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30+ Effective fundraising ideas for schools (2024)
July 30, 2024
Here it is, Zeffy’s 30 fundraising ideas for schools. It’s a long list of tips and resources to help your school plan its next fundraiser and raise funds.
We’ve compiled 30+ of the best school fundraising ideas for every student level from elementary to college, and we’re confident that you’ll find at least one idea here to help your school raise funds for your cause.
Let’s start with a few of the best school fundraising ideas that are all great ways to raise funds. There’s a lot to explore below, so take your time to browse or jump right to the best idea for your school level and fundraising goals.
Responsive Table
Fundraising ideas for your school
Easy to set up
Most profitable
Creative and unique
To raise money fast
Elementary school
Recycling drive.
Read-A-Thon or Dance-A-Thon.
Petting zoo.
Bake sale.
Middle school
Photography contest.
School merch. sale.
Candy grams.
Movie night.
High school
Photo booth.
Benefit concert.
Community night.
Car wash.
College
Penny wars.
Talent show.
Human library.
Peer-to-peer fundraising competition.
Getting started: The state of school fundraising
You’re likely here because you’re curious about how to get started with school fundraising or ready to take things to the next level with fresh ideas. As you're thinking about which idea would be best or find yourself torn between a few below, these current trends in school fundraising will help.
Schools are using new methods and tech to enhance fundraising. They are also using traditional and well-loved approaches with proven success.
The current state of school fundraising showcases a dynamic and evolving landscape. That makes it exciting to get involved and let your creativity shine.
School fundraising trends to help you stay competitive with the ideas you choose:
Product fundraising is powerful: Schools raise significant amounts through product sales, which help school groups raise more than $1.5 billion annually. There are creative ways to go from a classic sales approach to a fun and engaging event that incorporates e-commerce or live merchandise sales.
Charity matters to college alumni: One report found that 7 in 10 donors want to hear from their higher education institution at least once each quarter. This showcases the opportunity to engage alumni to help staff, promote, and enhance college fundraisers.
Recurring donations add up: Online fundraising is gaining popularity alongside traditional methods. Tools like peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, and mobile-optimized donation pages are becoming increasingly popular and easy to manage for schools.
Community is the heart of school fundraising: Community-focused events that raise funds and involve the local community are thriving. These events can pull in new supporters, build awareness, and increase fundraising potential for the future.
Corporate partnerships are a fast way to scale: While underutilized, getting businesses to partner up and sponsor a school fundraiser greatly increases profitability. Sponsors can be local businesses or larger corporations with a charitable interest in education.
Donor relationship-building happens year-round. Building long-term relationships with donors and supporters for one school fundraiser impacts turnout and advocacy for all others. Personalization and automated communications are helping schools reach donors more frequently with messages that align with their interests.
Adoption of AI: AI is here from ChatGPT support to build a compelling campaign or organize an event agenda. It's streamlining personalized interactions and helping cut down on administrative tasks that make school fundraisers time-consuming.
4 steps to choose the best school fundraising idea
If you're looking for more guidance before jumping into our list of ideas, check out these steps to choose the best school fundraiser.
1. Create and define your goals
When you think about the specific purpose for your school fundraiser, what are you raising money for? What would it look like to be successful? Who would show up, and how many people would give?
These are all questions you can ask yourself to ensure the fundraising idea you choose fulfills your vision. More importantly, you want to set financial goals to determine how much you can spend to make the profit you're hoping for.
A few things to consider include:
If you will pay staff to support your fundraiser or need volunteers
Your budget for supplies and logistics
Your budget for marketing and promotional materials
Your budget for technology, from donor management to online fundraising pages
Another important step in choosing the best school fundraising idea is to know what your community members (parents, neighbors, students, staff) will respond well to. You want to consider demographics like age and income levels and what has excited people in the past.
You could even send out a poll with your top 5 ideas and have your people choose their favorite.
3. Evaluate resources
A fundraising idea might require a lot of supplies, space, and time, but it doesn't always mean you have to start from scratch. Consider where you may already have these resources or where they are available through the school's network.
It's helpful to take inventory of:
A volunteer network the school already assembles or a class that is looking for volunteer hours and can help you out
A school-owned space that you can use to save money on a venue such as a basketball court, auditorium, or even a high-traffic hallway for things like bake sales.
The school already uses technology for fundraising or other event management tasks, such as Google Calendar, Microsoft Excel, and Canva.
4. Plan and organize
Understanding the roles and responsibilities within your fundraising team and the timeline you want to adhere to will help you narrow down ideas for your fundraiser. If you want to turn things around quickly, you might need to stick to easier ideas.
Similarly, you may know you have plenty of time and can look at something more creative and elaborate to make the biggest impact possible.
Explore our best fundraising ideas based on your type of school.
Recycling drives are surprisingly profitable school fundraisers.
A recycling drive is an environmentally friendly way to raise money for your school community. There are two types of recycling drives you can organize during the school year:
Invite students to participate in a bottle and can collection drive. It's a simple and profitable school fundraising idea, can be run by students of any age, and teaches them about the environment and littering.
Encourage students to take part in an electronics recycling drive to collect computers and electronics from the local community. This option will require a partnership with your local eco-center to recycle the collected electronics responsibly but it can be a very profitable school fundraiser.
Book fairs are an educational way for elementary schools to raise money.
There are two kinds of book fairs schools can encourage students to participate in:
A book fair or used book fair where books are sold or auctioned to raise money for your school community.
