Share the Love: Softball Coach Darin Kyle 

February 5, 2025, is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and during the month of February, we are sharing the love for Snap! Raise and highlighting women’s and girl’s sports teams! Bombers Fastpitch Head Coach Darin Kyle has been using Snap! Raise since 2022 to fundraise for his softball teams. Check out how Snap! Raise has been able to make a difference for his athletes!  

Q: What are the benefits you’ve experienced using Snap! Raiseʼs online fundraising platform? 

The Snap! Raise fundraising platform has been greatly beneficial to us in so many ways. The platform is simple to use both for our parents as well as coaching staff. It provides the feedback that we need to confirm that our athletes are putting the effort in to maximize their fundraiser opportunity. Since we are also a Snap! Spend user, we have been able to access funds sooner, and as we created our new team last fall, this was extremely important to us. Without this feature, we wouldn’t have been able to pay for our tournament registrations and practice facilities. 

Q: What has your group been able to do with the money raised during your Snap! Raise fundraiser? How has it made a difference for your athletes? 

The funds that we generated are used to cover tournament registrations, practice facilities, and equipment. The cost to participate in sports has gone through the roof, and without Snap! Raise, these expenses would have fallen directly on our parent group. It is because of this fundraiser alone that we have had the opportunity for girls to play without the financial burden on the parent. Without this fundraiser, they would not have been able to play a sport that they love. 

Q: What recommendations or tips would you have for a fellow coach or group leader when running a Snap! Raise fundraiser? 

A: In the many seasons that we have used Snap! Raise, we have seen all too often that a lack of top-down support for this fundraiser will not generate the results that a coach is expecting. It is my recommendation that this full support is implemented and maintained throughout the campaign to maximize the return on the efforts. I believe in the “ALL IN” mentality when it comes to any fundraiser. We also recommend that our athletes utilize the tools that are within the Snap! Raise platform, as well as using their links in direct messages via text messages, email and social media posts. This creates more of a personal message to the recipient rather than a canned message.   

Q: Any other big wins you’d like to share that your team has had working with Snap!: 

A: Since Snap! Raise was first introduced to us several years ago, we have had several campaigns in which some of our athletes have been able to completely cover the costs of their seasons and more. This last campaign we ran generated $10,250 in 28 days. There is no other fundraiser that I have found that is that impactful and simple. The big wins are when we can create opportunities for these athletes that may have otherwise not been able to participate due to costs. 

Q: What does National Girls & Women in Sports Day mean to your team, and how do you see your fundraising efforts supporting that vision? 

A: National Girls & Women in Sports Day is the opportunity to celebrate the girls and women athletes and their passion for sports. Our fundraising efforts give those athletes the ability to play softball when costs to do so would either limit or prohibit their ability.   

Q: What challenges do women’s and girls’ teams typically face in securing resources, and how did this fundraiser help overcome those obstacles? 

A: In our area, we find the women’s fastpitch faces challenges in securing practice facilities during the rainy and winter season due to those facilities being secured for baseball teams. When we do locate a facility, it comes with a premium that drives up costs. Our fundraising efforts with Snap! Raise help to reduce this cost burden from our parent group. Many tournaments that we have the opportunity to compete in are outside of our local area and require traveling. Since we have had successful fundraising campaigns, our parent group is able to participate in these away tournaments and cheer our girls on. 

Q: As you celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day, what does it feel like to know your fundraising success is part of a bigger movement for equity and opportunity?

A: We are blessed to have the opportunity to create an environment for our team of girls to be able to participate in the game they love without the financial stresses and burden. This is primarily due to our fundraising success with Snap! Raise. We wouldn’t have the team we have now if we didn’t have Snap! Raise to drive our fundraising efforts. 

Coach Darin Kyle’s softball teams have raised more than $18,000 since 2022, and we are looking forward to seeing what Coach Kyle and the Bombers Fastpitch team can do in the 2025 season!

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Snap! Raise has worked with over 150,000 teams, groups, and programs since 2014, and raised over $950M. We’re proud to be the safest, easiest, and most effective fundraising platform for youth athletics and activities. Want to learn more about starting a fundraiser with us? Fill out the form below to connect to a Snap! Raise Rep!