When information technology comes to fundraising for your schoolhouse, figuring out the best means to get your supporters excited tin can exist tough.

Subsequently all, your donor base of operations is fabricated up of a diverse mix of parents, teachers, community leaders, and even students! That's  a lot of different voices to mind to.

Luckily, we've compiled a listing of our height fundraising ideas for schools that your whole community is sure to honey. Our favorite strategies include:

  1. Create smart online giving forms
  2. Beginning a cookie dough fundraiser
  3. Host a shoe drive fundraiser
  4. Plan a pledge fundraising event
  5. Hold a scratch bill of fare school fundraiser
  6. Engage in peer-to-peer fundraising
  7. Sell school trade to heighten money
  8. Promote matching gifts to the community
  9. Launch a discount card fundraiser
  10. Fundraise on-site at school events
  11. Host a fundraising raffle
  12. Plan an online auction
  13. Sell tickets for a fun online event
  14. Create an Amazon Wish List for in-kind donations

Ready to swoop into these expert school fundraising ideas? Let's go started!

Need virtual fundraising ideas? Download PDF

1. Create smart online giving forms

The best way to boost fundraising for your school? Create intuitive, user-friendly online giving forms!

Online giving forms make donating to your schoolhouse easy  for all kinds of supporters. Since these forms are hosted over the cyberspace, individuals can cull to give wherever they are, whenever is about convenient for them.

Exist certain to incorporate some of these primal features in your online giving class:

  • Mobile optimization
  • Gift suggestion buttons
  • Fundraising thermometers
  • Your school'due south logo and colors
  • Recurring gift opt-in suggestions

When your school has online giving forms ready to make donating user-friendly for supporters, you'll never have to worry about losing out on gifts.Because giving online takes just a few minutes,your school'due south customs will love making online donations to your fundraising campaigns.

A cookie dough sale is a smart school fundraising idea that can bring your school closer to its fundraising goals.

two. Outset a cookie dough fundraiser

Are you looking for a production fundraiser that will actually get your supporters excited about your school fundraising efforts? If so, a cookie dough fundraiser is the perfect solution!

Get started past connecting with a dedicated product fundraising company like ABC Fundraising. They'll gear up you up to sell a broad diversity of cookie dough flavors that your supporters volition love. They'll even provide you with a personalized spider web store and then you can take your cookie dough fundraiser completely virtual!

Once your store is set up, you lot can start promoting your sale and encouraging students, parents, kinesthesia, and community members to support your school past purchasing their favorite flavors.

To take your cookie dough fundraiser to the adjacent level, consider property a Broil and Taste event at your school. Invite your supporters to come up and sample unlike flavors of cookies before making their purchases. This is a peachy opportunity for your group to connect with your supporters and get them excited about supporting your campaign.

A shoe drive fundraiser is a smart fundraising idea for schools.

3. Host a shoe drive fundraiser

Need a unique fundraising idea that engages students? Look no further than a shoe drive fundraiser!

A shoe drive fundraiser is a unique and effective fundraising idea  that students of all ages can go involved in. Plus, collecting shoes (or fifty-fifty simply donating a pair) teaches them the value of small-scale-calibration global philanthropy.

With the help of a shoe drive fundraiser coordinator, collect gently worn, used and new shoes. At the finish of the fundraiser, the shoe drive fundraiser coordinator volition so collect the shoes and send your school a check based on the number of pairs collected. You simply set up collection materials around the school, and encourage students to donate any shoes they no longer habiliment.

For the all-time results, host it in August or September when many students are going back-to-schoolhouse shopping. Kids quickly grow out of their clothes and shoes, so many parents will be happy to donate shoes in adept condition instead of tossing them out.

For an added twist, plow information technology into a friendly competition! Split up students upward into teams. Doing this past class should be the most efficient mode to attain this. And so, have students race to collect shoes from their families and neighbors. Reward whichever class collects the most shoes by the stop of the fundraiser with a pizza party!

If all goes well, consider making information technology an annual event. This fashion, families volition know to hold on to any unwanted shoes that are in practiced condition. Information technology'll go a tradition that students and parents look forwards to yr later on year!

A pledge fundraising event is a great way to fundraise for your school.

4. Plan a pledge fundraising event

Are y'all looking for an engaging school fundraising idea that can involve your students, teachers,and families? A pledge fundraiser might be perfect for yous.

A pledge campaign is a unique type of fundraiser that is often paired with an exciting school-broad event. The chief difference betwixt pledge campaigns and traditional fundraisers is that the bodily funds are not collected until the decision of the campaign. Instead, these retroactive funds correspond to how many predetermined units of a particular "activity" a participant was able to accomplish.

The activity can be anything that gets participants and supporters excited. A walk- or run-a-thon is a typical example of a pledge fundraiser where donors pledge a dollar corporeality for every lap their sponsee walks or runs within the time limit. However, y'all can truly get creative here. Dance-a-thons have become an extremely popular choice,or y'all could even become with a read-a-thon to add some extra educational value!

5. Hold a scratch carte du jour school fundraiser

There's a new fundraising tendency taking hold at schools that's fun for the whole customs: scratch carte fundraising!

Scratch card fundraising is a great way to reach your schoolhouse's fundraising goals fast.Volunteers approach their friends, family, and neighbors and ask them to scratch two circles off of their fundraising card. Under each circle is a small donation corporeality ($0.50-$3.00).

Take a look at this scratch card by ABC Fundraising as a school fundraising method example.

