SportsEngine Buys RallyMe For Sports Fundraising

SportsEngine said on Tuesday (Sept. 27) it inked a deal to acquire RallyMe, a platform for sports fundraising.

In a press release, SportsEngine said fundraising has been a staple of youth sports for generations, and as the cost of youth sports participation continues to increase, the need to help programs, teams and athletes fundraise has grown in importance.

“We believe that participation in sports changes lives by teaching us priceless lessons in character, commitment, leadership and discipline,” said Justin Kaufenberg, cofounder and chief executive officer at SportsEngine, in the press release announcing the deal. “Through sports, we learn so many life lessons, like how to set goals, overcome adversity and achieve greatness.”

According to SportsEngine, the acquisition of RallyMe will result in the company offering a product for fundraising combined with best practices, playbooks and support for youth and amateur sport organizations, athletes and national governing bodies. RallyMe has helped thousands of athletes, teams and national governing bodies raise funds to continue to participate in sports, the company noted.

“Lack of funds should never keep a kid from staying in the game or a team from reaching its top potential. That is why we founded RallyMe. By joining SportsEngine, we’ll be able to provide our fundraising tools to more sports organizations and, in turn, help raise crucial funds to ultimately get more and more young athletes active,” said Bill Kerig, founder of RallyMe, in the same press release.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kerig will continue to lead RallyMe from its Salt Lake City, UT headquarters. RallyMe will continue to develop and support its products and services.

Fundraising has gone digital in recent years thanks to websites that let people create causes, as well as help out others in need. The heavy use of mobile has even prompted old school nonprofits to adapt. Take the Salvation Army, for one example. Two years ago, it announced it would set up new digital channels to drive up donations for its annual Red Kettle Campaign. Instead of relying on in-person donations, the nonprofit organization leveraged social media and text-to-give options on mobile devices to help boost its annual campaign.