Looking for great school fundraising ideas? Look no further…We understand that fundraising is an educational opportunity. With every school fundraising campaign, you teach children about community service and being part of something larger than themselves. The best school fundraisers raise much-needed funds and provide students with leadership roles and learning opportunities.
These school fundraising ideas can be utilized by Parent-Teacher Organizations, Student Councils, school clubs, sports teams, and other groups. Don’t just settle for the cookie dough fundraiser this year; we’ve provided inspiration for the best school fundraisers at all levels of education, as well as the best virtual fundraising ideas.
What We’ll Cover
- Why Are These Events the Best Fundraisers for Schools?
- Selecting the Best School Fundraiser
- Our Favorite Fundraisers for Schools
- Elementary and Primary School Fundraisers
- Middle School Fundraisers
- High School Fundraisers
- Put DoJiggy to Work for Your School
- Top Virtual Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Fundraising Tips for Working with Students
- Our Fundraising Platform Makes School Fundraisers Easy
- More School Fundraising Resources
- Best School Fundraising Ideas FAQs
Why Are These Events the Best Fundraisers for Schools?
How did we pick these events as the best school fundraising ideas? The best fundraisers share certain criteria. Here’s what we look for in our list of top school fundraising ideas.
- Fundraisers Should Be Fun: First, these events are fun! Fundraisers should be enjoyable for both kids and families. Why not enjoy raising money?
- Teach Your Children Well: School fundraising campaigns should enforce the ideals and lessons we want our children to learn. Parents and teachers know that children are like sponges, and every opportunity to teach them counts. Fundraising events can be educational and culturally enriching. The spelling bee, film festival, and concert series are examples here.
- Choose Healthy Alternatives: School fundraisers should prioritize healthy options. Notice that there are no candy or cookie dough sales here. Why promote these types of unhealthy activities when so many of our children are already overweight and out of shape? Instead, many of our picks for best school fundraisers are active events that promote exercise and healthy competition.
- Fundraisers Should Be Lucrative: The best school fundraisers enable schools to raise substantial funds to meet their fundraising objectives. Of course, depending on the goals and available resources, some events will be more lucrative than others. Be sure to determine your fundraising goals before you begin.
Selecting the Best School Fundraiser
Different school fundraisers require different fundraising budgets, resources, volunteers, and time commitments. The following considerations should help you decide on the right school fundraising campaign and help you create a successful fundraising plan.
- How much volunteer time will the project take? Do you currently have committed parents or volunteers to assist in planning? How will your school recruit more?
- How will students be involved? What roles can students play? Will students be required to fundraise online, and if so, what tools can you provide to make it easy?
- What are the upfront costs, and how will your organization cover these?
- How can you raise community awareness of your school or school group while raising funds?
- What are you teaching your children through your fundraising campaign?
- What kind of prizes are you offering to the top fundraisers? Anything that makes the event more fun for kids will make your event more successful and raise more money.
Our Favorite Fundraisers for Schools
Color Runs
School fundraising campaigns and Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTOs) achieve strong results with Color Run fundraisers. Color runs use special color powder, which is thrown on students and adds to the fun. The paint is safe for all ages, and everyone will remember the day. Add an after-party to bring the community together and offer event sponsors an opportunity to showcase their products and offer samples.
Literacy Festivals
A school literacy festival is a fundraising idea that supports education through literacy. By holding student readings of classic literature, poetry, and short stories, you can create a fun afternoon and raise money for school programs. Teachers can host story times and art projects for younger children. You can also create writing competitions and award prizes to winners. Celebrate literacy with your students!
Fun Runs
A Fun Run is a fabulous choice for a school fundraiser because competition is out of the race, and fun is in. Fun Run websites provide a seamless gateway for planning and managing a fun run, allowing students and classrooms to easily raise money for their school through personal and team fundraising pages. Join one of the biggest school crowdfunding trends that promotes teamwork and exercise.
Chocolate Theme Fundraisers
Everyone loves chocolate! Here’s your chance to highlight chocolate and educate students about a fun subject. How about featuring a local chocolate company that donates to charity with a portion of its sales or promotes environmental sustainability? Adding an element of the greater good to your school fundraising campaign teaches children to take on further levels of responsibility. Add a marketplace or bake sale at the end to take home a chocolate candy bar or treat.
Farm to Table Events
Some schools have an organic garden to teach kids important lessons in environmental science and social responsibility, but most schools aren’t that fortunate. Farm-to-Table fundraisers can be a great opportunity to teach kids about organic farming and sustainability. Events can be held at a local farm or community center, with dinner featuring local, organic ingredients. Ask a local chef or restaurant to sponsor your event in support of your work.
