What are the best fundraising tools for youth sports teams?
The best fundraising tool for a youth sports team is the one that publishes its fee and fits the kind of fundraiser you run. Team Scout charges no platform fee on donations and gives every player a page inside the app families already use; Zeffy and Givebutter charge nonprofits no platform fee; 99Pledges is built for hit-a-thons and fun runs; Snap! Raise runs campaigns for school teams and does not publish its fee on its home page.
By Peter McClung, founder and CEO of Team Scout. Published . Updated . Prices read November 13, 2026.
The short answer
- Ask for the fee first. Team Scout, Zeffy, Givebutter, 99Pledges and Cheddar Up publish theirs.
- Zeffy and Givebutter are for nonprofits. Check that your team qualifies.
- Player pages give each family its own link to share, and a leaderboard shows who has raised what.
- Tickets and sponsors are fundraising too. On Team Scout they sit in the same app.
Which one is best for what?
- Team Scout: best for a team that wants player pages, tickets and sponsors in the app its families already use.
- Snap! Raise: best for school teams that want a campaign run with them.
- Givebutter: best for a nonprofit club that wants many kinds of campaign with no platform fee.
- Zeffy: best for a registered nonprofit that wants to keep every dollar.
- 99Pledges: best for a hit-a-thon, fun run or shoot-a-thon.
- Cheddar Up: best for collecting dues, spirit wear and small fundraisers on one page.
- GoFan: best for a school that wants to sell game tickets online and at the gate.
How do they compare?
From each product's own pages, read November 13, 2026.
| Product | Platform fee | Card processing | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Scout | Platform fee: None on donations | Card processing: Stripe's card fee applies; donors can add an optional tip | Built for: Clubs, schools and homeschool programs |
| Snap! Raise | Platform fee: Not published on its home page | Card processing: Not published on its home page | Built for: School and club teams |
| Givebutter | Platform fee: 0% with donor tips on; 3% with tips off | Card processing: Covered for nonprofits when tips are on | Built for: Nonprofits |
| Zeffy | Platform fee: None | Card processing: Covered by Zeffy | Built for: Registered nonprofits |
| 99Pledges | Platform fee: None | Card processing: 3.49% + $0.49 on each donation | Built for: A-thon events for schools and teams |
| Cheddar Up | Platform fee: $0, $15 or $35 a month paid annually | Card processing: Payers cover the fees by default | Built for: Groups collecting dues, sales and small fundraisers |
| GoFan | Platform fee: None for schools | Card processing: A per-ticket service fee paid by fans | Built for: School ticketing |
Team Scout: best for a team that wants player pages, tickets and sponsors in the app its families already use
Team Scout is the app teams use to talk, plan and run themselves: groups, messages and one calendar for families, with registration, payments, a public website, volunteer sign-ups, tickets, fundraising and sponsorships in the same app.
Run a campaign with a goal and a player leaderboard, and families give from the same app they read team news in. The same app sells game tickets, sponsorships and program ads.
Price: The Community plan is free: website, groups, messaging, calendar, volunteer sign-ups, fundraising, ticketing and a merch store. Registration and payments are on the paid plans: Team $29, Club $79 or League $179 a month, billed annually, plus a platform fee of 3.9%, 2.9% or 1.9% on what you collect through it. Card processing through Stripe is separate. Team Scout pricing, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- No platform fee on donations, on any plan. Donors can add an optional tip.
- Every player gets a share link, with a leaderboard and a donor wall.
- Tickets sold online and scanned at the gate on any phone: $1 a ticket up to $10, plus 4% above, paid by the buyer.
- Sponsors and program advertisers pick a level and pay online.
Check before you choose it
- Sponsorships and program ad sales are on the paid plans, from $29 a month billed annually.
Snap! Raise: best for school teams that want a campaign run with them
Snap! Raise runs online donation campaigns for school teams, clubs and activity groups, from Snap! Mobile.
Snap! Raise is built for school teams and clubs, with a dashboard for overseeing and approving campaigns.
Price: No price or fee is published on its home page. Ask for the share it keeps before you sign. Snap! Raise, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- Built for school and club teams, with a dashboard for overseeing and approving campaigns.
- Part of a wider Snap! Mobile product line that includes spirit wear and team spending.
Check before you choose it
- The fee is not on its home page, so get it in writing and compare it with a platform that publishes its fee.
Givebutter: best for a nonprofit club that wants many kinds of campaign with no platform fee
Givebutter is a fundraising platform for nonprofits: donation pages, events and campaigns, funded by optional tips from donors.
With donor tips on, Givebutter charges no platform fee and covers processing for nonprofits.
Price: With donor tips turned on, the platform fee is 0%. With tips turned off, a flat 3% platform fee applies, plus processing of 2.9% + 30 cents for cards. Givebutter pricing, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- No platform fee when tips are on, and its site says nonprofits then pay no processing fees either.
