tiers and can handle secure transactions for them. Keep in mind that a professional event website means you can sell a title sponsorship with naming rights to the event and prominent logo exposure, and also sell essentially unlimited community sponsorships that will specifically receive honorable mentions on your site.
An event website keeps everything in one place—making it easy for players, sponsors, and supporters to register, donate, and stay up to date.
Your event website for a tournament fundraiser should be able to handle:
Player and team registrations
Sponsorship listings and purchases
Add-ons like raffle tickets and merch
Various tiers and types of sponsor visibility
3. Players & Sponsors
It’s not a tournament without teams—and it’s not a fundraiser without sponsors. Recruit early, make it easy to sign up, and clearly communicate what’s included (like custom shirts, food, swag bags, or guaranteed game time). For sponsors, offer visible benefits such as logo placement on event signage and websites, shoutouts during the tournament, inclusion in emails, or even the option to host a booth or activity. Building strong relationships with players and sponsors ensures not only a successful event this year but also future support.
To boost turnout and fundraising potential, create fun incentives for both groups. Offer small prizes or recognition for top fundraisers, team spirit, or social sharing. Encourage sponsors to invite their employees or customers to attend, volunteer, or participate. The more engaged your players and sponsors are, the more likely they are to promote the event to their networks—bringing in spectators, donors, and supporters who want to be part of something meaningful and well-run.
4. Clear Scheduling & Bracket Management
Confusion kills momentum. Whether you’re running a single-elimination bracket, round robin, or pool play format, you need a clear schedule that’s easy to follow and makes sense for your players. Use tools that automate match generation and schedules.
It’s also crucial to plan for the unpredictable. Someone’s going to be late, no-show, or forget their paddle. Tools that let you make last-minute edits to matchups or court assignments without restarting the whole bracket are a lifesaver—especially for outdoor events where timing matters. And don’t forget about breaks! Build in buffer time for snacks, rest, and socializing. An awkward schedule where someone plays back-to-back or waits two hours between games can kill the vibe. A well-paced flow keeps players happy, keeps spectators engaged, and gives your event a polished, professional feel.
5. Multiple Ways to Support
Give people more than one way to contribute. In addition to player fees and sponsorships, enable donations during registration, on-site donations via QR codes, and post-event donate-your-score challenges to encourage giving after the event. You can also add raffles, merch sales, or donation-matching campaigns. Keep in mind that supporters have varying donation capacities and are motivated to contribute by different things–so having multiple options for supporters of different types is best practice.
Perhaps most importantly, the easier it is to give, the more support you’ll receive–so it’s especially important to be intentional about your asks and to make it easy for people to give instantly when you do make a donation ask. That means simple, secure payments from the convenience of their mobile device.
The Right Tools Make a Big Impact
Running a tournament fundraiser takes more than just good intentions—it takes planning, organization, and the right tools to pull it all together. From securing your venue and building an event website to managing players, sponsors, schedules, and fundraising opportunities, every detail matters when you’re trying to create a seamless experience that raises real money for a cause.
Designed specifically for charity sporting events and tournament fundraisers, RecDay gives you everything you need to plan, promote, and run your event—without the spreadsheets, stress, or scattered teams and tools. From a customizable event website to an intuitive bracket-builder with built-in donation tracking and sponsor promotion, RecDay makes it easy to focus on what matters most: building community and making an impact.
Ready to get started? RecDay’s customer success team is here to help. Get in touch below to learn more.
