Elementary school fundraising ideas

Research grants that you can apply for to fund your nonprofit organization or project. Be sure to create a stand-out grant proposal in order to impress grantmakers!

Raise money for a good cause and create an unforgettable, cozy experience by turning any fundraising event into a pajama party.

Throw a themed costume party to match the season or holiday and award prizes for the best costumes! Sell tickets to your fundraising event online and work with local sponsors to offset costs and spread the word.

Invite fans to donate to see how many field goals they can make in a minute (make a smaller goalpost for kids, too!).Have each participant create a personal peer-to-peer fundraising page and reach out to friends and family for for their support!

Instead of hosting an event, ask your supporters to donate a specific amount for the entire year. Create a fundraising page with photos, videos, and a compelling story in order to encourage gifts. Be sure to customize your donation amounts and add descriptions that are specific to your needs and impact.

Sell wholesale candy bars and sweet treats to your supporters, bring them to events, or have them out anywhere people might need a snack! Use peer-to-peer fundraising to foster a bit of friendly competition and easily keep track of supporters who have sold the most.

Bring fans onto the field for some football fun! Teams register and pay to play and fans buy tickets to cheer them on.

Let donors "purchase" 2-5 hours of extra help from students or volunteers (think raking leaves or mowing the lawn).

In order to streamline the process and keep track of contributions, create custom labels for different donation amounts on a special fundraising page or donation form (e.g. $50 = 2 volunteer hours).

Come up with a creative fundraiser with a cathy name like “Pancakes for Parents” brunch or a “Chicken Wings for Cheerleaders.” To get supporters excited, create a custom fundraising page full of on-theme photos, videos, ands more!

Encourage families to run, walk, or jog for a cause by featuring kid-friendly activities, prizes, and course options.

Use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage participants to set a donation goal and spread the word about the cause.

Ask participants to don their favorite PJs while tackling a walk, jog, roll, or run for the cause. Encourage everyone to set a donation goal and spread the word about the fundraiser with peer-to-peer fundraising. Don’t forget to award prizes to the coziest runners!

Swap your traditional auction for a silent one, where supporters or live audience members can bid any time before the auction ends. With a silent auction, your supporters are able to bid on items online or with their phones via QR code, making it easy and accessible for all.

Ask your sponsors and community members to donate items or experiences, then raffle them off! The sky is the limit when it comes to raffle ticket prizes : gift baskets, movie tickets, artwork—anything that will appeal to your community members.

Just be sure to check your state laws regarding raffles before you start planning!

Host a sports clinic or skills camp for participants to learn from top coaches, pro players, or other notable experts. Depending on the scale of your clinic, you can sell several tickets to the public or offer just a few spots as a big-ticket silent auction item at a fundraising event.

Challenge supporters to complete a course of obstacles like walls, mud pits, and rope climbs. To amplify your impact, and spark some friendly competition, encourage team fundraising: all supporters can join an existing team or create their own to compete!

Ask supporters to lace up their shoes and gather pledges or donations for every mile they walk.

Sell official charity gear, encourage supporters to share updates on their own personal donation pages, and award top fundraisers with exciting prizes.

Map out your fundraising run route and have supporters donate to participate. Then, use peer-to-peer fundraising tools that allow supporters to make their own donation pages, set their own goals, and ask friends and family to contribute!

Encourage supporters to submit their best t-shirt designs to enter them into a competition. Set up team fundraising pages for each design and have supporters donate in order to cast their vote for for their favorite design. Each donation will appear on a leaderboard so everyone can watch the votes (and donations!) come in.

Create and sell custom VIP event ticketsthat offer access to front-row, cushioned seats (and maybe some special team swag) at your next home game for your biggest fans and supporters.

Join forces with your rival team for a good cause. Organize a race or other competition between your mascots during halftime at a big game, and ask supporters to vote for their mascot by donating on a team fundraising page. Use text-to-donate or a QR code to bring in even more funds from the stands during the event.

Use an existing stand or create your own and sell items like popcorn, candy, and sunflower seeds. To boost sales, create custom tickets with mouth-watering pictures of available treats!

Sell passes for a day out of uniform or a day in jeans. Allow parents to pre-pay ahead or donate on the day-of the event. For easy payments, use scan-to-donate or accept Venmo and other convenient options.

Charge an entrance fee and check-in attendees as they arrive for an evening of creativity and fun. Ask volunteers to bring various supplies, or ask for donations from local art stores.