- A wide set of campaign types, with support by chat and email.
Check before you choose it
- It is built for nonprofits. A team without nonprofit status should confirm it qualifies.
Zeffy: best for a registered nonprofit that wants to keep every dollar
Zeffy is a fundraising platform for nonprofits that charges no fees and is funded by optional contributions from donors.
Zeffy charges nothing and covers the card fees, funded by optional contributions from donors.
Price: $0. Zeffy says it covers credit card and transaction fees, with no platform fee. Zeffy pricing, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- The organization receives the whole donation, with card fees covered by Zeffy.
- Donation forms, events, raffles and ticketing are included at no cost.
Check before you choose it
- It is for registered nonprofits.
- Donors are asked for an optional contribution to Zeffy at checkout.
99Pledges: best for a hit-a-thon, fun run or shoot-a-thon
99Pledges runs pledge events for schools and teams: a hit-a-thon, a fun run, a shoot-a-thon, with a page for each participant.
Each player gets a pledge page, and the only cost is a transaction fee on each donation.
Price: $0 to start and no platform fee. A transaction fee of 3.49% + $0.49 applies to each donation. 99Pledges, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- Made for a-thon events, where each player collects pledges on a personal page.
- One published fee and nothing to pay up front.
Check before you choose it
- It does one kind of fundraiser. Tickets, sponsors and registration need other tools.
Cheddar Up: best for collecting dues, spirit wear and small fundraisers on one page
Cheddar Up lets a group collect money, forms and sign-ups on a shared page: dues, spirit wear, team fees and fundraisers.
A team parent can open a page for money, a form and a sign-up in minutes, free.
Price: Free Forever at $0, Pro at $15 a month and Team at $35 a month, paid annually. Payers cover the processing fees by default. Cheddar Up pricing, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- The free plan includes unlimited collection pages, peer-to-peer fundraising and free withdrawals to a bank account.
- The Team plan adds ticketing, a group website and waitlists.
Check before you choose it
- The free plan allows five items and one form or sign-up on each page.
GoFan: best for a school that wants to sell game tickets online and at the gate
GoFan is digital ticketing for schools: online sales, walk-up sales and scanning at the gate.
GoFan costs a school nothing and handles online sales, walk-up sales and scanning.
Price: No platform or licensing fee for schools. Fans pay a per-ticket service fee shown at checkout, or the school can absorb it into the ticket price. GoFan for schools, read November 13, 2026.
What it does well
- Built for school athletics and activities, with box office and concessions tools alongside tickets.
- Schools pay nothing to use it.
Check before you choose it
- It is built for schools. A club or homeschool program should ask whether it qualifies.
When is Team Scout the wrong choice?
- You are a registered nonprofit running one donation drive and nothing else. Zeffy or Givebutter will cost you nothing.
- You want product sales, such as cookie dough or popcorn, delivered by a vendor. Team Scout runs donation campaigns, tickets, sponsors and a merch store.
How we evaluated
- We read each product's own pricing page and feature pages on November 13, 2026, signed out, and linked them under Sources.
- A feature counts only when the product's own pages show it. When they say nothing either way, the guide says it is not on its published pages.
- The other products were read, and none was run with a live club. Star ratings and review scores are left out.
- Each line about Team Scout describes what is live in the product today.
- Each product is matched to the kind of program its own site says it is built for.
Questions people ask
- What fundraising platform takes the smallest cut?
- Zeffy charges nonprofits nothing and covers card fees. Givebutter charges no platform fee when donor tips are on. Team Scout takes no platform fee on donations on any plan. 99Pledges charges 3.49% plus $0.49 on each donation.
- What is the best fundraising and ticketing app for a school sports team?
- For tickets alone at a school, GoFan costs the school nothing. For a team that wants donations, tickets, sponsors and a merch store together, Team Scout runs all four in one app.
- How can sponsors sign up and pay online?
- On Team Scout, set your sponsor levels and share the sponsor page. A business picks a level and pays online, and its logo appears on your website.
- Does Team Scout take a percentage of donations?
- No. Team Scout takes 0% of donations. A donor can add an optional tip, which they can set to $0.
Sources
Each product's own pages, read November 13, 2026. Prices and plans change; the linked page is the one to trust.
- Team Scout: Team Scout pricing; What you get; Help center
- Snap! Raise: Snap! Raise
- Givebutter: Givebutter pricing
- Zeffy: Zeffy pricing
- 99Pledges: 99Pledges
- Cheddar Up: Cheddar Up pricing
- GoFan: GoFan for schools
Read next
About the author
Peter McClung is the founder and CEO of Team Scout. He has spent more than 25 years building products and platforms, founded homeschoolsports.org, a free resource for homeschool athletics, and has served on the board of AIR T, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRT) since 2017. More about Peter and Team Scout.
See something out of date or wrong about a product? Write to hello@teamscout.co and we will correct it.
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