Hit a Thon Fundraiser Guide: Step-by-Step for Baseball & Softball Teams

Baseball and softball team fundraising can feel like a full-time job sometimes. That’s exactly why Teamfi exists – to make your next fundraiser as easy as possible. Today, we’re going to focus specifically on one way Teamfi can make fundraising for baseball and softball teams effective and easy: the hit a thon fundraiser. A unique fundraiser for both baseball and softball that motivates your team while raising money for your program.

We’ll walk you through how to run a hit a thon fundraiser during a practice, home run derby fundraiser, or scrimmage, utilizing teamfi’s digital fundraising tools or our easy to download printable hit a thon fundraiser template. From organizing your players to collecting pledges and tracking results, this guide covers everything you need to host a successful event from start to finish.

What is a Hit a Thon Fundraiser?

This type of fundraiser happens when supporters offer pledges or donations that are performance based. “A-thon” fundraisers are popular ways to generate revenue based on player performance. One team that utilized it to their advantage was Morgan Township High School Baseball out of Indiana.

By following these steps, Morgan Township was able to generate $7711.34 in net revenue for their baseball program through our Teamfi digital hit a thon fundraiser. You don’t have to be a big school or team to achieve these numbers. Morgan Township serves an enrollment of under 500 kids, proving that schools and teams of any size can hit big numbers with the right tools.

Supporters pledge donations based on how well a player performs—usually measured by how many hits they get during a set number of pitches. It’s very similar to a home run derby fundraiser style format.

In this one-day, home run derby fundraiser event, each player gets a fixed number of pitches (often 10 to 20), and every ball they hit into play or out of the park counts as a hit. Supporters might pledge $1, $5, or even $10 per hit. At the end of the event, the number of hits is tallied and donations are collected based on each pledge.

This format makes it easy to run, exciting to watch, and very effective for raising money quickly. A-thons work great whether in season or out of season, from an offseason hit a thon day to a liftathon, which is the same concept only done in the weight room.

Step-by-Step: How to Run a Hit a Thon Fundraiser

Step 1: Choose the Date and Format

Pick a day when most of your team and families can attend—perhaps during a weekend or at the end of the season. Set clear rules: for example, each player gets 15 pitches, and every ball hit into fair territory counts as a hit. You can award bonus points for home runs or long hits, depending on your goals.

Venue here is also very important. Select your local high school stadium if available, or another local ballpark with seating capacity for fans to attend.

Publicizing your event can bring more fans, parents, and relatives into the seats where you can layer on more fundraising, but more on that soon!

Step 2: Set Up Your Hit a Thon Fundraiser with Teamfi

If you’re going digital, create your hit a thon fundraiser through Teamfi’s online platform. You’ll be able to:

• Set up a team page and invite your players. Once your players sign up and add a profile picture, they’ll have their own individual fundraising pages where you can track their pledges or flat donations.
• Have your players add 20 contacts, from there we’ll take care of outreach by automatically sending reminders about your team’s hit a thon fundraiser.
• Use over 10 different metrics to keep tabs on how your hit a thon fundraiser is performing as you prepare for the event.
• If you ever have any questions, you’ll have dedicated customer service support with a Teamfi cofounder. Everything we do is done right out of our office in Michigan.

If you prefer a more traditional route, download and print the Teamfi pen and paper hit a thon template, which all you have to do is print it out and it’s ready for your hit a thon. The template includes:

• Player pledge forms
• Instructions on how to run your hit a thon. Our template is based on length of longest hit, which is one of many ways to run a hit a thon. If you want to do most hits over total pitches, or a home run derby fundraiser, book a demo for our digital product and get started with your hit a thon fundraiser.

Both methods can be used together if some supporters prefer donating in person while others give online. The truth is, every program needs fundraising. Our survey of over 100 coaches has shown that both digital and pen and paper fundraising is critical to their team fundraising success, which is why our templates exist!

Step 3: Sharing Your Fundraiser and Get Pledges in Advance

In the days or weeks before your event, encourage your players to collect pledges. While they’re starting that process, marketing your fundraiser should be at the forefront of your thoughts. Whether doing and online or pen and paper version, telling your community your fundraiser is going on and specifically noting what you’re fundraising for is an essential part of the process. The more people you and your players reach out to—family, friends, relatives—the more potential for fundraising.

If you want to get a head start, making posts well in advance of the fundraiser on social media, mentioning it during team meetings, and in communication to parents, will help set your team’s fundraiser up for success well in advance.

Each supporter pledges a dollar amount per hit. For example:

• $2 per hit × 8 hits = $16 donation
• $5 per hit × 12 hits = $60 donation
  

If you want to set expectations, in a friendly hit a thon where pitching is going to be friendly, expecting 10-12 hits isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but that’s why it’s important to have a realistic maximum on pitches, like 15-20 maximum attempts. A few strong performances can add up quickly, especially with multiple pledges per player.

If a player gets five people to donate $10 a hit, and gets 12 hits on 20 pitches, that’s $600 raised for your program!

