School groups, sports teams, communities and those involved in extracurricular activities are expected to benefit greatly from an announced exclusive partnership between Varsity Brands and GoFundMe. The global social fundraising platform is joining with the market leader in sport, spirit and achievement to change the way money is raised. A key goal is to address the rising cost of participating in youth sports and athletics at a time when traditional funding sources have declined.
“Schools, teams, leagues and clubs need a safe and secure way to raise funds quickly to offset rising program costs, and we believe this partnership will change the paradigm for team and school fundraising forever,” said Adam Blumenfeld, CEO of Varsity Brands, in a press statement. “The multi-year partnership will pair the reach of Varsity Brand’s 1,700 local market sales associates, millions of catalogs and broad digital capabilities with GoFundMe’s unmatched awareness, scale and technology.”
The new GoFundMe Team Fundraising product will serve as the foundation of the new partnership. Varsity Brand will benefit from a customized co-branded experience that enables teams, schools, and coaches to fundraise together. The GoFundMe platform also offers a 0% platform fee, ease of set-up, social sharing tools and great customer care supported by the GoFundMe Guarantee.
The Dallas-based Varsity Brands has over 100 years of experience in the youth and scholastic markets. Its three core businesses, team sports equipment and apparel distributor BSN Sports, cheerleading uniforms, educational camps and competition provider Varsity Spirit and Herff Jones, a leading provider of graduation and educational products and services, serve elementary and middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities, as well as club, professional and collegiate sports teams and corporations.
“We’re excited to be working with Varsity Brands to bring our new team fundraising product to the school and extracurricular market,” said Rob Solomon, CEO of GoFundMe. “With our knowledge and expertise in social fundraising combined with the power of the Varsity Brands market leadership, we look forward to enhancing the fundraising experience for millions of coaches, students and athletes by providing the fastest, easiest and most effective way to raise money.”