Golf Tournaments
Golf tournaments are tried and true fundraising events. With golf tournament software, foursomes and sponsors securely register online. DoJiggy offers a complete set of golf tournament planning resources. Find a tournament planner and checklist, a golf tournament budget, a set of five standard letter templates for fundraising golf tournaments, and event flyers. These tools offer all you’ll need to kick off your school fundraising tournament successfully.
Yoga Classes
Yoga classes will spark an interest in many of your supporters and donors. Plan a day of varied yoga classes at all fitness levels and practice (Yoga Basics, Yoga for Children, Iyengar, Hatha Flow, Vinyasa, Restorative). Teach your children and community that yoga is for everyone by including something for everyone. Sell tickets at the door and on your fundraising event website. Invite food vendors and sponsors that promote healthy eating to advocate the importance of eating well for ourselves and our planet.
Adults Only Nights
Fundraisers for schools certainly don’t have to include students. Wine tasting events and charity poker tournaments can help achieve fundraising goals and give parents time to focus on networking and getting to know each other. Parents, teachers, and PTA members work together on school fundraising events, and knowing each other creates a more pleasurable experience for everyone.
Dog Walks
Dog walks are spectacular school crowdfunding campaigns that everyone will enjoy. Award prizes to the top individual and classroom fundraisers and best canine costumes. Schools can partner with nonprofit shelters that help animals and share costs, advertising, and volunteer resources. Maybe some lucky pooches will even be adopted as part of the after-party celebration.
Bike-a-thons
School bike-a-thons are popular and successful as fundraisers for schools. Not only do bike-a-thons work financially, but they are also a great way to bring the community together in crowdfunding. They encourage parents, students, faculty, and local businesses to participate in a healthy way to raise money for your school by combining exercise with your cause.
Holiday Fundraising Events
Christmas booths or decorated tables can be placed on street corners, in parking lots, and inside large businesses. Spread the merriment with this school fundraising idea and offer information about your school projects. The outstanding work of your school will reach the hearts and minds of your supporters and inspire them to give. Bring a holiday theme to any school fundraiser with costumes and decorations.
Elementary and Primary School Fundraisers
Zoo Walks
A Zoo Walk allows students to enjoy the zoo while they raise money for school projects. Everyone will enjoy walking around the zoo with their family and friends, seeing lions, tigers, and bears – oh my! Make it an opportunity to explain why you need to raise money to maintain high educational standards. Have a table for each subject that outlines the progress you’re making in math, linguistics, and science.
Dress Down Days
A day without uniforms or dress code is something kids and teachers will pay for. This school fundraising idea charges a fee once per month or every Friday for those who crave a dress-down day. Use these funds to go on a field trip to a local museum or a neighboring city. Perhaps the local art museum will offer you a day of free or reduced-rate admission for the kids.
Disney Movie Nights
Bring a little Disney magic into your elementary school fundraising by hosting a Disney Movie Night, or choose four movies and plan a month-long fundraising campaign. Sell movie tickets, sodas, popcorn, fruit cups, and healthy snacks. Include a costume party and give a prize to the best-dressed boy and girl at the event.
School Family Fun Nights
Hosting a Family Fun Night is a great idea for school fundraising. These nights let school communities have fun on Friday or Saturday, enjoying dinner, games, and prizes. Each classroom sponsors a game or activity booth. Tickets are sold on your fundraising event website, where you can take donations for each grade level or classroom.
Obstacle Course Fundraisers
Obstacle courses are popular school fundraisers that allow kids to roll around in the mud. Courses can include obstacles such as walls, teeter-totters, tunnels, balance beams, a cargo climb, and a mud pit. More difficult courses can be designed for adult and teen participants.
Firefighters Picnics
Many elementary school children dream of becoming firefighters. Why not build on that dream by holding a picnic with your local fire department? Ask them to bring a fire truck and the necessary equipment. You will pique curiosity and educate students. Plant plenty of educational material about your school nearby and sell picnic food to raise funds.
Readathons
A readathon fundraiser is a peer-to-peer event in which students commit to reading to raise money for the school or PTO. This lucrative school fundraising idea promotes children’s literacy and a love of reading while offering an academic challenge kids enjoy. It’s easy to get everyone excited about a readathon! Be bold in your social media promotion, and you’ll be sure to exceed your fundraising goals.
