Best School Fundraising Ideas and Easy Online Fundraising for Schools
Find Winning Ideas for Elementary, Middle, and High School Fundraisers
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Looking for great school fundraising ideas? Look no further…We understand that fundraising is an educational opportunity. With every school fundraising campaign, you teach children about community service and being part of something larger than themselves. The best school fundraisers raise much-needed funds and provide students with leadership roles and learning opportunities.
These school fundraising ideas can be used by Parent-Teacher Organizations, Student Councils, school clubs, sports teams, and more. So don’t just settle for the cookie dough fundraiser this year; we’ve provided inspiration for the best school fundraisers at all levels of education and the best virtual fundraising ideas.
Here’s What We’ll Cover
Easy Online Fundraising for Schools
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Our Favorite Fundraisers for Schools
Color Runs
School fundraising campaigns and Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTOs) have great fundraising success with Color Run fundraisers. Color runs use special color powder, which is thrown on students and adds to the fun. The paint is safe for all ages, and everyone will remember the day. Add an after-party to bring the community together and offer event sponsors an opportunity to showcase their products and offer samples.
Literacy Festivals
A school literacy festival is a school fundraising idea that raises money for education through literacy. By holding student readings of classic literature, poetry, and short stories, you can create a fun afternoon and raise money for school programs. Teachers can host story times and art projects for younger children. You can also create writing competitions and award prizes to winners. Celebrate literacy with your students!
Fun Runs
A Fun Run is a fabulous choice for a school fundraiser because competition is out of the race, and fun is in. Fun Run websites create a gateway for planning and managing a fun run seamlessly and allow students and classrooms to easily raise money for your school via personal and team fundraising pages. Join in one of the biggest crazes in school crowdfunding that promotes teamwork and exercise.
Chocolate Theme Fundraisers
Everyone loves chocolate! Here’s your chance to highlight chocolate and educate students about a fun subject. How about featuring a local chocolate company that gives to charity with a portion of their sales or promotes environmentalism? Adding an element of the greater good to your school fundraising campaign teaches children further levels of responsibility. Add a marketplace or bake sale at the end to take home a chocolate candy bar or treat.
Farm to Table Events
Some schools have an organic garden to teach kids important environmental science and social responsibility lessons, but most schools aren’t that fortunate. Farm-to-Table fundraisers can be a great opportunity to teach kids about organic farming. Farm-to-Table events can be held at a local farm or community center, with dinner served with all local and organic ingredients. Ask a local chef or restaurant to sponsor your event in support of your work.
Golf Tournaments
Golf tournaments are tried and true fundraising events. With golf tournament software, foursomes and sponsors securely register online. DoJiggy offers a complete set of golf tournament planning resources. Find a tournament planner and checklist, golf tournament budget, a set of five standard letter templates for fundraising golf tournaments, and event flyers. These tools offer all you’ll need to kick off your school fundraising tournament successfully.
Yoga Classes
Yoga classes will spark an interest in many of your supporters and donors. Plan a day of varied yoga classes at all fitness levels and practice (Yoga Basics, Yoga for Children, Iyengar, Hatha Flow, Vinyasa, Restorative). Teach your children and community that yoga is for everyone by including something for everyone. Sell tickets at the door and on your fundraising event website. Invite food vendors and sponsors that promote healthy eating to advocate the importance of eating well for ourselves and our planet.
Adults Only Nights
Fundraisers for schools certainly don’t have to include students. Wine tasting events and charity poker tournaments can accomplish fundraising goals and give parents time to focus on networking and getting to know each other. Parents, teachers, and PTA members work together on school fundraising events, and knowing each other creates a more pleasurable experience for everyone.
Dog Walks
Dog walks are spectacular school crowdfunding campaigns that everyone will enjoy. Award prizes to the top individual and classroom fundraisers and best canine costumes. Schools
can partner with nonprofit shelters that help animals and share costs, advertising, and volunteer resources. Maybe some lucky pooches will even be adopted as part of the after-party celebration.
Bike-a-thons
School bike-a-thons are popular and successful as fundraisers for schools. Not only do bike-a-thons work financially, but they also are a great way to bring the community together in crowdfunding. They encourage parents, students, faculty, and local businesses to participate in a healthy way to raise money for your school by combining exercise with your cause.
Holiday Fundraising Events
Christmas booths or decorated tables can be added to street corners, parking lots, and inside large businesses. Spread the merriment with this school fundraising idea and offer information about your school projects. The great work of your school will reach the hearts and minds of your supporters and inspire them to give. Bring a holiday theme with costumes and decorations to any school fundraiser.