Whichever approach you choose for your school fundraiser, there are a few tips to keep in mind:
Put together a planning committee made up of local community members. Organizing a book fair is probably going to be more work than you anticipated.
If necessary, research and contact a book vendor or publisher. Scholastic, Follett, and Usborne Books are all great choices. Confirm the vendor's ability to provide a variety of books suitable for your elementary school students.
Remember to promote your event. Invite students to make some posters and put them up around town. Get everyone (including family members) to share the school fundraiser info. on their social media. Make announcements over the PA.
Set up a table per genre (fantasy, fiction, non-fiction, young adult, etc.).
Set up a few reading nooks for donors to try before they buy.
Sell homemade bookmarks, school tote bags, snacks, and drinks to raise even more money.
Get creative with mini events at your book fair: a snack table, live readings by teachers of their favourite books, or a bookmark-making table.
A Read-A-Thon is a great elementary school fundraising idea.
When it comes to raising money for schools, there aren’t a ton of educational fundraising efforts that appeal to a wide range of students, ages, likes, etc. There might only be one: a Read-A-Thon.
A Read-A-Thon is a great fundraising idea. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Begin planning your read-a-thon fundraiser by deciding what you want it to accomplish.
Set your Read-A-Thon’s date and timeline.
Lay out what readers should achieve during the Read-A-Thon. You can define various levels with appropriate awards, fun activities, group goals, etc.
Create a reading list to get students involved.
Create a registration process so readers can sign up for your Read-A-Thon. Use social media, posters, your email newsletter, and other promotional materials to generate interest, spread the word, and ensure a successful fundraiser.
Offer prizes and incentives to get students excited.
Provide readers with reading logs so students and their families can track their reading time. This could be a physical reading log, Read-A-Thon templates, or an online platform. (We like Zeffy’s free peer-to-peer fundraising platform, which allows you to create your own fundraising pages.)
Start fundraising. Readers can request donations from donors, parents, friends, and neighbors based on the number of books read, pages turned, or time spent reading.
If you have the time and energy, hosting events during your Read-A-Thon is a good idea.
Regularly update students, parents, and donors on your fundraiser's progress.
This one is simple and super important: say thank you.
Ask for feedback to make your next Read-A-Thon an even bigger success.
A petting zoo is a unique fundraiser for elementary schools.
We all know how excited young students—and, if we’re honest, most parents and teachers—get when there’s a petting zoo! That excitement makes it profitable and one of the top school fundraising ideas.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your petting zoo school fundraiser:
Your school gym might not be the best place to host a petting zoo. Consider local parks, community centers, etc. They might have more green space and facilities to accommodate your school fundraiser.
Contact wildlife sanctuaries and farms before choosing the date, time, and location of your petting zoo school fundraiser.
If you can, contact local food trucks or plan a BBQ to raise even more money during your event.
Consider including other mini-events throughout the day: carriage rides, craft tables, etc.
Charge an admission fee. You can come up with various prices.
Leave time for clean up… A petting zoo will leave behind quite a mess.
A (insert holiday here) themed bake sale is a classic school fundraising idea.
A bake sale might not be the most ground-breaking school fundraising idea on this list, but it’s still a great one because, well, bake sales are very popular with everyone. Check out this article if you are looking for things to sell for a school fundraiser.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Work with your school to choose a date and location.
Make sure you follow any health and safety regulations. (You can check with your school's cafeteria.)
Recruit more student volunteers than you think you’re going to need.
Coordinate your bakers! (You don’t want everyone bringing delicious Rice Krispie Squares… Or do you…)
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your bake sale and share the news on their socials.
Set up a good-looking table with a few deals to encourage people to buy more. (For example, Buy two, get one free, buy a brownie, get a shot of milk, etc.)
A lunch box auction is a fun event for elementary schools.
This is definitely a fun twist on classic fundraising campaigns. Most students will want a new lunch box every year.
So, instead of parents throwing away used lunch boxes, ask them to donate them for a lunch box auction to raise funds for your school and help meet your fundraising goals.
Try hosting an early bird auction online.
It’s always fun to have an auctioneer host a portion of your auction—they add entertainment and a sense of urgency.
Host a series of lunch-making tutorials to give parents and students some fresh new lunch ideas.
Consider selling lunch-theme snacks and refreshments to raise some extra money.
Photography contests make great middle school fundraisers.
Students, teachers, and parents love taking pictures. Why not put those pictures to work by hosting a photography contest during the school year? Participants can submit their best pictures (for a small entry fee/donation) and win a week without homework, a new camera, or whatever!
We offer various entry packages: one image, two images, etc. You can also get your photo framed and have stickers made from your pics.
Get your school community to make posters advertising your contest and event for your finalists and share the news on their socials.
A school merchandise sale is a great way to raise money for your middle school.
Partnering with local artists or celebrities to create limited-edition merchandise is an excellent way to promote your school and boost school spirit while raising money.
You can offer the merchandise online for a limited time or produce a limited number of each piece.
Keep things interesting with a few tips to get you thinking outside the box:
Reach out to parents, teachers, community members, and students to ask for help with fun designs.
Host a fashion show where students, teachers, and parents can model and buy your merchandise.
Have drinks and snacks available for a small donation at your event.
Set up a photo booth where students, teachers, and parents can take photos with your merchandise and creative props.
Candy grams make for some delicious and entertaining school fundraisers.
Candy grams—AKA, personalized shout-outs—are messages sent via notes, carols, code, elf, ghost, whatever!
Each message is sent for the cost of a donation and can be related to a theme or holiday. (Halloween candy, chocolate eggs, carollers, etc.)
