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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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Storybook Character Dress-Up Day

Invite students to come to school dressed as their favorite storybook characters. Charge a small participation fee and organize storytimes throughout the day.
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Crafts night

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.

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Principal challenge

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.

Cost:
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Peer-to-peer

Read-a-thon

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.

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Peer-to-peer

Open mic night

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.

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Impact:
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Candy grams

Buy some crowd-favorite candies and charge supporters to send these sweet treats to a chosen recipient along with a heartfelt note. To streamline the process, have donors fill out custom fields on your donation form with their personal notes and recipient addresses.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Pumpkin Games

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.

Cost:
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Effort:
3
Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

School auction

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

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Impact:
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Coding bootcamp

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.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Virtual movie night

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!

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50-yard-line movie night

Hang a projector screen (or large, white sheet) from the goalposts at the football field. Charge a small entrance fee, sell popcorn, and enjoy an outdoor movie night together—football-themed film or not! 
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Grow-your-own garden kit

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.

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Earth Day

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.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Mini-golf tournament

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.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Sell swag or merch

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!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Pizza party

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.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Grab bags

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.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Community cookbook

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.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Staff vs. students

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!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Comedy roast

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.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Donation drive

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!

Cost:
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Impact:
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Community resource fair

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.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Food truck smorgasbord

Invite food trucks to a big game or event and ask them in return to donate a portion of all food sales to your team. To really sweeten the sponsorship opportunity, offer benefits for these small businesses, like free marketing and publicity.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Shave for the cause

Create a peer to peer fundraising campaign and invite participants to create their own pages and compete to raise the most funds. Watch the leaderboard for live updates on who’s in the lead. The person with the highest amount raised or the most individual donations will shave their head—or nominate someone else to shave their own!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Team sponsorship

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!

Cost:
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Effort:
2
Impact:
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Dive into our list of best fundraising ideas in the meantime 

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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