Best Fundraisers for Schools – Elementary and Primary School Fundraisers
Zoo Walks
A Zoo Walk allows students to enjoy the zoo while they raise money for school projects. Everyone will like walking around the zoo with their family and friends, seeing lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Make it an opportunity to talk about why you need to raise money to keep high educational standards. Have a table for each subject outlaying the progressive work you’re doing in math, linguistics, and science.
Dress Down Days
A day without uniforms or dress code is something kids and teachers will pay for. This school fundraising idea charges a fee once per month or every Friday for those who crave a dress-down day. Use these funds to go on a field trip to a local museum or a neighboring city. Perhaps the local art museum will offer you a day of free or reduced-rate admission for the kids.
Disney Movie Nights
Bring a little Disney magic into your elementary school fundraising by hosting a Disney Movie Night, or choose four movies and plan a month-long fundraising campaign. Sell movie tickets, sodas, popcorn, fruit cups, and healthy snacks. Include a costume party and give a prize to the best-dressed boy and girl at the event.
School Family Fun Nights
Hosting a Family Fun Night is a great school fundraising idea. These nights allow school communities to have fun on a Friday or Saturday and enjoy dinner, games, and prizes. Each classroom sponsors a game or activity booth. Tickets are sold on your fundraising event website, where you can take donations for each grade level or classroom.
Obstacle Course Fundraisers
Obstacle courses are popular school fundraisers that allow kids to roll around in the mud. Courses can include hurdling obstacles like walls, teeter-totters, tunnels, balance beams, a cargo climb, and a mud pit. More difficult courses can be designed for adult and teen participants. Read more on how to organize an obstacle course fundraiser.
Firefighters Picnics
Many elementary school children dream of becoming firefighters. Why not build on that dream by holding a picnic with your local fire department? Ask them to bring a firetruck and equipment. You will pique curiosity and educate students. Plant plenty of educational material about your school nearby and sell picnic food to raise funds.
Readathons
A readathon fundraiser is a peer-to-peer event in which students commit to reading to raise money for the school or PTO. This lucrative school fundraising idea promotes children’s literacy and a love of reading; it offers an academic challenge that kids enjoy. It’s easy to get everyone excited about a readathon! Be bold in your social media promotion, and you’ll be sure to exceed your fundraising goals.
Arts and Crafts Fairs
Arts and Crafts fairs are great holiday or Christmas fundraising events. If 20 arts and crafts artists pay $50 each to put a booth at your craft fair, your school makes $1,000. There are craft artists among your students, teachers, and PTA members who will want to participate and may even donate a portion of their sales. Find popular local food vendors and a few musicians for extra fun.
School Carnivals
A school carnival is an Elementary School PTO fundraising must! Many schools offer free admission so everyone can attend and sell game tickets. Include all kinds of games for elementary kids and their families, including a bouncy house, win-a-fish, lucky duck, and soda toss ring games, to name just a few. Pizza, popcorn, and beverage sales bring in extra funds. Raffle donated goods and add a silent auction for extra allure.
Best Fundraisers for Schools – Middle School Fundraisers
Art Shows
By middle school, some students are really into art. Watching local painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, and textile designers working on their craft will fascinate these students and community donors. An Art Show fundraiser could include participants having a hands-on art experience if some of your artists can host a workshop. Sell tickets online and take donations on your event ticketing website.
Walkathons
School walk-a-thons are a top fundraising strategy. Perhaps it is because students, PTA members, teachers, parents, the community, and local businesses all join together that make these fundraisers so much fun and extremely lucrative. Don’t forget the prizes and incentives – perhaps a custom t-shirt to inspire your students. Get the kids walking and use a great walkathon website for online fundraising.
Zumba Fests
The Latin-inspired fitness dance of Zumba can be used as a unique fundraising idea for your school. Help to improve the self-confidence of your middle school kids and donors of all ages and motivate them to exercise. Zumba is a fun way to accomplish this; no previous dance experience is needed. Include a raffle and a donation table with refreshments to boost income. Read our article on how to organize a Zumba fundraiser to get going.
Dining Out in the Community Events
One of the more scrumptious fundraisers for schools is an evening of dining out at local restaurants. Everyone in the community is invited to have dinner, eat well, and help raise funds for your school. The restaurant donates 10% of sales or a percentage of profits to the school. Advertise one or more restaurants with their menu on the school website and social media channels to attract attention.
