With Monday's deadline approaching, the Spirit has raised about $11,000 of the $20,000 it needs.
That meant a "massive drive" was needed to make up the shortfall, spokeswoman Margaret McCarrigan said.
The Spirit was a victim of the Otago Rugby Football Union's financial collapse earlier this year and was pulled out of the national championship.
But the team has rallied behind McCarrigan, former high-profile player Farah Palmer and Highlanders star Adam Thomson, in a bid to self-fund its campaign.
Thomson, described by McCarrigan as "a gem", took it upon himself to auction a Rugby World Cup ball and set up an online appeal.
Other donations have been made to the bank account set up for the team, but the Spirit will need to find more benefactors if it is to provide an opportunity for the best female players in the region to get top-level competition.
Save the Spirit
Donations to help the Otago women's rugby team compete in the national championship can be made online or at any Westpac bank. The account number is 03-0675-0531096-001 with "Otago women's rugby" as the subject line.
