15 Proven School Fundraising Ideas to Raise Money

Many schools in the U.S. are underfunded. The federal and the state funds dry up soon and teachers are left with no option but to seek the help of students and their parents to raise money. The funds are barely enough to meet the academic expenses. So, the sport, cultural, and art activities of the kids suffer as there is not enough money to buy art supplies or sport equipment. But there is way and it is educational fundraising events!

School fundraisers help pay for the extracurricular activities such as filed trips, music programs, additional classroom supplies, sport equipment, music instruments, and more. But it is equally important to plan the fundraisers in a fun way if you need the support of the over-enthusiastic kids. Here are 15 proven school fundraising ideas to raise money for your school.         

 1. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a new concept to raise funds online easily. You set up a fundraiser page on an online fundraising platform. You write about your cause and add images and videos. You include payment details and share the link with the parents of your students. They donate and share the link with their network. Crowdfunding is a great opportunity to reach millions online. If your fundraiser is effective, you can easily collect money for your school.

 2. Breakfast

Host a delicious spread of breakfast in the school before school hours or on a holiday. Instead of selling items you can charge an entry fee and offer food and refreshments to the participants. Conduct small games or arrange for pep talk by teachers while eating breakfast.

 3. Popcorn sale

An easy and fun school fundraising idea is to rent a popcorn machine and set it up inside a stall in local community events or annual day at school. Gather your friends and place as volunteers to tell people about the cause when they come to buy popcorns.

 4. Halloween candy sale

Buy candies in bulk at wholesale shops and sell them at retail price during Halloween. Set up a stall and install a banner explaining people about the need for school funds.

 5. Flea market

How about a creative educational fundraising idea? Set up a school flea market selling any item brought by students and their families. You can sell homemade cookies to lemonade. Keep a wide range of products and charge an entry fee for participants as well as shoppers.  

 6. Craft sale

Let students get creative in arts. Ask students to draw paintings or sketches. Select the best out of these and set up a booth for selling these paintings. You can even set up an auction and encourage parents to buy them.

 7. Fun run

Organize a fun run or a race between students, teachers, and parents. Make it exciting by organizing the event complete with music, food and refreshment stalls, and other activities. All the participants have to pay a fee which can be collected as proceeds towards the educational cause.

 8. Car wash

School fundraising ideas such as car wash never gets old. Arrange for a car wash in the school parking lot on a Sunday or when it is a holiday for school. Spread the word well in advance. If parents actively take part in it, there will be enough cars to wash and you’ll be successful in raising a fair amount of funds.

 9. Dog walks

Gather your supporters and arrange for dog walks in your community. You can do it in the early morning or late evening. Explain the reason why you’re collecting funds for your school. The dog owners will be glad to let you take their dog for walks. Charge a fee for the task and keep doing it until you’ve raised the funds.

 10. Talent show

Students have talent in abundance. It may be in dancing, singing, painting, juggling, magic, cooking, experiments, or acrobatics. Identify such unique talents and showcase them in a talent show. Encourage team participation. Sell tickets to families and friends to watch. You can also arrange for a raffle at the end of the show.

 11. Raffle

The raffle is a popular educational fundraising idea. First, you contact a sponsor for a prize. You can talk to the local restaurants, theaters, or event companies to obtain a free pass as a prize for the raffle. Arranging a prize in your money becomes expensive and does not serve the purpose of collecting money for charity. Once you have arranged for the prize, it’s now time to sell tickets. You can even sell them online. The bigger the prize, the more tickets will be sold. You can even combine the Raffle draw at any local fundraising event.        

 12. Principal challenge

Here, the principal pledges for anything drastic such as shaving the head, or any other fun activity if the charity amount is met. If the funds collected reaches the threshold, the principal has to perform the action as pledged. This motivates the students to collect funds fast.

 13. Give up challenge

In this, the teachers pledge to give up on something they love if the fund goal is met. Quite an interesting educational fundraising plan, isn’t it? You can make it a daily goal or a weekly goal. The teachers can decide to give up on eating sweets or drinking coffee, etc. encourage students, teachers, and parents to donate for the school funds.

 14. Fashion show

Here, teachers form different teams with a few students under them. They design clothes and conduct a fashion event. You could invite corporate houses as judges for the fashion show. Sell tickets to the fashion show. If you are lucky, the corporate house may also donate a substantial amount to the fundraiser.   

 15. Charity ball

Host an evening event for students and teachers. Invite members of your local community. Develop a theme for the evening and make it fun by arranging for dance and activities. Encourage the participants to donate for the fundraiser.

Conclusion

These are 15 proven school fundraising ideas sure to be a hit among teachers, students, and other participants.

Make the educational fundraising event an opportunity to raise awareness about the cause. If you ingrain the idea of working together for a cause, they will grow up to be empathetic and responsible. Make it fun and exciting too so that they are always ready to volunteer for the school funding causes.