School Spirit Sales
Sell school spirit wear such as t-shirts and custom clothing, sports gear, backpacks, and cool school supplies on your school website as well as during School Spirit Day, at sports games, and pep rallies. Who doesn’t love a school hoodie or stainless steel coffee mug for those cool fall evenings? School clothing and gear sales are a great ongoing fundraiser to fund field trips, equipment purchases, and more. DoJiggy offers a free online store to get started!
Spelling Bees
Middle school spelling bee contestants are generally only two to three years apart in age, making this a perfect choice for middle school fundraising. Work with your nearby Apple or Android stores to be recognized as sponsors on your website and throughout the process of advertising your event. The chance of winning a computer, smartphone, iPad, or other electronic device has the potential to make your students better spellers.
Lip Sync Competitions
A great twist on a talent show is a lip-sync competition. Kids needn’t have a fabulous voice so everyone can get involved. Use recorded music and allow kids to pick their songs and costumes. Imagine what fun this will be while giving students a chance to build their confidence on stage. Give fun prizes for best costume, best female performance, best male performance, and best band. Have a real gas by adding a few teacher performances. An after-party is a must.
Car Washes
Classic car washes make great school fundraisers because they provide a much-needed service, and kids can have a lot of fun running them. Get your groove on in making this event a one-stop shop for busy parents and community members. Task your middle school students with making and selling deli sandwiches as well as washing cars. Ask a local café to set up shop and sell cappuccinos and create a convenient and delicious stop for busy adults to drive off in a clean car.
Community Clean-ups
Many middle school kids are passionate about the environment and want to participate in creating change. Perhaps an area in your community needs a cleanup, like an ignored park, land, or watershed. Fundraisers for schools involving the environment and conservation are smart events that teach students the value of the environment while raising funds with teams of fundraisers including students, parents, and teachers.
Film Festivals
Middle school students love watching movies! Why not host a Film Festival at your school where each classroom collectively picks a movie to be included in the festival? The students can arrive early and help set up the auditorium and classrooms for the event. Multiple shows will play throughout the day or weekend, and tickets can be sold per movie or for unlimited access. Be sure to choose age-appropriate films for your students and a group of movies for younger siblings and children. As with all movies, popcorn, sodas, and snacks can be sold for a high profit.
Best Fundraisers for Schools – High School Fundraisers
Community Serve-a-thons
Service to the community while raising money for the school makes this a special high school fundraiser. Each homeroom or grade level commits to a service area: nursing home care, park or beach clean-up, help for elderly homeowners, or feeding the hungry. For the weeks leading up to the serve-a-thon fundraiser, students solicit donations for their high school to support their efforts. Top fundraisers are rewarded with prizes.
Speech Contests
Hold a Speech Contest in your school auditorium. The first round of speeches is voted on by the audience or judges, and the top contestants move to a final round. Sell tickets online and host an after-party. The anticipation created while interesting topics are presented will be great material for discussion at the celebration.
Chalk Festivals
Be the hippest in fundraisers for schools by creating murals in chalk displayed in public places and at your high school. Let your crowdfunding website do the work in taking donations and pledges. As community members donate to mural teams and individual artists, they’ll start getting excited about the upcoming chalk festival. Plan several blocks of chalk art and present maps on your school event flyers and website. Hold the event for an entire weekend ending in a celebration at your school.
Dance Marathons
One of the most fun high school fundraisers is a dance marathon. Dance your socks off for 8 hours on a Saturday. Sell lots of snacks, beverages, and pizza slices and rake in the profits for your school. Create a crowdfunding website where supporters make mobile donations. Donations can be made based on how many hours students dance or a simple donation. The fun part is to dance the night away for your school.
Book Fairs
Book fairs can be held in your local book store or online, making them perfect fundraisers for schools while promoting literacy. With the addition of online book sales on your school’s online fundraising store, supporters can reach out to family and friends anywhere. Add a book swap during your book fair campaign and make it more interesting. Bring your book fair to your school as an option.
Art Sales
Encourage the art students of your high school by planning an art sale. It may be their first public showing which is a big deal for budding artists. Add a section on your event floor for paintings donated from the community and raise more money for your school. Invite the donated art of artists in your community. The art forms at this fundraiser can vary with sculpture, paintings, photography, and more. Charge an admission fee and seek artful, gourmet food vendors to increase profits.
