Fundraising ideas for teens

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

Collect pledges or donations from supporters based on the number of hits they make during a designated period of time. Have each participant create a personal peer-to-peer fundraising page and reach out to friends and family for donations!

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.

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.

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!

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!

Gather volunteers, soap, and plenty of rags to wash cars in exchange for donations. Collect onsite donations easily by displaying a simple scan-to-donate QR code, which allows donors to select from a variety of payment methods. You can even offer different package options for those who are willing to donate more for a deeper clean.

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!

Choose a theme and a hashtag, encourage supporters to post their video or picture, and then tag others to challenge them to do the same—and donate!

Learn more social media fundraising tips to take your efforts to the next level.

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!

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.

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.

Get festive by encouraging supporters to wear their ugliest sweater for a fun run (and award the best dressed)! Use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage participants to set a donation goal and spread the word about the cause, along with photos of them in their ugly regalia.

Ask supporters to wear their spookiest Halloween costume during this fun run, walk, or roll. Be sure to use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage participants to set a donation goal and spread the word.

At the end, award the winners of the race, the teams or individuals who raised the most, and, of course, the best dressed with special prizes.

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.

Challenge your coach to do something wild (like shaving their head!) if your team reaches their fundraising goal. Have supporters watch the fundraiser’s progress—and create some exciting anticipation—with an engaging fundraising page that features a live goal bar.

Invite family, friends, and fans to this ultimate sports fundraising event. Participants join in a series of challenges, such as football tosses, 50-yard dashes, and obstacle courses.

Using individual peer-to-peer fundraising pages connected to your central event page, participants gather donations and pledges based on how long they aim to dance—without taking a break!

Supporters can donate, leave messages of support for the dancers, and purchase tickets to join in the fun all in one place.

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.

Invite community members to perform music, poetry, or comedy for a good cause. Ask audience members to make a small donation and offer snacks to raise more funds using easy in-person mobile payments like Tap to Pay and scan-to-donate.

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.

Partner with coding organizations and offer students discounted class fees and programs. Be sure to include some appealing benefits for participating companies in your corporate sponsorship proposal, like free marketing and publicity.

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.

Assemble teams, charge entry fees, and cheer everyone on as they compete for the best score. Encourage participants to make personal team fundraising pages and ask friends and family to support them and the cause.

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.

Organize an afternoon of relay races, obstacle courses, and brain teasers at your school and challenge teachers to partake. Be sure to create a fun and engaging event page where attendees can easily purchase tickets!

Invite participants to roast their teachers or coaches—in a light-hearted way. Sell tickets online and check-in attendees as they arrive, in addition to offering in-person donations for entry (and snacks!) with Venmo and scan-to-donate.

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!

Reserve a large space like a parking lot or school gym and sell booths to local vendors. Invite the community and charge a small entrance fee with easy mobile giving tools like Tap to Pay or scan-to-donate.

Ask local instructors to donate a virtual or in-person class for your cause. Sell tickets and bring in some extra funds on the day of by selling snacks and branded merch.

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!

Work with popular local musicians and performers to host a benefit concert with a percentage of the proceeds going towards your cause.

Want to make sure everyone can listen in and donate, no matter where they are? Livestream your concert to the masses and enable people to contribute to your campaign without leaving the stream.