Challenge your principal to do something wild (like dye their hair) if your team reaches their fundraising goal. Use a custom fundraising page with a live goal bar to drum up excitement and share updates (and photos!) as donations roll in.

Students pledge to read a certain number of minutes each day and collect donations for each minute read or a flat rate. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage readers to compete to see who reads—and raises—the most.

Perfect for the Halloween season, challenge participants to a pay-to-play series of games like pumpkin races and decorating contests. Sell tickets in advance or on the day of using scan-to-donate or Venmo.

Source quality school-related items, such as backpacks and shoes, and auction them off during a virtual, in-person, or hybrid event.

Use Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) to host a virtual family movie night fundraising event on the streaming service of your choice. Ask movie trivia questions throughout to make the evening more interactive!

Ask local nurseries to donate herbs, seeds, and soil you can use to assemble gardening kits. Bring volunteers together to assemble everything and sell them on a custom fundraising page or donation form.

Reserve an indoor or outdoor space and invite your community to come arrange flower bouquets and pot their own plants to celebrate Earth Day (April 22).

Charge an entrance fee and make your fundraising event move smoothly with mobile app check-in and easy scan-to-donate payment options.

Raise some extra funds for your organization or club and spread the word about your cause by selling branded swag like totes, stickers, and t-shirts.

With advanced ticketing features, you can offer each item on a mobile-friendly platform and add an image and available amount so supporters can easily purchase and share their sizing info, too!

Each class or grade creates a team fundraising page for easy donations and campaign sharing. The team that raises the most or brings in the most donations is rewarded with a bottomless pizza day, either made by volunteers or donated from a local pizzeria.

Reach out to local businesses and ask them to donate a small number of products that you can bundle together and offer donors online.

To attract more partnerships from businesses, create a sponsorship proposal that emphasizes the benefits for them, like free publicity and marketing opportunities.

Create and sell a custom cookbook featuring favorite recipes from your community members and families. To drum up excitement and spread the word, share sneak peek photos on your custom fundraising page.

Set up a donation drive to collect valuable in-kind donations or financial gifts for your cause. This can be done by setting up a drop-off zone in person or collecting donations online through a fundraising page. No matter the format—make sure to share your fundraising goal far and wide to keep the momentum going!

Ask local businesses to sponsor your team in exchange for logo placement on jerseys, in programs, or on stadium banners. Be sure to follow sponsorship proposal best practices to make the most of this partnership!

Find a local restaurant that will host your fundraising event and donate at least 10-20% of the profits from the evening to your campaign. To really sweeten the sponsorship, offer lots of benefits for participating restaurants like free marketing and publicity.

For this fundraising event, charge a small fee per soggy sponge and let students throw them at each other outside during a pep rally or other event. For easy participation, offer scan-to-donate and accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.

Charge an entry fee for access to a fun day in the sun—think pool floats, squirt guns, and water balloons!

To make this fundraising event even more of a hit, sell summery snacks and drinks, too. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Sell custom event ticket types and group tickets that offer unlimited access to games. Or, charge a certain amount of tickets per game.

Sell wholesale flowers or request donations from nurseries and landscaping stores to sell to supporters. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage individual supporters to compete to see who can sell the most!

Brighten up someone’s day and raise money for a good cause. Set up a booth where passers-by or event attendees can make a donation of their choice and receive a high-five from you or your volunteers.

Make the donation process as quick and easy as the high-five itself—send people straight to your donation form with scan-to-donate.

Find a suitable indoor or outdoor space and host a ticketed screening of a fan-favorite movie (bonus if it’s related to your cause!). Sell popcorn, treats, and drinks, too.

Use Givebutter’s fundraising event tools like online ticket sales, mobile app check-ins, and in-person payments to make it easier for you and your supporters.

Set up a booth and invite people to pay to throw a pie at willing participants like teachers, bosses, or coaches—the more authority, the more satisfying!

With scan-to-donate, pie throwers use your QR code to land on your donation page instantly—no waiting around.

Ask supporters to collect recyclable materials like cans, bottles, or even old tech, then use a service that helps you turn these items into cash. Recycling drives work as great long-term fundraising activities. Keep your supporters engaged and remind them where and when they can drop off materials with your email marketing software.

Set up a themed scavenger hunt in your venue, neighborhood, or across the entire town. Charge participants a small entrance fee and offer fun, donated prizes for the winners.

Streamline the process of selling tickets and create a hub for your hunt with a fundraising event page. Any energy saved can be spent on making your event even more exciting!