School fundraising ideas

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.

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 water balloon or sponge, and let students throw them at each other during a pep rally or outdoor event. For easy participation, offer scan-to-donate and accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.

Charge an entry fee for 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 number of tickets per game.

Raise money while cheering on your favorite NCAA players with a bracket competition culminating in a ticketed March Madness watch party.

To take this fundraising idea online, take advantage of livestreaming tools, too!

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.

Everyone loves sweet treats. Whip up some cookies, cakes, and donuts, and set up a bake sale with proceeds going directly to your good cause.

Supporters don’t have cash on them? No problem! With Givebutter you can accept a wide range of modern payment methods, including Venmo.

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.

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.

At your next event, fill a jar with candy and, for a small fee, invite people to guess how many pieces are in the jar. The closest guess wins all the candy!

Use scan-to-donate to send guessers directly to your donation page for easy on-the-spot giving. Print the QR code onto a poster, or display it on a tablet or screen on your stand.

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.

At your next BBQ, invite hobby chefs to compete in a grill-off, where they’ll be judged by a panel of experts—your supporters!

Set up team fundraising pages where everyone can make a donation to vote for their favorite chef. They can also see a live leaderboard and watch the votes land in real time!

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.

Pledge to do something wild, exciting, or newsworthy if your fundraising campaign hits or exceeds its target.

Share regular campaign updates and add a goal bar to your fundraising page to keep the momentum going and encourage more donations.

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!

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!

Host a tournament featuring the most popular video games. Charge entry fees for participants and offer donated prizes for winners. To make this fundraiser digital, livestream the event so participants can play—and cheer each other on—from home.

Stage a talent show and invite members to take to the stage to show off their skills. Sell tickets, drinks, and snacks to raise money.

Make the whole experience feel even more interactive with text-to-donate. Invite audience members to vote from their seats and raise money for your cause at the same time.

Invite students to bring t-shirts, tote bags, socks, and other light-colored items of clothing for a tie-dye party. Charge a small fee for entry and supplies, and have some extra clothing items on hand to sell, too.

If you produce a large volume lot of tie-dyed items, create a donation form or buy-now auction to sell them to your community!

Build community and explore your city with a themed art, food, or experience crawl. Collect registrations on your fundraising event page, and partner with the featured venues to benefit from a percentage of ticket or food sales at each stop.

Take part in Giving Tuesday or create your own giving day in which you mobilize your community to reach your fundraising goal in one day.

Keep your supporters invested in your progress with a goal bar and campaign updates that highlight milestones, matching gifts, and special shout-outs throughout the day.