sporting event fundraising software suggestions?

July 30, 2012 6:18 AM

Sporting event fundraising software recommendations?

this past year, i organized a really successful local sporting event as a fundraiser. it was a by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of thing, but it was received so well/people were *so* enthusiastic that i'd like to give it more structure & really make a go of it next year.

my biggest need is an easy fundraising software program. one that allows for participants from a wide geographical range, for individual fundraising pages, and to create teams.

something along the lines of the capabilities of the run for the cure type stuff. but i obviously don't have the resources at this point to build that sort of thing. but just to give an idea of the kind of functionality needed.

have any of you used any sport fundraising software solutions? what did you use? would you recommend them? i've been eyeing active endurance and sweet fundraising, but would really like to hear from those who have experience in working with these sorts of tools.

posted by crawfo to technology (2 answers total)

ps... would also have to have event registration capabilities! thanks in advance! :)
posted by crawfo at 6:28 AM on July 30, 2012

A few options (full disclosure - I work for the company that makes the software powering Run For The Cure and many other events):

Active Endurance is the one that comes to mind - they support event registration first and foremost, with some - somewhat clunky - fundraising features as well. That said, they are widely used, and the ability to be listed on the consumer facing directory of events may be useful to you depending on the type of event you run.

FirstGiving has some basic registration tools + decent personal fundraising...however, I am not sure if you need to be a nonprofit to create or enable teams.

I've seen some orgs use one site for registration and another for fundraising, although it is definitely a subpar user experience. Often it will be a combination of something like Raceit for registration and FirstGiving for fundraising.

Crowdrise allows you to create an Event, support team fundraising, but I don't believe have race reg capabilities.

I can't vouch for how any of the above handle unique Canadian requirements, specifically the need for pdf receipting. I am not familiar with Sweet Fundraising.

There are more robust tools (like Convio TeamRaiser, Blackbaud Friends Asking Friends, and Artez) that can handle your needs and have features specifically aimed at supporting the Canadian market...but they sell to nonprofits directly. That said, if you have some choice as to which organization your event will benefit, you could choose to raise money for one of the orgs who make these tools available to their fundraisers for third-party events. Some Canadian examples would be Canadian Cancer Society's Hold Your Own Event or Fundraise For Life, MS Society of Canada, or Pancreatic Cancer of Canada, and I am sure there are more.
posted by alexfw at 9:45 PM on July 30, 2012 [1 favorite]