Fundraising Ideas for Schools
School fundraisers can invite a lot of pressure into our lives. Whether you’re a parent volunteer, an involved faculty member, or a student looking to drive engagement, remember: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The best fundraising ideas for schools are tried and true, but the real magic happens when you add your own personality!
Fundraising Ideas for Elementary Schools and Middle Schools
Parents’ Night Out
Host a “Parents’ Night Out” to give Mom and Dad a well-deserved break! This cost-efficient fundraiser is a great way to involve older kids as volunteers. Simply pick a time and date to provide a night of babysitting for donations! Kids will love hanging out with their friends and parents will love not having to coordinate sleepovers and drives across town. It’s a win-win!
Fun Run
The “Fun Run” has become a staple in elementary schools everywhere, introducing kids to fundraising and promoting healthy habits. Fun Runs rely on donors pledging a specific dollar amount per mile, engaging them for the entire campaign. Additionally, this event lends itself seamlessly to virtual engagement! The right virtual event software ensures visitors can donate and receive updates seamlessly.
Penny Wars
Penny Wars are one of the easiest fundraisers to orchestrate! The objective is simple: have the most pennies in your team’s jug at the end of the competition. Students can even decorate jugs for a special touch! Who doesn’t love getting rid of spare change?
Fundraising Ideas for High Schools
High school is a time for exploring new interests and hobbies and helping students find their passion. These fundraising ideas for students have something that can appeal to everyone, making it easy to back your cause:
Dance-A-Thon: Dance marathons are sweeping the nation, and for good reason! This physical and mental challenge is a hit with high schoolers, satisfying their desire to pull an all-nighter. An event like this takes a bit more effort and planning, so it’s best to rally a committee of passionate volunteers and provide a user-friendly donation page with all the relevant information!
Spirit Week: Typically planned around a big school event, Spirit Week is five full days of fundraising. Daily themes and activities encourage students to dress up in exchange for donations and events like pep rallies, bake sales, and more leave the entire student body buzzing. Healthy competition between the classes is a great way to raise the stakes!
Class Carnival: With endless activities, prizes, and fried food, there is truly nothing like a carnival. School carnivals target different pockets of students, setting the stage for fundraising opportunities like raffles, contests, and ticket sales. Consider activities like Dunk-A-Teacher, face painting, ring toss, and a petting zoo! We recommend selling tickets in advance with an easy-to-use ticketing website.
4 Tips for Maximizing Organization, Donations, and Fun
Leverage the excitement and manpower of eager parents to your advantage! You can also incentivize faculty and students to help out.
Elementary students won’t fully grasp the concept of fundraising while high school students require more engagement. Offer different activities and incentives for each age group and watch the donations roll in!
Incorporate volunteers, but don’t put too much pressure on them with the critical details. Use an advanced, reliable event software to keep everything organized and show exactly how much money has been raised.
Narrow in on an overarching initiative to make it clear where funds are going. In doing so, you’ll create a story around the fundraiser and connect with donors on a deeper level!
These fundraising ideas for students can be modified or adapted for different ages, budgets and seasons to make your next fundraiser a huge success! If you have a bigger event in the works like a gala or auction, these supplemental ideas will take it to the next level. Get started planning your next school fundraiser today!