Arts and Crafts Fairs
Arts and Crafts fairs are great holiday or Christmas fundraising events. If 20 arts-and-crafts artists pay $50 each to rent a booth at your craft fair, your school makes $1,000. There are craft artists among your students, teachers, and PTA members who will want to participate and may even donate a portion of their sales. Find popular local food vendors and a few musicians for extra fun.
School Carnivals
A school carnival is a must for Elementary School PTO fundraising. Many schools offer free admission, allowing everyone to attend and sell game tickets. Include a variety of games for elementary kids and their families, such as a bouncy house, win-a-fish, lucky duck, and soda toss ring games, to name a few. Pizza, popcorn, and beverage sales generate additional funds. Raffle donated goods and include a silent auction to raise more.
Middle School Fundraisers
Art Shows
By middle school, some students have developed a strong interest in art. Watching local painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, and textile designers at work will fascinate these students and community donors. An Art Show fundraiser could include participants having a hands-on art experience if some of your artists can host a workshop. Sell tickets online and take donations on your event ticketing website.
Walkathons
School walk-a-thons are a top fundraising strategy. Perhaps it is because students, PTA members, teachers, parents, the community, and local businesses all join together that makes these fundraisers so much fun and highly lucrative. Don’t forget the prizes and incentives – perhaps a custom t-shirt to inspire your students. Get the kids walking and use a great walkathon website to fundraise online.
Zumba Fests
The Latin-inspired fitness dance of Zumba can be a unique and effective fundraising idea for your school. Help to improve the self-confidence of your middle school kids and donors of all ages, and motivate them to exercise. Zumba is a fun way to achieve this; no prior dance experience is required. Include a raffle and a donation table with refreshments to boost income. Read our article on how to organize a Zumba fundraiser to get going.
Dining Out in the Community Events
One of the more scrumptious fundraisers for schools is an evening of dining out at local restaurants. Everyone in the community is invited to dinner, enjoy a good meal, and help raise funds for your school. The restaurant donates 10% of sales or a percentage of profits to the school. Advertise one or more restaurants, along with their menus, on the school website and social media channels to attract attention.
School Spirit Sales
Sell school spirit wear such as t-shirts and custom clothing, sports gear, backpacks, and cool school supplies on your school website as well as during School Spirit Day, at sports games, and pep rallies. Who doesn’t love a school hoodie or stainless steel coffee mug for those cool fall evenings? School clothing and gear sales are a great ongoing fundraiser to fund field trips, equipment purchases, and more. DoJiggy offers a free online store to get started!
Spelling Bees
Middle school spelling bee contestants are generally only two to three years apart in age, making this a perfect choice for middle school fundraising. Collaborate with your local Apple Store or cell phone store to be recognized as a sponsor on your website and throughout your event’s advertising. The chance to win a computer, smartphone, iPad, or other electronic device could make your students better spellers.
Lip Sync Competitions
A great twist on a talent show is a lip-sync competition. Kids don’t need a fabulous voice to get involved. Use recorded music and allow kids to pick their songs and costumes. Imagine what fun this will be while giving students a chance to build their confidence on stage. Give fun prizes for best costume, best female performance, best male performance, and best band. Have a real gas by adding a few teacher performances. An after-party is a must.
Car Washes
Classic car washes make great school fundraisers because they provide a much-needed service, and kids can have a lot of fun running them. Get your groove on in making this event a one-stop shop for busy parents and community members. Task your middle school students with making and selling deli sandwiches as well as washing cars. Ask a local café to set up shop and sell coffee and cappuccinos, and create a convenient and delicious stop for busy adults to drive off in a clean car.
Community Clean-ups
Many middle school kids are passionate about the environment and want to help create change. Perhaps an area in your community needs a cleanup, such as an overgrown park, neglected land, or a polluted watershed. Fundraisers for schools that involve the environment and conservation are smart events that teach students the value of the environment while raising funds through teams of fundraisers, including students, parents, and teachers.
Film Festivals
Middle school students love watching movies! Why not host a Film Festival at your school, where each classroom collectively selects a movie to include in the festival? The students can arrive early and help set up the auditorium and classrooms for the event. Multiple shows will play throughout the day or weekend, and tickets can be sold per movie or for unlimited access. Be sure to choose age-appropriate films for your students, as well as a group of movies for younger siblings and children. As with all movies, popcorn, sodas, and snacks can be sold for a high profit.