Spin-a-thons
Turn your spin-a-thon into a community party with a student spin doctor DJ, food and beverage vendors, and fun games and contests while people spin on stationary bikes to raise money for your high school. Ask your local spinning studio to either donate their studio for some advertisement or pay to rent it out for the day. This idea is an easy and low-cost school fundraiser, loaded with energy and potential for high profit.
Green Festivals
Bring the entire community together for a weekend festival and lecture series on conservation and the environment. Invite guest speakers from local nonprofit organizations and groups, and give your students experience in public speaking and event management. Include daycare or fun environmental activities for the younger kids, so mom and dad can attend the lectures with high school students.
Golf Marathons
Play into the hands of high school students with a golf crowdfunding event or Golf Marathon. They love technology, checking email, downloading iTunes, or updating their Facebook page. Use this attentive practice as the basis of a fundraising idea for your school. Golf marathon fundraising software tools allow students to personalize their page, upload photos or videos, set goals, and track their success against other students, making it a fun, interactive, and competitive environment.
Concert Series
Our final high school fundraising idea allows the music department to show off its talent. Hold a weekly concert of solo performers, trios, and duets. Add a night of choral music. Once the audience attends the first one, they’ll want more. Hosting a VIP party allows donors to speak to the performers afterward. Create a beautiful website with our event ticketing software, including videos of student performances.
DoJiggy helps schools and PTOs raise money online with our free fundraising platform for schools. Whether you’re raising funds for a new computer lab or library or enhancing student programs, we can help with the best fundraising solutions.
Fundraising is an educational opportunity. Students learn skills such as public speaking, leadership, and time management. Implementing technology such as our crowdfunding software allows students to customize their fundraising pages. They help raise much-needed funds and learn that helping out can be fun and rewarding.
Check out our free fundraising software. We’re here to help YOU succeed.
Looking for Virtual School Fundraising Ideas?
Many schools and PTOs faced financial challenges due to canceled fundraising events during COVID-19. Reworking your fundraising strategies with safe and effective virtual campaigns is essential to overcome this. Here are some of the best virtual fundraising ideas for schools to raise money during this global pandemic and beyond.
Virtual Walkathons and Fun Runs
Virtual walkathons are great school fundraisers. They can raise a lot of money with few upfront costs, and with parental involvement, they are fun and easy to organize.
Virtual Happy Hours and Performances
Get your livestream ready! Virtual performances work great and can be used to highlight school music groups, marching bands, and choirs.
Online Product Sales with P2P Pages
Virtual merchandise sales are a no-brainer for low-contact fundraising. Our simple stores make it easy; you can get set up and selling in no time.
Fundraising Raffles
Online raffles are the perfect way to raise money for many schools. We offer the ability to incorporate peer-to-peer fundraising in raffles, where students sell tickets. Our raffle software can even randomly select and notify winners. Just find a prize and go!
Virtual Bikeathons
Like virtual walkathons, bikeathon fundraisers can be run virtually with just a few tweaks. Biking is a great socially distant sport, so some kids may even bike together. Students create a fundraising page and commit to biking in support of the school.
Virtual Reading Challenges
Readathons are a great way to keep kids busy reading and raise money at the same time. All you need to do is set up the Athon website, where students track the number of books or pages read. Donors contribute based on reading results, and top fundraisers are highlighted.
Online Auctions
All you need are some great auction items and our software. Simply create your fundraising auction website and add unlimited auction categories and items. Set the time for bidding to start and advertise your auction. Bids are made online and via text to bid.
Food Delivery Campaigns
Since many people are staying in to promote social distancing, why not sell groceries or other items online and deliver them to your supporters? Sell online food packages with a theme – for example, Italian Night or Mexican Night. Get PTO members to deliver the packages.
Virtual Watch Parties
Select an educational movie or documentary to share with students. Supporters can register on your website to watch the movie and buy popcorn or other movie treats. You can launch the watch party with a live stream presentation, letting parents and kids know what to look for and discuss after the film.
Why Are These Events the Best Fundraisers for Schools?
How did we pick these events as the best school fundraising ideas? The best fundraisers share certain criteria. Here’s what we look for in our top school fundraising ideas list.
- Fundraisers Should Be Fun: First, these events are fun! Fundraisers should be enjoyable for kids and families alike. Why not enjoy raising money?
- Teach Your Children Well: School fundraising campaigns should enforce the ideals and lessons we want our children to learn. Parents and teachers know that children are like sponges, and every opportunity to teach them counts. Fundraising events can be educational and culturally enriching. The spelling bee, film festival, and concert series are examples here.
