Whether you’re starting an AAU travel basketball team or running a seasoned organization, fundraising to help your parents and players offset expenses for the upcoming year is a need to address. Luckily, you’re in the right place: we’re covering more than 100 fundraising ideas to help your AAU travel team to achieve its monetary goals!

This article will address how to use a basketball-themed yard sale to help your AAU organization raise funds. A one-day yard sale can help your organization raise between $200 – $1,000 while cleaning out your garage and basement of unused items. Read on to see how to get started, what to expect, and how you can you use a basketball-themed yard sale to benefit your AAU travel team.

How to Set Up Your Basketball-Themed Yard Sale

The first thing you and your organization should cover is when and where you can put on a basketball-themed yard sale. Almost all yard sales occur on Saturday or Sunday as potential shoppers prefer these non-traditional work days. Yard sales also tend to start early and finish before the hottest part of the day, setting up as early as 6 a.m. and lasting until 2-4 p.m.

Before deciding on where you should set up your basketball-themed yard sale, vet potential locations against homeowners association (HOA) guidelines. Some subdivisions or apartment complexes would be an ideal spot to host your travel organization’s event, but doing so would be against HOA rules.

Another ideal location is to set up at a local business that will be open during your fundraising event. First, this provides your travel team with foot traffic from the company’s existing customer base. And second, parking lots provide your potential customers with easy access to the event as well as parking for your basketball-themed yard sale.

How to Prepare for the Themed Yard Sale

Once you’ve set your date and location, start soliciting items for the basketball-themed yard sale. While you can offer almost anything for sale during your event, you should prioritize gently-used items that are related to basketball. Worn game jerseys, signed basketballs, posters and wall art featuring professional athletes are big attractions for your organization’s yard sale.

You also need volunteers for the event. Start with parents from your AAU travel team, asking them to work one of two shifts for the event: the beginning (when you set up the yard sale) until midway through the event, and then from that midway point until the end (when you will tear down your event).

You should also ask your AAU travel team to help with the basketball-themed yard sale. Your team can build relationships with one another while earning money for their cause. While you still need appropriate levels of adult supervision, involving your team reinforces your organization’s cause when patrons visit your yard sale.

Other items you’ll need are tables to showcase your wares available at the basketball-themed yard sale. While parents or team members might have some, a great source to find tables is a local church or community center. When contacting these resources, make sure to explain how this fundraiser is benefiting the community and its youth in hopes these vendors will donate their tables at no cost. Otherwise, expect to pay $5-10 per table you’ll need for the yard sale.

Finally, after you’ve collected your items for the basketball-themed yard sale, you’ll need to price those items. If you are new to yard sales, know that these prices are meant to be negotiable – some individuals will ask what minimum price your organization will take for an item. Setting suggested prices as well as minimum prices is a recommended practice.

How to Promote the Yard Sale

It’s essential to promote your fundraising event through social media. Enlist a parent’s help in creating an image of your top items to easily share with your followers. Make sure you include the time of the yard sale and the location and date in the post. Ideally, you’d post this a week prior to the basketball-themed yard sale and then once again 24 hours before the fundraiser.

You’ll also require some traditional methods for advertising the yard sale. Craft cardboard signs or posters that your volunteers can display in prominent locations around the neighborhood the day of the event. Additionally, consider creating yard signs positioned several blocks from the sale’s location to inform people about your AAU team’s fundraiser.

What to Expect the Day of the Yard Sale

In terms of setting up, you’ll likely need a pop-up canopy and folding lawn chairs for the day. This gives your volunteers a spot where they can get out of the sun in between shoppers. You’ll also need a cooler with drinks that your volunteers can consume during the basketball-themed yard sale.

Depending on the location, traffic will be heavy at times and light at other times. Early-morning shoppers may pour in between 7-9 a.m. as these are peak hours for yard sale enthusiasts. If your traffic slows, don’t panic. Another wave typically occurs between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., giving you a chance to reorganize and shuffle items around before the end of basketball-themed event.

Don’t wait until the last minute to find a secure container for holding the cash collected from customers at the basketball-themed yard sale. Options such as a cash apron, money bag, or canister can be utilized to safeguard the monetary donations collected for your AAU travel basketball team.

Wrapping Up Your Basketball-Themed Yard Sale

When your event finishes, you’ll need to clean up any messes that your travel basketball team volunteers may have made during the basketball-themed yard sale. This is an important step as you’ll want to revisit this fundraiser – and perhaps this location – again for the next AAU season. You’ll also have to make provisions to return any borrowed or rented items for the event.

An essential step in establishing your organization’s credibility is to express gratitude by sending thank-you notes to businesses and individuals who contributed anything for the event. Add a personal touch by having all your travel team players sign these notes and include a photograph of the team that illustrates how their contributions will directly benefit the team.

Lastly, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough count of the event’s proceeds at its conclusion with at least one of your team’s administrators present. If your organization is incorporated, it’s necessary to report the proceeds (subtracting any incurred expenses) for tax purposes. Once this count is completed, make the necessary arrangements to deposit the funds into your travel organization’s bank account.

Do you have any photographs, videos or success stories you can share with our audience? Leave them in the comment section below or email us at travelbasketballusa@gmail.com, and we’ll reach out to you for a future news article. Make sure you join our email list below to stay informed about future articles in our fundraising series.

This is one article in our “Fundraising 101” series. Click here to see 100 more ideas on how you can raise money to fund your AAU travel basketball team.