High School Fundraisers
Community Serve-a-thons
Service to the community while raising money for the school makes this a special high school fundraiser. Each homeroom or grade level commits to a service area: nursing home care, park or beach clean-up, help for elderly homeowners, or feeding the hungry. In the weeks leading up to the serve-a-thon fundraiser, students solicit donations for their high school to support the event. Top fundraisers are rewarded with prizes.
Speech Contests
Hold a Speech Contest in your school auditorium. The first round of speeches is voted on by the audience or judges, and the top contestants move to a final round. Sell tickets online and host an after-party. The anticipation generated by interesting topics will make for great discussion at the celebration.
Chalk Festivals
Be the hippest fundraiser for schools by creating chalk murals displayed in public places and at your high school. Let your crowdfunding website handle donations and pledges. As community members donate to mural teams and artists, they’ll get excited about the upcoming chalk festival. Plan several blocks of chalk art and present maps on flyers and the school website. Host the event over a weekend, culminating in a celebration.
Dance Marathons
One of the most fun high school fundraisers is a dance marathon. Dance your socks off for 8 hours on a Saturday. Sell a wide variety of snacks, beverages, and pizza slices to generate substantial profits for your school. Create a crowdfunding website that allows supporters to make mobile donations. Pledges can be made based on the number of hours students dance, or simple donations can be made. The fun part is to dance the night away for your school.
Book Fairs
Book fairs can be held in your local bookstore or online, making them an ideal fundraiser for schools while promoting literacy. With the addition of online book sales on your school’s fundraising store, supporters can reach out to family and friends anywhere. Consider adding a book swap to your book fair campaign to make it more engaging. Bring the book fair to your school gymnasium as an option.
Art Sales
Encourage your high school’s art students by planning an art sale. It may be their first public showing, which is a big deal for budding artists. Add a section on your event floor for community-donated paintings to raise more money for your school. Invite the donated art of local artists. The art forms at this fundraiser can vary, with sculpture, paintings, photography, and more. Charge an admission fee and seek artful, gourmet food vendors to increase profits.
Spin-a-thons
Turn your spin-a-thon into a community party with student DJs, food and beverage vendors, and games and contests while people spin on stationary bikes to raise money for your high school. Ask your local spinning studio to either donate their studio for some advertisement or pay to rent it out for the day. This idea is an easy, low-cost school fundraiser, full of energy and potential for high profits.
Environmental Festivals
Bring the entire community together for a weekend festival and lecture series on conservation and the environment. Invite guest speakers from local nonprofit organizations and groups, and give your students experience in public speaking and event management. Include daycare or fun environmental activities for the younger kids, so mom and dad can attend the lectures with high school students.
Golf Marathons
Play into the hands of high school students with a golf crowdfunding event or Golf Marathon. They love technology and updating their social media pages. Golf marathon fundraising tools allow students to personalize their pages, upload photos or videos, set goals, and track their progress against other students, creating a fun, interactive, and competitive environment.
Concert Series
Our final high school fundraising idea enables the music department to showcase its talent. Hold a weekly concert of solo performers, trios, and duets. Add a night of choral music. Once the audience attends the first one, they’ll want more. Hosting a VIP party enables donors to meet and speak with the performers afterward. Create a beautiful website with our event ticketing software, including videos of student performances.
Put DoJiggy to Work for Your School
DoJiggy helps schools and PTOs raise money online with our free fundraising platform. Whether you’re raising funds for a new computer lab or library or enhancing student programs, we can help with the best fundraising solutions.
Fundraising is an educational opportunity. Students learn skills such as public speaking, leadership, and time management. Implementing technology such as our crowdfunding software allows students to customize their fundraising pages. They help raise much-needed funds and learn that helping out can be fun and rewarding.
Top Virtual Fundraising Ideas for Schools
Virtual fundraising is a valuable tool for schools, PTOs, and booster clubs looking to raise more money while engaging supporters near and far. Whether you’re supplementing traditional events, reaching busy families, or expanding your donor base beyond your community, virtual fundraising offers flexibility, convenience, and strong results. Explore these creative virtual fundraising ideas for schools to help your school or organization achieve its fundraising goals.
Virtual Walkathons and Fun Runs
Virtual walkathons are great school fundraisers. They can raise a significant amount of money with minimal upfront costs, and with parental involvement, they are fun and easy to organize.
Virtual Happy Hours and Performances
Get your livestream platform ready! Virtual performances work well for school fundraisers and can highlight school music groups, marching bands, and choirs.