Come up with a theme that is related to your school or holiday. (Carollers that sing messages, ghosts that howl them, notes that come with a treat, etc.)
Reach out to students, teachers, and parents—you could even devise a principal challenge—and ask them to deliver messages.
Get some students to make posters advertising your event and share the school fundraising event on their socials.
Consider offering various packages: a handwritten note, a note with candy, having your note sung by carollers, etc.
Movie nights can be fun/scary/sad ways to raise money for your middle school.
There’s nothing weirder or more taboo than being in school at night. Enjoy this by hosting a movie night at your kid’s or teen’s school.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Work with your school to choose a date, location, and movie.
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your school fundraising idea and share the news on their socials.
Consider hosting it in the school gym and, if you can find enough willing parents, turn it into a school sleepover.
Putting on a school play or talent show is a great fundraising idea for middle school students.
Putting on a school play or talent show can be an entertaining way up school spirit and it makes a great annual fundraiser. Sure, it’s a bit more work than your average school fundraising idea, but it’s a great way to build awareness and do something nice for your community.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Work with your school to choose a date, location, and play or theme.
Scout out your performers. (You can even do auditions!) Encourage talented students, community members, family members, etc. to participate.
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your great school fundraising idea and share the news on their socials.
Sell tickets online and at the door.
Sell custom merchandise, snacks, and drinks for a small donation.
Photo booths are easy high school fundraising ideas.
Photo booths are nostalgic and fun high school fundraising ideas. They can work as a stand-alone fundraiser or as an added activity at almost any event, such as a talent show or school merchandise sale.
Reach out to local event rental businesses to find a photo booth. Make sure to let them know it’s for a good cause.
Include a props table so high school students and teachers can get as creative as possible with their photo shoot.
For help raising money, offer to print select pictures in larger formats.
Host a benefit concert to raise money for your high school.
A benefit concert might sound like an organizational nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. The potential profitability can make the effort worthwhile.
If you’re like us, benefit concerts mean convincing some well-known group to come sing at your high school. That’s an option! But you can also reach out to high school students or local musicians and host an entirely local benefit concert.
Consider a theme or genre of music, especially if you’re reaching out to local artists. A specific era of music or group (think boy bands, Taylor Swift, the 2000s, etc.) can be a fun way to align everyone and attract more attendees.
Set up a snacks and drinks table to raise even more money for your fundraising efforts.
Get custom merchandise made for the concert to boost school spirit.
Offer to sell the band’s merchandise for a share of the profits.
A community night is a fun way to introduce students and their families to your high school.
A community night is a fair that takes place at your high school. It's a fun night that everyone is invited to, making raising funds easy.
Games, food, crafts, walking tours of the school that tell forgotten or famous stories, a photo booth, an eating contest, a community yard sale, the list of possibilities is as long as your creativity … and volunteer numbers.
Reach out to local restaurants and businesses to ask for help. Maybe the sports store will want to bring a climbing wall or host a ping-pong tournament. A local restaurant might agree to host a BBQ or a pie-eating contest.
Choose a date. We recommend it at the beginning or end of the school year.
Make sure to reach out to volunteers early. You’re going to need more than a few, and you never know what secret skill set they have up their sleeves. (Juggling? Singing? Origami master?)
Recruit students to make posters and share the community night on social media.
Consider hosting a raffle or 50/50 draw.
Hosting a car wash to raise money for your high school is a pretty classic fundraiser.
There’s nothing wrong with the line-up of classic fundraising events. No one will complain about donating a few dollars to drive away with a sparkling clean car.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn't explore a few other money-making possibilities to make it more memorable.
You can make your fundraising campaign memorable by:
Offering to wash their dog while you wash their car.
Offering a dog-washing photoshoot for a few extra dollars.
Getting the photography class involved by asking them to take pictures of people with their cars.
Set up a drive-thru with human and dog treats on order.
Recruit students and family members to make posters to share the car wash info. on social media, and volunteer.
Make sure to ask local businesses to donate the cleaning products.
Contact local restaurants to ask them to host a BBQ or concession stand.
Penny Wars brings competition and fun to college campuses with an easy way to get people engaged and participating.
Penny Wars invites anyone to get involved cheaply and with minimal supplies. They’re easy to set up and foster community while raising funds quickly.
Here’s a look at the steps involved in organizing your Penny Wars:
Choose teams to play against one another (clubs, dorms, majors, organizations, etc.).
Gather a large, clear container for each team and a designated place to keep them, such as a student center, cafeteria, or another area where you may see high traffic.
Establish rules that help people play the game, noting different value points for change variations that are added to each jar:some text
Pennies: +1 point each
Nickels: -5 points each
Dimes: -10 points each
Quarters: -25 points each
Dollar bills: -100 points each
Choose a period to host the event, keeping it shorter to encourage participation and create a sense of urgency to play.
Promote the event widely across the school’s social media channels, online groups, and physical flyers.
Choose a day to end the competition. A non-biased judge can collect the clear containers per team, count the points, and announce the winner.
Share the total amount raised from all containers to unite participants in the good you were able to all create together.
Talent shows help bring in funds and create an opportunity for college students to get together.
Talent shows attract a large group of participants and even bigger audiences. The large spaces on college campuses allow for an impressive turnout that maximizes fundraising potential through ticket sales.
A few ways to make your talent show a success include:
Assemble a committee of students, faculty, and staff who can help lead the management of your talent show and split tasks up so it’s more efficient.
