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School fundraising ideas

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or student leader, we’ll help you say goodbye to boring and hello to the best fundraising ideas for schools. Kick off the school year on a high note with these creative campaigns and events guaranteed to boost school spirit—and your fundraising efforts.

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Pop-up clothing shop

Ask community members to purge their wardrobes and donate sell-worthy items to your cause. Host a pop-up clothing shop at a local venue and sell tickets for entry!
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Donation forms

Tailgate party

Invite a local restaurant to contribute or have volunteers create a menu for a tailgate. Sell entry tickets and offer some fun merch or special treats at an additional price to bring in extra dollars.
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Crowdfunding campaign

Collect online donations from friends, family, and community members by creating a fundraising page that lays out your needs and the impact that you will make with the money you raise. Use photos and videos to make your story more engaging, and use a goal bar to showcase your progress. 

Be sure to follow crowdfunding best practices in order to make your campaign an even bigger success!
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Fundraising page

Home run derby

Have participants create personal peer-to-peer fundraising pages and collect pledges from friends and family based on the number of home runs they hit. Sell tickets to watch the game and award prizes to the winners. 
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Peer-to-peer

Puppy party

Team up with your local animal shelter to host an event to raise awareness and funds for both the shelter and your organization or campaign. Attendees get bonus puppy snuggles! 

At the event, highlight the different mobile giving options your supporters can choose from with live display
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Nostalgia night party

Pick an era (like the ‘90s), set the scene, charge an entrance fee, and sell themed merch, food, and drinks. To encourage even more donations during the festivities, display mobile giving options and your goal bar using live display
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School Karaoke

A silly and fun way to raise funds, students pay a small donation to sing family-friendly karaoke songs over the school’s P.A. system or in a special assembly. 
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Donation forms

Pi Day

In honor of Pi Day, invite your community to donate to your cause on March 14th. Set the suggested donation amount at $3.14, $31.40, or $314.00, but let supporters know that any amount is welcome. 
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Fundraising page

Penny wars

Grades or classes compete to collect the most pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Grab a few jars and encourage students to find some loose change to get started! To ensure that no one forgets their cents at home, send reminders to parents with free texting software.
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Donation forms

Valet parking

Create and sell custom VIP event tickets that offer parking perks to donors who'd appreciate the convenience of getting dropped off right at the game entrance.
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Events

Holiday-grams

Put together bundles of holiday cards and small gifts and charge extra for distribution at your club, school, college, or workplace.

Customize your donation form with custom fields to collect all the details you need—such as the recipient’s name, a personalized, heartfelt holiday message, and where the gram should be delivered.
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Team apparel sale

Sell custom team apparel like T-shirts and hats featuring your team's logo and colors—online, in person, or both! Be sure to collect key info—like size and color—using custom fields on your donation forms.
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T-shirt design contest

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.
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Peer-to-peer

Cooking competition

Take inspiration from the TV show “Chopped” and challenge teams to a culinary showdown! 

You can get even more spectators in on the fun by livestreaming the event and asking for donations throughout the program. 
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Fundraising page
Peer-to-peer

Rent your space

Rent your field, venue, office, or community space to other groups and organizations to make the most of any time it isn't in use.

Spread the word that your space is available for rent with your email marketing software. Don’t forget to include photos of the space to encourage interest! 
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Donation forms

Color run

Spray participants with brightly colored powder along the course of your charity fun run. By the end, runners will be rainbow-ed! Create a photo booth at the end with your scan-to-donate code where runners can take selfies and encourage more donations on social media. 
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Peer-to-peer

Superhero run

Participants pay an entry fee to partake in a costumed fundraising run. Encourage runners to raise more for your cause with their own peer-to-peer fundraising pages, and award prizes for race winners, best super hero costumes, and most donations!  
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Peer-to-peer

Home decor workshop

Charge a registration fee and provide materials for attendees to create their own home decor. Selecting seasonal DIY projects—such as holiday wreaths or pumpkin painting—is a great way to draw a larger crowd. Take this event to the next level by turning it into a competition! Once all projects are completed, attendees can donate to vote for who should be crowned winner.
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Trivia night

At this crowd-favorite activity, you can come up with fun questions, charge entry fees for teams, and raise extra money by providing sweet and salty snacks.

Make the evening go even smoother with seamless attendee check-ins and easy payment options like Tap to pay, Venmo donations, and scan-to-donate. 
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Bring your pet to work day

Employees make a donation and bring their furry friends to work with them for the day. Organize pet-themed activities and competitions to raise additional funds. To get remote employees involved, livestream some of the activities and invite coworkers to tune in!
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Office mini-golf tournament

Transform your office space into a mini-golf course for a day! Employees create teams and pay a small fee to participate—or, to raise even more money, encourage coworkers to set up their own fundraising pages and accept donations from friends and family.
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Events

Box Top fundraiser

Until recently, students had to cut out labels found on participating grocery items and submit them for cash grants for their school, but now it’s even easier with the Box Tops for Education App. Just make sure to send reminders to parents using free email marketing software.
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Date auction

Brave individuals offer themselves up for your auction to go on a date with the highest bidders. This idea is a little bit dated, but with the right planning, you can have a lot of fun with it. 

Ask sponsoring restaurants to donate gift certificates to bring in more bids for these “items” and make for an easy, in-public location for each date. 
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Auctions

Bowl-a-thon

Reserve lanes at a bowling alley, ask participants to gather pledges for an all-you-can-bowl night, and watch the donations roll in on team fundraising pages. 

Offer special prizes for the team that scores the highest points, has the most creative team name, or even the best team uniforms.
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Parents’ night out

This fundraising event can be a fun gathering for parents, or you can make it an opportunity for grownups to drop off their kids for a few hours in exchange for a donation to your cause! Charge an hourly rate or a flat “entrance fee” and give caregivers some priceless peace and quiet. 
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Frequently asked questions

Begin by identifying a specific need or cause, such as upgrading facilities or starting new clubs or programs. Next, brainstorm easy fundraising ideas for schools, such as bake sales, car washes, or themed events geared toward your community's interests. 

Obtain approval from school administrators, rally volunteers, and promote your fundraising campaign far and wide. Don’t forget to thank all of your donors and attendees for their support!

The most popular fundraisers for school ideas appeal to both students and their families. Setting up concession stands and selling baked goods at sports games and at field days are always appealing fundraising ideas for students, and they can bring in an impressive amount of money for your school.

Finding good fundraising ideas for schools that make a big impact can depend on your budget and resources. However, large-scale ideas for school fundraisers like dances or festivals are usually a solid way to raise funds. Because these events engage students of all ages, families, and local communities, they tend to help causes reach their fundraising goals faster.

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