Online Product Sales with P2P Pages
Virtual merchandise sales are a no-brainer for low-contact fundraising. Our simple stores make it easy; you can get set up and selling in no time with personal fundraising pages.
Fundraising Raffles
Online raffles are the perfect way for many schools to raise money. We offer the ability to incorporate peer-to-peer fundraising in raffles, where students sell tickets. Our raffle software can even randomly select and notify winners. Just find a prize and go!
Virtual Bikeathons
Like virtual walkathons, bikeathon fundraisers can be run virtually with just a few tweaks. Biking is a great socially distant sport, so some kids may even bike together. Students create a fundraising page and commit to biking in support of the school.
Virtual Read-a-thons
Readathons are a great way to keep kids reading and raise money at the same time. Just set up a free website where students track the number of books or pages read. Donors contribute based on results, and top fundraisers are highlighted.
Online Auctions
All you need are some desirable auction items and our free software. Create your auction website and add categories and items. Set the bidding start time and advertise your auction. Bids are made online and via text-to-bid.
Food Delivery Campaigns
Since many families are busy and appreciate pre-made food, why not sell it for your next school fundraiser? Create themed food packages, such as Italian Night or Mexican Night. Offer pick-up or delivery by volunteers.
Virtual Watch Parties
Select an educational movie or documentary to share with students. Supporters register to watch the movie and buy popcorn and treats. You can launch a livestreamed watch party, letting parents and kids know what to look for and discuss after the film.
Fundraising Tips for Working with Students
A school fundraiser is an event, project, or program designed to raise money for a specific cause or purpose. School fundraising can take many forms, including product sales through e-commerce stores, events, services, online fundraising, and crowdfunding. When planning fundraising activities for kids, keep the following tips in mind.
- Be Safe! The days of going door-to-door beyond your neighborhood are over. Children can still ask neighbors, family, and friends for donations, but online fundraising campaigns are generally a much safer option.
- Make It Easy. Your fundraiser should be simple for kids to participate in. Kids are very tech-savvy! So, an easy-to-use fundraising website works for most age levels (and parents may need to assist younger children). Kids can easily sign up, personalize their fundraising page, and then share a link through email or social channels.
- Keep It Short. With children, you’ll need to keep their attention, so don’t drag the fundraiser out too long. Hit it hard for two weeks. And if you are hosting an event, plan it for just a couple of hours rather than an entire day.
- Provide Rewards and Incentives. There is nothing kids like better than prizes! Give them prizes if they reach a certain goal. Set up a contest to reward the top performers.
Our Fundraising Platform Makes School Fundraisers Easy
More School Fundraising Resources
Crowdfunding for Schools
DoJiggy offers crowdfunding software for the best school fundraising events. Use our peer-to-peer platform to engage students without handing over a hefty percentage of funds raised.
High School Band Fundraising
School marching bands and music groups need financial support to sustain musical programs, fund competitions, cover travel costs, and pay for uniforms.
Golf Tournament Fundraisers for Schools
Discover the key elements of successful golf tournament planning and determine if this is the ideal fundraiser for your school group.
Most Profitable School Fundraisers
We’ve provided inspiration for the most lucrative school fundraising ideas at all levels of education. These are the proven ideas that make the most money for schools.
Student Serve-a-thons
A serve-a-thon is a great school fundraiser that can raise funds through student efforts while positively impacting the community.
School Auction Fundraisers
Not only have school auctions proven to have tremendous fundraising potential, but they also serve as great community builders.
School Sales Contests
Product sales are a traditional way to get students involved in PTO fundraising. Schools sell candy, magazines, holiday items, discount cards, and more.
Best School Fundraising Ideas FAQs
The right school fundraiser depends on your fundraising goals, resources, volunteer availability, and your students’ ages.
Most schools find that the best fundraisers are lucrative campaigns that are easy to organize and engage students and families. Some of the most popular options include: walk-a-thons and Fun Runs, Read-a-thons, golf tournaments, auctions, and school spirit wear sales.
Peer-to-peer fundraising events such as Fun Runs and Read-a-thons consistently raise the most money because participants ask friends and family to sponsor their efforts. These campaigns often generate significantly more revenue than traditional product sales.
Yes. Many schools encourage monthly giving programs to support classroom programs, scholarships, or educational initiatives throughout the year.
Yes. Reputable fundraising platforms use encrypted payment processing and comply with industry security standards to protect donor information. Schools should choose an established platform with trusted security measures.
Yes. Most online fundraising platforms automatically email receipts after each donation. This saves administrators time while providing donors with instant confirmation of their gift.
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