Create a clear fundraising goal and purpose so that you can rally participants to come to support you.
Choose your date, time, and venue so that it doesn’t coincide with other campus events. It may be best to choose a weekday so college students don’t need to sacrifice their weekend social plans.
Recruit performers by encouraging anyone to contribute their talent. It may be a good idea to vet the acts beforehand to create an ideal lineup that keeps the audience engaged and includes various talent types.
Choose a host who will excite students and who can keep the crowd going through the night. Bring someone in from the outside or find an enthusiastic committee member.
Sell tickets at varying prices to raise more and boost participation. That might look like:some text
Pre-sale tickets at a discount when purchased in the first week
Standard ticket sales that kick in at the regular price after that week
On-site ticket sales can be discounted once again to encourage last-minute attendance
Offer attendees the option to donate in addition to their ticket purchase to hit your goals. An online donation form that can be accessed with a QR code scan is a great way to secure more giving.
Human libraries are a creative and unique college fundraising idea that fosters understanding of others while raising money.
A human library invites participants to come to explore people and their unique stories, knowledge, and backgrounds, just like a book. Participants can come to browse the human library and find a “book” (an interesting person) with whom to have one-on-one conversations.
How to set up a human library:
Recruit volunteers amongst students and staff to be your “books.” This may ask them to share their stories, interesting life experiences, skills, or fun facts.
Choose a venue, date, and time to host your human library event that offers privacy for multiple conversations.
Create a registration system where participants can sign up for your “books” and have conversations lined up before the event begins. You might ask them to donate to the stories they’re most curious to learn more about.
Promote the event with video content on social media or with a few on-campus influencers to build moments of education and buy-in for this unique fundraising concept.
Prepare your “books” with key thought questions and advice on sharing their stories as they embark on new conversations to get to know college community members.
If you’re wondering what a “book” might look like, here are a few examples:
A student who has overcome significant challenges
An international student sharing about the culture of their home country
A professor with unique travel experiences
Alumni with unconventional career paths
Staff with inspirational life stories
Peer-to-peer fundraising challenges are engaging and unlock a sense of competition to raise more, even outside of the campus walls.
Peer-to-peer fundraising challenges invite individual participants or teams to create their fundraising pages, set a goal, and recruit support from their networks on and off campus.
How to create a peer-to-peer fundraising challenge at your college or university:
Define your overall fundraising goal, and map out how many individual fundraising pages would be needed to achieve it. You can suggest a minimum fundraising amount to enter the competition from there.
Offer a strong story to tell with your challenge, relating donations to impact (ex. Every donation goes toward a new Student Center or a study abroad program)
Recruit individuals or teams such as classes, sports teams, clubs, or Greek life organizations to compete against one another and see who can raise the most.
Define a timeframe for fundraising to encourage participants to network and share their fundraising pages with as many people as possible.
Choose a prize that excites people to participate and encourages donors to contribute to their team’s success.
How to leverage tech to make it easy:
Free fundraising software like Zeffy can offer you everything you need to get your peer-to-peer fundraiser up and running. Technology supports fundraiser management and communication throughout the challenge.
Peer-to-peer technology can help you:
Create campaigns that invite people to fundraise or donate
Invite teams to form and use a single fundraising link to collect donations
Accept all major credit cards and payment apps (without transaction fees)
Share your fundraiser through a QR code on a physical flyer around campus
Offer teams a way to add photos and their personal story to entice more donations
Automatically send each donor a tax-compliant donation receipt
Automatically share communications of appreciation or a final push to give throughout the challenge
A dorm escape room challenge will leave people talking about how good your college fundraiser was and ready to get involved year after year.
Imagine transforming dorm rooms into themes of escape rooms full of puzzles students need to solve in teams to “escape” in a certain time period. The popular escape room concept pairs entertainment with testing your knowledge, making it an amazing and creative idea for your college.
How to bring your dorm escape room challenge to life:
Choose the dorms you’ll have available enough to set up and map out how many participants you can have at once.
Select a theme that’s either timely, like a holiday wonderland with tradition-filled trivia or another topic that will get people lining up to get in.
Design your puzzles, a series of challenges, and questions that unlock various aspects of the escape room concept. Think about leaving envelopes around labeled in order of how you want people to proceed and helping them indicate when they’ve officially escaped.
Gather decorations and materials to fully express your theme and help people feel immersed in the experience. You can use existing decorations or solicit donations to keep costs low.
Determine an entry ticket price to help you reach your fundraising goal with enough teams signing up. For the best outcomes, give people time to form teams and save the date.
Have volunteers on deck to guide teams to a waiting area, get them in the room at the right times, and time their escape to be sure you can help out anyone feeling stumped.
A Dance-A-Thon is an active and fun way to get students and teachers involved in your school fundraising idea.
A-Thons (Read-A-Thon, Walk A-Thon, Dance-A-Thon, etc.) are profitable, fun, inclusive, educational fundraisers, and a Dance-A-Thon is among the best of them.
Here’s a look at the steps involved in organizing your Dance-A-Thon:
Decide what dancers should achieve during the Dance-A-Thon. You can define various levels with appropriate awards, fun activities, group goals, etc.
Create playlists to get dancers to dance.
Create a registration process so readers can sign up for your Dance-A-Thon. Use social media, posters, email newsletters, and other promotional materials to generate interest and spread the word.
Reward dancers with prizes and incentives. (A school dance cost is nothing compared to the money your school fundraising idea will raise.)
Provide dancers with dance logs so students and parents can track their dancing time. This could be a physical dancing log, Dance-A-Thon templates, or an online platform.