- Choose Healthy Alternatives: School fundraisers should be healthy. Notice that there are no candy or cookie dough sales here. Why promote these types of unhealthy activities when so many of our children are already overweight and out of shape? Instead, many of our picks for best school fundraisers are active events that promote exercise and healthy competition.
- Fundraisers Should Be Lucrative: The best school fundraisers allow schools to raise significant funds to meet their fundraising goals. Of course, depending on the goals and available resources, some events will be more
lucrative than others. Be sure to determine your fundraising goals to start.
Our Fundraising Platform Makes School Fundraisers Easy and Successful
Selecting the Best School Fundraiser
Different school fundraisers require different fundraising budgets, resources, volunteers, and time commitments. The following considerations should help you decide on the right school fundraising campaign and help you create a successful fundraising plan.
- How much volunteer time will the project take? Do you currently have committed parents or other volunteers to assist in your planning process? How will your school recruit more?
- How will students be involved? What roles can students play? Will students be required to fundraise online, and if so, what tools can you provide to make it easy?
- What are the upfront costs, and how will your organization cover these?
- How can you raise community awareness of your school or school group while raising funds?
- What are you teaching your children through your fundraising campaign?
- What kind of prizes are you offering to the top fundraisers? Anything that makes the event more fun for kids means your event will be more successful and raise more money.
Want to Learn More About DoJiggy for Your School Fundraising?
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What Types of Schools Use DoJiggy?
Our school fundraising resources were developed from hands-on experience, helping thousands of schools across the US and Canada raise money online. Since 2003, we’ve worked with all types of schools and educational institutions.
Private Schools
Private Schools need to:
- Recruit students
- Accept secure tuition payments
Public Schools
Public Schools need to:
- Host school crowdfunding and p2p campaigns
- Sell school spirit gear
Elementary & Pre-Schools
Elementary & Pre-Schools schools need to:
- Take online payments for after-school or extended day programs
- Ensure privacy for young children
Middle & High Schools
Middle and High Schools need to:
- Sell tickets for athletic and cultural events
- Allow students to log in and manage personal fundraising pages
Why Do Schools Choose DoJiggy for Fundraising Websites?
Donor-Friendly Interface
You want your school supporters to easily find out why your school is special and make an online donation. This can make or break your fundraising success. Our mobile-friendly school platform supports digital donations from Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Custom Branding
What message do you portray with your school campaigns? Our websites offer customization to add school logos, images, color schemes, and branding to make the website truly yours.
Clear Calls to Action
The best school fundraising websites allow your school or PTO to be more successful. Every fundraising website page includes a Donate Now button and a clear call to action message.
Beautiful School Website Design
People love seeing a beautiful website. Your supporters are more inclined to donate when you create engaging, branded content. All our websites look good and are easy to use on any device.
Ease of Payment Integration
You’ll need a payment processor to accept online payments. Our school fundraising websites are easily configured to take credit and debit card payments, with support for digital wallets and checks/cheques.
Included Technical Support
When you need help, you don’t want to pay extra for it. Some competitors charge extra for tech support, but we always include world-class support. Call, chat, or email for help.
Fundraising Tips for Working with Students
A school fundraiser is an event, project, or program designed to raise money for a specific cause or purpose. School fundraising can take many forms, including product sales through eCommerce stores, events, services, online fundraising, and crowdfunding. When planning fundraising activities for kids, keep the following tips in mind.
- Be Safe! The days of going door-to-door beyond your neighborhood are in the past. Children can still ask neighbors, family, and friends for donations, but online fundraising campaigns are generally a much safer option.
- Make It Easy. Your fundraiser should be simple for kids to participate in. Kids are very tech-savvy! So, an easy-to-use fundraising website works for most age levels (and parents may need to assist younger children). Kids can easily sign up, personalize their fundraising page, and then share a link through email or social channels.
- Keep It Short. With children, you’ll need to keep their attention, so don’t drag the fundraiser out too long. Hit it hard for two weeks. And if you are hosting an event, plan it for just a couple of hours rather than an entire day.
- Provide Rewards and Incentives. There is nothing kids like better than prizes! Give them prizes if they reach a certain goal. Set up a contest to reward the top performers.
More School Fundraising Resources
The platform is easy to use and it was clear that DoJiggy was responding to feedback as they worked to streamline it even more. We couldn’t have been happier with our experience. In the end our school ended up with more proceeds from the fundraiser than any previous year.— David S. – DeSoto Trail Elementary School