Step 4: Layer on Additional Fundraising Opportunities For your Event (Optional)

When hosting a fundraising event, having multiple different options for fans in attendance to donate is a great way to make the most of your hit a thon. While the main focus is on collecting pledges for each hit, don’t underestimate the power of onsite fundraising.

It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Selling t-shirts, team apparel, concessions, or selling goods via a bake sale at the event can generate even more money on top of the hit a thon.

A batting cage or a pitch speed radar is a way to get local youth excited about attending and test their own skills if they aren’t competing. Charging as little as $5 for a few pitches or hits can add up over time. These extras not only boost your fundraising total, but also turn the event into a true community celebration.

Want another great option for fundraising? Check out our pick a date calendar fundraiser.

Step 5: Host the Hit a Thon Fundraiser

On event day, set up your field as you would a game day, and assign volunteers to help with tracking pitches and hits. Use the printed tracking sheets or input stats directly into Teamfi if you’re going digital.

Make the event fun! Play fun family friendly music, invite families to attend, and celebrate each player’s effort. Keep it light hearted. You can even livestream the action for families out of town or post updates to social media to keep supporters engaged.

Step 6: Tally Hits and Collect Donations

Once every player has completed their round, total up the number of hits and calculate how much each supporter owes. If you’re using Teamfi, the platform does this for you. It’s one of the seven reasons teams continue to return to Teamfi for their school team fundraisers, ease of use.

If you're using the paper method, send out totals to each donor manually and collect payments via cash, check, or mobile payment apps.

Step 7: Thank Your Supporters

After the fundraiser wraps up, make sure to send thank-you messages to every donor. Recognize top hitters, celebrate the total amount raised, and share photos or highlights from the day. Some teams even offer incentives to the highest fundraiser, for example you could offer the highest fundraiser on your team a chance to pick his or her walk up song for the season first.

Thanking your supporters and delivering on incentives helps to build long-term goodwill and makes your next hit a thon fundraiser or another similar softball or baseball fundraiser even easier.

Tools to Make Your Hit a Thon Fundraiser Easy

Teamfi gives you everything you need to run a hit a thon fundraiser with confidence—whether you’re a coach, team manager, or parent volunteer. We offer two options; A digital hit a thon fundraiser and a pen and paper hit a thon fundraiser template. The digital fundraiser gives your team its own central hub for fundraising and hosting your hit a thon, with player pages and a secure way to bring in transactions from relatives, friends, and family not just locally, but around the country. The hit a thon template provides a pen and paper option to run a fundraiser where your players take home their pledge sheets and fundraise the old fashioned way.

Whether your team prefers an all-digital route or the traditional pen and paper fundraiser template, the process is simple and built for baseball and softball teams of all sizes. Teamfi’s digital option is run through our software. Through the digital option, options on running a hit a thon including longest hit and pledging per foot hit, most hits in a certain amount of pitches, or a home run derby fundraiser. Our pen and paper template is based on pledging per foot hit.

Digital Hitathon Tools Include:

• Team and player fundraising/donation pages
• Online pledge collection run through our safe and secure payment processing software.
• Real-time tracking and updates, including automatic texts going out to potential fundraisers all included at no cost to your team.
• Custom links for sending out to your community.
  

Paper Hitathon Templates Include:

• Printable pledge sheets
• Event day instructions
  

Why a One-Day Hit a Thon Event Is The Standard

Unlike a season-long campaign, a one-day hit a thon fundraiser is simple, focused, and highly effective. You choose a single day, gather the team, and let the excitement unfold. It’s not just a fundraiser, it becomes a memorable team event, with players, parents, and fans all actively involved. The energy is high, the format is easy to follow, and everyone can see the impact in real time.

From a logistics standpoint, a one-day event is far easier to manage. With each player getting a set number of pitches, usually 10 to 20, it’s straightforward to track performance and tally up hits. Supporters know exactly what they’re pledging toward, and organizers can calculate donations quickly and accurately.

While a season-long fundraiser based on total hits might seem appealing, it introduces more complexity, tracking stats over weeks, updating donors, and maintaining momentum. Also is it an error or a hit? What if your stat keeper can’t come on certain days. When it comes to pledge-based fundraising, simplicity is key. That’s why the one-day hit a thon fundraiser format works so well: it delivers results fast, keeps everyone engaged, and removes the administrative burden from coaches and parents.

Let’s Get Your Hit a Thon Fundraiser Started

A one-day hit a thon fundraiser is one of the most engaging and rewarding ways to raise money for your baseball or softball team. It’s easy to run, fun for players, and highly effective when organized well. With Teamfi’s digital tools and templates, your team can hit your fundraising goals—one pitch at a time.

Ready to plan your hit a thon fundraiser? Download our easy to use pen and paper hit a thon fundraising template or launch your digital hit a thon fundraiser campaign today by booking a 10-minute demo of our baseball and softball team fundraiser software with our co-founder.