Start raising money. Dancers can ask for donations from donors, parents, friends, neighbors, and local businesses based on the number of dances, hours danced, or dance classes participated in.
If you have the time and energy, hosting mini-events during your Dance-A-Thon is a good idea.
Regularly update students, parents, and donors on your fundraiser's progress.
This one is simple and super important: say thank you.
A pancake breakfast is are delicious and profitable school fundraising idea.
A delicious pancake breakfast always attracts a crowd. You can host one almost any time, for any reason. After all, who doesn’t like pancakes? Or, if you’re feeling wild, waffles!
Here are a few tips to help you collect donations:
If your school has a cafeteria, make sure to check with them. They might be able to help out, donate the ingredients, volunteer their time, etc.
Consider turning your pancake breakfast into a school picnic.
Set up a few board games to keep students and their families entertained.
Recruit students to make posters, share the breakfast info. on social media, and even volunteer.
Host a pancake eating competition or a pancake making competition where participants are challenged to make pancakes in various shapes.
Accept multiple payment types.
A gift wrapping service around the holidays is a great school fundraising idea.
Every year, we all go through the stressful present-buying and wrapping spree. Why not transform some of that stress into a school fundraising idea by offering to wrap everyone’s gift for a small donation? You can even get custom wrapping paper or gift tags made.
Get started with these fundraising campaign ideas:
Set up tables in local malls and grocery stores so people can drop off their gifts to be wrapped while they shop.
Get students and their families to collect gifts during the morning drop-off and hand them back during pick-up.
Ask local businesses to donate tape and wrapping paper. You can also get classes to make their wrapping paper or order custom wrapping paper in your school's colors.
Accept multiple payment types.
Raffles and 50/50 draws are quick fundraising campaigns that can raise a lot of money for your school.
A quick-fire raffle is a raffle where the tickets are sold and the winning number is drawn in short period of time, for example within 10 minutes to half an hour. This is a great way to impart a sense of urgency and add a bit of a twist to your next raffle. You can learn more about running a raffle here.
A 50/50 raffle is a simple fundraising tool to add to any event. All you need is an enthusiastic crowd, a group of volunteers, and raffle tickets. The prize is half of the money collected, so everyone should be interested in purchasing a ticket. The more tickets you sell, the higher the pot!
Partnering with students and local artists to create custom school merchandise is a great school fundraising idea.
Partnering with students, teachers, local artists or celebrities to create limited-edition merchandise is an excellent way to promote your school and raise money. You can offer the merchandise online for a limited time or produce a limited number of each piece.
Keep things interesting with a few tips to get you thinking outside the box:
Reach out to students and teachers to ask for help with fun designs.
Make merchandise design a class project for students with the best designs being produced and sold.
Host a fashion show where students, teachers, and parents can model and buy your merchandise.
Sell tickets to your event, and have drinks and snacks available for sale at the event as well.
Set up a photo booth where students, teachers, and parents can take photos with your merchandise and some creative props.
Host a benefit concert to raise money for your school.
A benefit concert might sound like an organizational nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. And, the potential profitability can make the effort worth it.
If you’re like us, a benefit concert means convincing some well-known group to come sign at your school. That’s definitely an option! But, you can also reach out to local musicians and bands and host an entirely local benefit concert.
Consider a theme or genre of music—especially if you’re reaching out to local artists. An era of music or group (think boy bands, Taylor Swift, 2000’s, etc.) can be a fun way to align everyone and attract more attendees.
Set up a snacks and drinks table to raise even more money.
Transform your school fundraiser ideas into a school picnic by hosting them outside.
Get custom merchandise made for the concert.
Offer to sell the band’s merchandise for a share of the profits.
Easy school fundraising ideas.
Recycling drives are surprisingly easy (and profitable) school fundraisers.
A recycling drive is a en environmentally friendly way to raise money for your school.
There are two types of recycling drives you can organize as fundraisers:
A bottle and can collection drive is a simple and profitable fundraiser that can be run by students of any age and teaches them about the environment and littering.
An electronics recycling drive fundraiser collects computers and electronics from the local community. This option requires responsibly partnering with your local eco-center to recycle the collected electronics.
Organizing a pet photography contest is an easy and great school fundraising idea.
Students, teachers, parents, everyone loves taking pictures of their pets. Why not put those pics to work by hosting a pet photography contest?
Participants can submit their best pics (for a small entry fee/donation) and win a day at a pet spa, a matching human/pet wardrobe, whatever!
A few things to keep in mind:
Find a free fundraising platform that can help you plan your event and sell tickets to your finalists photography show.
Offer various entry packages: one image, two images, etc., get your photo framed, stickers of your pet’s face, etc.
Get some volunteers to make posters advertising your contest and event for your finalists and share your school fundraising idea on their socials.
A photo booth is an easy school fundraising idea.
A photo booth is a nostalgic and fun fundraising idea for your school. It can work as a stand alone fundraiser or as an added activity at almost any event: a talent show, school merch. sale, etc.
Reach out to local event rental businesses to find a photo booth. Make sure to let them know it’s for a good cause.
Include a props table so students and teachers can get as creative as they want with their photo shoot.
Themed bake sales are delicious and easy ways to raise money for your school.
Choosing a theme for your next bake sale will add an extra layer of fun and creativity to your good old fashioned bake sale.
We've come up with a few themes to sweeten your school fundraiser ideas:
Cupcake wars.
Movie magic.
Superhero themed.
Rainbow delights.
