Fundraising FOR a Climbing Wall & Fundraising WITH a Climbing Wall

Whether you have a climbing wall or not, we have ideas for you to raise funds – either for the climbing wall or with the climbing wall.

Fundraising for a Climbing Wall

Schools and youth-serving organizations typically must raise funds for their Traverse Wall® or Top Rope Wall. Often multiple funding sources are utilized. Here are a few ideas to help you get one step closer to acquiring a climbing wall.

Funding Partnerships

Climbing wall fundraising can be accomplished through a partnership with a variety of organizations and local businesses. Parent-Teacher partnerships are a natural source of funding for schools. PTOs and PTAs support a variety of educational projects, and we suggest you approach this organization first. If you need to look elsewhere, reach out to the local business community.

Grants

Applying for grants is another way to fund your climbing wall. Please download our free funding guide. We offer a guide specific to each state and it includes lists of national and state-level grants that award at least $1,000 to fund equipment and programs for K-12 public schools. The guide includes other great fundraising ideas as well.

Crowdfunding

Numerous organizations find success raising funds through crowdfunding websites. Be sure to look into the details, including the fees and fee structures to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. Donors Choose is one that past customers have used, but there are many other options.

Restaurant Fundraising

Many restaurants offer fundraising opportunities that provide schools and organizations with a percentage of the food purchased during a scheduled day and time range. Search GroupRaise to see what opportunities exist near you.

Fundraising with a Climbing Wall

If you already have a climbing wall, you can use it as a fundraising tool to raise funds for your school or organization. Hosting a Climb-a-Thon is our favorite way to use a climbing wall to raise funds.

A Climb-a-Thon is like a Walk-a-Thon. Instead of raising money by walking, participants raise money by climbing. They solicit pledges from friends and family members either as a dollar amount per lap climbed or as a flat donation for participating in the Climb-a-Thon. We’ve created a Climb-a-Thon Pledge Form that you can download. If donors choose to donate per lap climbed, climbers should keep a log of how many laps they climbed. You can download our Climb-a-Thon Lap Log to help them track the laps. A lap is defined as one trip across a Traverse Wall® or one vertical climb up a Top Rope Wall.

A Climb-a-Thon can be a one-day event or spread out over a week or more. The longer the timeframe, the more money that can be raised. And if your organization is a school, spreading the event out over a week or more enables all grade levels to participate as part of their physical education classes. Having the climbing wall “open” before or after school or during recess could provide additional climbing opportunities. Other organizations can host a Climb-a-Thon during certain hours of the day for a set number of days, or for just one day for predetermined hours. There’s a lot of flexibility in how you plan this fundraiser.

Be sure to inform parents and guardians of the Climb-a-Thon and let them know how the funds raised will be used. Also advertise the event by posting fliers and providing information in your organization’s newsletter and website.

Once the Climb-a-Thon has been completed, climbers should reach back out to their donors to collect funds. There will be some math involved in calculating the per lap pledges. Be sure to follow up by thanking donors and communicating the total amount of funds raised. If you host a Climb-a-Thon, please send photos and let us know how it went! We would love to share your success in an upcoming newsletter.

For other fundraising ideas, be sure to download our free Fundraising Guide. We offer one for every state and even though it’s intended to help people raise funds for a climbing wall, the resources within can help you raise funds for other equipment.