Fundraisers for sports teams are a key contributor to buying new uniforms and equipment for our athletes. Throughout the year, Morgan teams have various fundraisers that make an impact for our athletes.
Each team has a different fundraiser to help offset costs and fulfill the team’s needs. Some teams fundraise for new equipment, new uniforms, senior night, and end-of-the-season banquets. It is really important that each individual participates in order to meet the team’s fundraising target goal.
Boy’s Soccer: NFP ( National Fundraising Partners)
Ross Demay, coach of the Morgan boys soccer team, would strongly encourage the boys to fundraise; they sell discount cards that can be used state-wide at many different types of restaurants and services, including Texas Roadhouse, Chip´s Pub, and Advanced Autoparts. The organization behind the card is named NFL Sports. Demay has been using this discount card at Morgan for 13 years, and he also used it for 8 years when he was the Old Saybrook boys’ assistant soccer coach.
As players continue to meet their fundraising goals, Demay stated, ¨The organization that runs the fundraiser offers players gift cards for checkpoints, free cards, and if you are a top 3 seller of the organization, they offer a scholarship to a school, whether it is a college or trade school.¨
Coach Ross observes that, ¨Players who find the most success go out more to sell cards. Talking to the Chips Pub owner and sitting in there, they normally sell the most in a shorter period of time.¨ If the student athletes think creatively to generate more sales, the team benefits greatly. Sometimes it pays to think outside the box.
He acknowledges that ¨The biggest obstacle players face is first going out to sell in general. After that, it’s sold to the person in front of them.” If they are a peer, McDonald’s or fast food is more inducing; if it’s a family, it is more of a restaurant or a car wash, etc.¨If student athletes have the confidence to ask family and friends if they are interested in the gold cards and saving money, most people are willing to purchase,” said Ross.
According to Coach Ross, ¨The proceeds for the fundraiser go towards a clothing item the players get to keep, a senior poster and jersey, a highlight DVD of the season, a bound book of all the newspaper articles written about the year, all the awards/trophies handed out at the end of the year, and catering for our end-of-season banquet. In the past, we have had it pay for a team bonding bus trip to watch Morgan alumni play in a college game.¨
Indoor Track: NFP (National Fundraising Partners)
Mr. Bean, coach of the Morgan indoor/outdoor track team, has a unique fundraiser: ¨This year, I worked with NFP (National Fundraising Partners) to sell edible cookie dough.
For Bean, it´s extremely important for student athletes to ¨Put in the leg work to contact potential buyers, getting the word out, asking people who they know want to support athletics, knowing they’ll get a delicious dessert in return!¨
As a coach of multiple sports, Bean understands the difficulty of running fundraisers each season. ¨As a 2026 class adviser as well as a teacher who is frequently asked to support fundraisers, I know the challenges that students face in how saturated fundraiser collection can be throughout the course of the school year. We have great programs in terms of athletics, the arts, and music, as well as other extracurricular activities that need extra funding to pay for a variety of things. It can be challenging and awkward to ask the same people to continue to teach in their pockets again and again. But we have a great community that believes in what we do at Morgan, so that helps immensely.¨
The money made from the fundraiser directly impacts the sport. Coach Bean stated that, ¨Proceeds will go towards gear/merch for the team!¨
Cheerleading:
The top cheerleading fundraisers this year were the bottle and can returns, basket raffles, bake sales, and filling our cheer bows and uniforms. Coach Trippconey also stated, ¨My goal would be for each cheerleader to raise a certain amount that might help get them out in the community, and or just building their confidence and asking a family member to help contribute to the team.¨
Students typically ask family, friends, or neighbors for their support when fundraising for school and sports activities. It’s always helpful to tell people what you are selling and the benefit of the activity if a purchase is made. Sometimes, people who make a purchase will recommend another person to ask afterwards.
Coach Trippconey and her team generated enough funds to buy senior banners and our end-of-the-year banquet, which was held at the Clinton Country Club. The senior banners and end-of-year banquets are part of long-standing Morgan traditions that the student athletes enjoy and pass down to future athletes.
The Take-away:
Fundraising develops life and leadership skills. Athletes learn communication and sales skills, goal-setting and accountability, and teamwork that drives growth beyond the playing field.
The coaches and teams are unable to disclose the total amount of funds raised since the information is classified and confidential.
Fundraising for Morgan athletes isn´t always about the money. It impacts the athlete’s experience, the performance of the team, and community engagement. Student athletes are more connected to the team and bring students, parents, and local businesses together. According to Coach Bean, ¨Not sure if we have reached our ¨target¨, but for those who participated know that they played a proud part in helping the team and the program.¨