Fairytale feasts.
Under the sea.
Emojis!
DIY decorating station.
Outer space.
Garden party.
Washing cars is an easy way to raise money for your high school.
There’s nothing wrong with the line-up of classic fundraising events. No one will complain about donating a few dollars to drive away with a sparkling clean car.
But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn't explore a few other money-making possibilities to make it a little more memorable.
You can make your fundraising campaign memorable by:
Offering to wash their dog while you wash their car.
Offering a dog-washing photoshoot for a few extra dollars.
Getting the photography class involved by asking them to take pictures of people with their cars.
Set up a drive-thru with human and dog treats on order.
Recruit students and family members to make posters, share the car wash info. on social media, and volunteer.
Make sure to ask local businesses to donate the cleaning products.
Host a BBQ or concession stand.
Hosting a friends and family photo day is an easy way to raise money.
Family photo days are a memorable way to get members of your community to drop by and support your school.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning yours:
First things first, choose a date and book a photographer! (You can even turn it into a school project if you have an art or photography class.)
Next, find an online fundraising platform that can help you sell photo packages and book time slots. We’re partial to Zeffy ;)
Use your school’s communication channels to get the word out.
Enlist some of your creative students and teachers to make posters and props for the photo shoot.
It’s fun to set up multiple stations with various backdrops, props and themes.
It’s nice to set up a welcome and registration table so donors know what to do when they arrive—and to sell any additional pictures, etc.
You can set up an online store to sell school merchandise and encourage participants to get a photo wearing your school’s colours.
Showing a movie can be a fun/scary/sad way to easily raise money for your school.
There’s nothing weirder or more taboo than being in school at night. Take advantage of this by hosting a movie night at your school.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Work with your school to choose a date and a movie or two.
Turn it into a school sleepover!
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your movie night and sharing the news on their socials.
Sell tickets online and at the door.
Sell snacks and drinks to raise even more money.
A dress down day motivates staff and faculty with the added benefit of raising money.
Teachers often dress nicely in less-than-comfortable clothes at school all year. Imagine how they’d feel if they could donate in exchange for permission to come to school on a certain day in jeans and a T-shirt.
You can set your donation suggestion and announce the dress-down days in a faculty email, a school board meeting, or any other way that excites people to give back and get comfy.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Choose dress-down days to occur monthly, quarterly, or special occasions like the day before spring break. The more dress-down days you have, the more potential you have to raise more and predict some additional funding.
Offer a dress code for these days to ensure it’s not a free-for-all. Maybe you list acceptable clothing (e.g., Jeans are allowed, sweatpants are not. All shirts must have sleeves and closed-toe shoes are required.).
Set a participation fee for teachers and a process to collect their contributions through an easy online donation form to avoid having to track cash and checks.
Get creative and increase fundraising potential by allowing students to donate on behalf of a teacher, giving them the ability to dress down.
Take the effort out of your fundraiser with a “no bake” bake sale.
When you don’t have time to bake or manage which students and parents are contributing what to your bake sale, consider a “no bake” bake sale. Instead of selling baked goods, you can gather donations of baking supplies and cookware to sell instead.
The value of a fun project to bring home and make with families adds a unique twist. The lack of perishable items can also extend the life of the fundraising idea so that you can host it over a week or series of days each month as donations come in.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Ask for supply donations from staff and students, ensuring that what you sell goes to your fundraising totals.
Set up your table with organized items that mimic a shopping experience (e.g., all icing in one basket, all cake mix in another). You could also create themed baskets, such as “everything you need to make Mom’s homemade brownies.”
Have fun with decorations and themes, creating a shop people enjoy and want to return to.
Plan your timing around when baking is more prevalent, such as before a holiday break, Valentine’s day, or Thanksgiving.
Unique fundraising ideas.
A petting zoo is a unique fundraiser for schools.
We all know how excited young students (and most parents and teachers) get when there’s a petting zoo! And, that excitement makes it a profitable and unique elementary school fundraiser.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your petting zoo school fundraiser:
Your school might not be the best place to host a petting zoo. Consider local parks, community centres, etc. They might just have more green space and facilities to accommodate your fundraising event.
Reach out to wild sanctuaries and farms before choosing the date, time and location of your petting zoo fundraiser.
If you can, reach out to local food trucks or plan a BBQ to raise even more money during your event.
Consider including other mini events throughout the day: carriage rides, craft tables, etc.
Leave time for clean up… A petting zoo will leave behind quite a mess.
Candy grams make for some delicious and entertaining school fundraisers.
Candy grams—AKA, personalized shout outs—are messages sent via notes, carols, code, elf, ghost, whatever!
Each message is sent for the cost of a donation and can be related to a theme or holiday. (Halloween candy, chocolate eggs, carollers, etc.)
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Come up with a theme that is related to your school or holiday. (Carollers that sing messages, ghosts that howl them, notes that come with candy, etc.)
Reach out to students, teachers, and parents to find volunteers to deliver messages.
Get some students to make posters advertising your event and share the news on their socials.
Consider offering various packages: a hand written note, a note with a candy, have your note sung by carollers, etc.
A community night is a creative way to introduce the community to your school and raise some money while you’re at it.
A community night is basically a fair that takes place at your school. Think of it as a fun night that everyone’s invited too.
Games, food, crafts, walking tours of the school that tell forgotten or famous stories, a photo booth, an eating contest, the list of possibilities is as long as your creativity … and volunteer numbers.
We've made a list of a few things to keep in mind:
Reach out to local businesses and restaurants to ask for help. Maybe the sports store will want to bring a climbing wall or host a ping pong tournament. A local restaurant might agree to host a BBQ or a pie eating contest.
Make sure to reach out to volunteers early. You’re going to need more than a few and you never know what secret skill set they have up their sleeves. (Juggling? Singing? Origami master?)
Recruit students to make posters and share the community night on social media.
Consider hosting a raffle or 50/50 draw.
A podcast series is an innovative way to fundraise for your school.
It may sound daunting at first, but a podcast series is a great way to share stories, spread the word, encourage multiple voices and points of view, and connect with current and new audiences. The trick: ask for help.
A podcast can seem daunting, so we made a list to help get you started:
Reach out to students and teachers to work together to write an interesting narrative and plan out your episodes. (You could make it a school contest or creative writing project.)
Turn it into a class project where each group has to write and produce an episode.
Ask around town if anyone has any relevant experience or wants to be a guest on your podcast.
Reach out to local studios or invest in some quality equipment.
Come up with a release schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or all at once).
Contact local businesses for sponsorship.
Get some volunteers to share the podcast on their socials and reach out to local media to help spread the word.
Puppy/kitten cuddling booth—AKA the best fundraising idea ever.
This fundraiser idea is really, REALLY good. It has everything you could ever want: cute puppies and kittens, stress relief, and an amazingly worthy cause.
Consider hosting yours during stressful times for students. (Exams, midterms, first week of school, etc.)
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Consider making some custom merchandise for people to purchase while they wait.
Reach out to food trucks or restaurants to provide snacks and refreshments and earn a little more money for your cause.
Use your social media and the social media of the location to spread the word. (Who doesn’t like pictures of adorable puppies and kittens gracing their feeds!?)
Think up a few different packages: 5 minutes of cuddle time, 10 minutes, cuddle time + a cozy hoody or blanket or stuffed animal, etc.
Fundraising ideas to help your school raise money fast.
Raise money quickly with a penalty shootout peer-to-peer fundraiser.
This fundraising event is a bit more complicated to organize, but the pay off will be worth it.
A peer-to-peer shootout is a fun way to get opposing teams together, parents and students to participate in the game, and community members to come out for a good time!
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Find a free peer-to-peer fundraising platform to help you organize it all and allow participants to set up and run their own mini-campaigns.
Plan prizes for donors and participants to encourage everyone to take part.
Get some students to make posters and share the event on their socials.
Host a BBQ or potluck at the same time to raise even more money and make the event even more of an event.
Organize a raffle or a 50/50 draw to raise more money during the fundraising event.
Host a (insert holiday here) themed bake sale to quickly raise money for your school.
A bake sale might not be the most ground-breaking idea on this unique fundraising ideas list, but it’s still a good fundraising idea because bake sales are great ways to raise money.
Here are a few tips to help get your fundraising idea started:
Work with your school to choose a date and location.
Make sure you follow any health and safety regulations. (You can check with your school’s cafeteria.)
Recruit more volunteers than you think you’re going to need.
Coordinate your bakers! (You don’t want everyone bringing delicious Rice Krispie Squares… Or do you…)
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your bake sale and sharing the news on their socials.
Set up a good-looking table or two with a few deals to encourage people to buy more. (Buy two get one free, buy a brownie get a shot of milk, etc.)
A movie night can be a fun/scary/sad way to easily raise money for your school.
There’s nothing weirder or more taboo than being in school at night. Take advantage of this by hosting a movie night at your kid’s or teen’s school.
And, don't be afraid to get a bit creative. Turn it into a picnic or a sleepover. Host a "predict the ending" lottery that students pay to enter.
Here are a few tips to help get you started:
Work with your school to choose a date and a movie or two.
Get some students or volunteers to make posters advertising your movie night and sharing the news on their socials.
Sell tickets online and at the door.
Sell snacks and drinks to raise even more money.
A balloon pop (don’t worry we’ll explain in a minute) can raise money fast for your school.
Balloon pops are exciting and fun fundraisers for students of all ages, but particularly younger students.
All you have to do is fill balloons with small prizes or messages and sell them. Participants pop the balloons they’ve bought to find out what they’ve won!
A few things to keep in mind when you’re planning your balloon pop:
Choose a busy day and time in a location with higher foot traffic.
Reach out to local businesses to ask for donations and prizes.
Recruit students to make posters, share the car wash info. on social media.
Offer various balloon types. (Various colours have various prize levels, buy two get one free, etc.)
A gently used clothing sale is a creative way to fundraise for your school while doing some good for the planet.
Students are always growing and that means they outgrow their clothes in a matter of weeks or months, not years.
So, why not host a gently used clothing sale? Parents, teachers, and students can donate clothes that don’t fit them anymore (or that they just don’t like) and you can organize an afternoon of shopping and events. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll be teaching students about the importance of reusing.
A few things to think about when planning your gently used clothing sale:
Ask parents and students to wash the clothes before they bring them in.
Consider selling snacks and drinks to raise more money for your school.
Host a fashion show where students and teachers can show off their gently used clothes.
Recruit students to make posters, share the car wash info. on social media.
A community potluck is a great way to get the community involved with your school and raise money, fast.
Everyone loves a delicious potluck! It’s a great way to raise money fast and get together for a good time. Remember to check with your school’s cafeteria (they might want to participate).
A few things to think about when planning your community potluck:
Book some live entertainment to keep the party going.
Host a silent auction where you auction off favourite recipes.
Host a community yard sale at the same time.
Recruit students to make posters, share the car wash info. on social media.
Online tools and platforms to help you with your school’s next fundraiser.
When it comes to online platforms and tools to help your school plan and run it’s next fundraiser, there are a few options that stand out for their humanitarian or business-for-good angles.
Six online fundraising platforms to help your school:
You aren’t alone in planning a school fundraiser to remember. Technology is here to turn your ideas into modernized campaigns that delight students and keep things easy for everyone.
What to look for in a fundraising software for schools:
Ease of use: Make sure the software is easy to navigate for students and administrators who want to participate in your school fundraisers. Looking for onboarding resources and customer service should help a lot.
Customization: Look for the ability to customize your fundraising campaigns around any ideas here or what you may come up with in the future.
Mobile optimization: Students and parents may need to access fundraisers on their phones or the go, so it's important to have donation forms and ticketing pages that work just as well on mobile as they do on desktop, if not better.
Multiple types of campaigns: Learn the campaigns you can host and ensure you can scale with various fundraisers that engage students. These may include peer-to-peer, crowdfunding, events, memberships, auctions, and raffles.
Some Zeffy success stories: successful school fundraisers.
Community Music School of Santa Cruz
I run a very small non-profit that runs music camps for musicians ages 7 and up; we also put on music workshops and a few concerts each year. We’ve been in operation for over 30 years, with an annual budget of around $60K. When I became the director in 2018, I started looking for a low-cost donor management system. I found one that had a free version, which I used for several years. However, they eliminated the free version in early 2022, leaving me scrambling to find a suitable replacement where I could transfer my data. Enter Zeffy! What started as a way for me to track donations soon became a solution for much more: not only could we receive donations without any charges, we could also conduct our camp registration and concert ticket sales, too. Over the past 17 months, we’ve saved close to $2000 in fees that we’d normally pay to PayPal or Square. That is a big chunk of money for us!
I love the ability to quickly email people who’ve attended any one of our past events; it’s simple, and the “from” line in the customer’s email is our name, so there’s no confusion. I also appreciate the ability to embed the donation form or ticketing form into our website; it gives us a professional look. Finally, I couldn’t ask for better customer service. My questions are always responded to promptly, and the team always seems to welcome suggestion for future improvements. - Susan, Community Music School of Santa Cruz
Shrewsbury Elementary PTO
This is our first year using an electronic form of payment. We hosted our first form last week and the feedback was incredible. Everyone is loving an electronic option and we can do away with the paper trail! Win win for both! - Gilbert, Shrewsbury Elementary PTO
Tips for organizing your school’s next fundraising event.
Maybe you’re a checklist person and maybe you’re a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person. If you’re a checklist person, this section’s for you. If not, we definitely recommend taking a look anyways.
A few additional things to keep in mind:
Check with your school’s cafeteria if you’re planning on offering food. They may have first dibs on any food contracts within your school.
Remember to clear everything with your schools parent/teacher board and principal.
Our checklist isn’t meant to be set in stone. Use it as a guideline to get started:
(Oh, and it’s a good idea to check out any local rules and regulations. Especially when it comes to raffles, alcohol, and food!)
Leverage local businesses for sponsorships and in-kind donations
Approach local businesses to sponsor the event or donate goods and services, depending on your needs. Offer your sponsors promotional opportunities, such as featuring their logos on school fundraising event materials or acknowledging them during the event.
This reduces costs and builds a sense of community support and partnership.
Utilize student-generated content for promotion
Encourage students to create promotional materials such as posters, social media posts, or videos to increase engagement. Student-generated content provides authentic and relatable content that resonates with parents and the school community.
You can also highlight student involvement in your promotions to showcase school spirit and creativity.
Include educational and interactive elements
Incorporate activities that align with your school’s mission, such as science experiments, art projects, or reading. Interactive elements, like DIY craft stations or student-led workshops, can enhance the experience and provide even more value, making the event even more appealing to attendees.
Add in a visual fundraising thermometer
Display a physical fundraising thermometer in a prominent location within the school and update it regularly to show progress towards the goal. You can also create a free fundraising thermometer to feature on your online donation page or campaigns.
A visual representation can motivate students, staff, and parents to contribute and provide a tangible reminder of the collective effort and progress.
Appeal to different age groups
Remember that students and their families at all school levels can benefit from fundraising participation from a wide range of age groups. Plan a range of activities that cater to more age groups and interests so everyone can feel included.
For example, you can create separate zones or times with age-appropriate games, challenges, and entertainment for young children, middle schoolers, high school students, college students, and parents.
Host an appreciation event
Saying thank you to donors is huge for relationship building. Organize a small appreciation event or assembly after the fundraiser to publicly recognize and thank participants, volunteers, and donors.
Present certificates or small tokens of appreciation and share the results of the fundraising efforts. This fosters a sense of accomplishment and encourages future participation.
So, you may feel super excited to try out a specific fundraising idea for your school, or maybe this list sparked a new idea you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. This is the creative process we love and what keeps the work of fundraising for good, enjoyable, fresh, and new.
Remember, hosting your first or next fundraising event doesn’t have to be a daunting, impossible task. With a little creativity, a lot of help (just ask!), and a fundraising platform for your school (like, say, Zeffy), you can make your next fundraising event a success.
Look for people who attend related events, follow relevant Facebook groups, or subscribe to aligned newsletters.These aren’t just potential donors—they’re your future advocates.
Look for people who attend related events, follow relevant Facebook groups, or subscribe to aligned newsletters.These aren’t just potential donors—they’re your future advocates.