Once they scratch off their amounts, they make their donation. Scratch carte fundraisers are great for:

  • Educatee clubs and later on-school programs
  • Intramural and extramural sports teams
  • Music programs like your marching band and orchestra
  • Field trips and fun learning events
  • Spirit week fundraisers at the beginning and end of the year

Improve yet, once a scratch card is finished your volunteer will have raised $100. Each menu costs just $20 to order andABC Fundraising will even give your schoolhouse a 10% discount  on each shipment. This gives scratch menu fundraisers an average profit of xc%! Since every dollar counts, why non requite scratch card fundraising a try?

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Peer to peer fundraising is a top smart school fundraising option.

6. Engage in peer-to-peer fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising is another online fundraising strategy that's perfect for your schoolhouse's fundraising goals.

In a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, a school calls on customs members to prepare up fundraising pages on their behalf. These individuals and so reach out to their online networks and solicit donations for your school.

Peer-to-peer fundraising isn't just a keen way to raise money for your schoolhouse; it's likewise an excellent way to grow your school'south community of supporters!

Since peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are spread by your community members online,these campaigns will reach more than eyes than ever when they're shared on social media sites and emailed to friends and family. This mode, your school'south donors don't have to live in your community or even have a child at your schoolhouse!

A smart school fundraising idea is to sell school merchandise!

7. Sell schoolhouse trade to raise money

Every school has a mascot, special colors, a motto, or other elements that brand upwardly your school'due south identity.

Assistance your teachers, students, and their family unit members show off their schoolhouse spirit by selling merchandise to raise money! Your school tin can sell merchandise at a school store, at fundraising events, or even through an online storefront.

Your school can sell trade including:

  • School supplies similar pens, pencils, notebooks, and erasers
  • Novelty gifts similar mugs, towels, picture frames, and posters
  • Backpacks and lunchboxes
  • Fun "toys" for students similar stickers, bracelets, and games
  • Branded t-shirts that rep your school's colors, mascot, and motto

In fact, selling t-shirts is one of the most profitable ways for a school to raise coin!

Fundraise for your school by selling t-shirts.

Bank check out this school's t-shirt fundraising campaign. By customizing their trade to friction match their schoolhouse's identity, they've created a t-shirt fundraising product their school will dear to promote and that their supporters volition love to wear!

Promoting matching gifts is a fun and unique school fundraising idea!

8. Promote matching gifts to the community

Did you know that at that place's a way to double (or even triple) the bear upon of your school's supporterswithoutasking them to give again?

Matching gifts programs are a form of corporate giving program in which an employer agrees to lucifer their employees' charitable donations. While these programs benefit your school, your supporters, and their companies, $6-$x billion in donations goes unmatched each year only considering people are unaware that their company has a matching gifts program in identify.

Luckily, there's an easy way for your schoolhouse to boost matching gift revenue for your next fundraising campaign. But invest in matching gifts tools similar Double the Donation or HEPdata and add a branded matching gifts database to your schoolhouse's website.

Then, you can promote matching gifts to your school'due south community in newsletters, email blasts, and even at fundraising events.Your supporters volition appreciate that there's a manner to get more than from their gifts, and that might even be the push button they need to give more oftentimes!

Launch a discount card fundraiser to raise money for your school.

ix. Launch a disbelieve card fundraiser

Now, hither'due south a fundraising idea you've probably heard of before if you oasis't nonetheless implemented it at your schoolhouse: discount card fundraisers.

Discount carte du jour fundraisers  are a smart fashion to make giving dorsum to your school a no-brainer for members of your community. Individuals tin purchase discount cards with coupons to local businesses. These cards may help salve your donors hundreds of dollars!

One great way to fundraise for your school is by selling ABC Fundraising's discount cards.

Your schoolhouse can sell cards that toll $10, $xv, or $twenty and feature a customized set up of local businesses. The deals offered on these cards last up to a twelvemonth, so your school's supporters will have plenty of time to get the most value from their purchase.

Even ameliorate, since these cards are and then pop,your school can look that for each volunteer that signs up to sell discount cards, they'll yield 5-10 cards sold.That'due south a gigantic return on your investment and it means you'll accomplish your fundraising goalseven quicker!

On-site fundraising is a great way for some face-to-face engagement for your school.

x. Fundraise on-site at schoolhouse events

One of the archetype school fundraising methods is to collect donations at fundraising events like sports games, field days, and dances.

However, with an on-site giving kiosk, your school can boost fundraising at these events fifty-fifty further .An on-site fundraising kiosk is simply like your online giving class, but it allows individuals to pay in person at your fundraising events rather than online.

With an on-site giving kiosk, your school tin:

  • Customize your interface to friction match your school's identity
  • Apace swipe cards for fast giving
  • Set up recurring gifts at the time of donation
  • Serve every bit a point-of-sale for merchandise fundraising
  • Register attendees at events

While not all of your supporters volition want to requite using a kiosk, having 1 on hand makes it possible for your school to collect gifts from those who discover information technology convenient.Paired with your online giving forms and traditional cash and check gifts, this is a great mode to round out your school's fundraising strategy!

Consider hosting a fundraising raffle as your next smart school fundraising idea.

11. Host a fundraising raffle

Fundraising raffles are fun ways to engage students and families while also raising money!

Brand sure you come upwardly with a fun prize, for instance, a dinner certificate or a vacation experience are top choices. Nevertheless, if you're selling raffle tickets to your students, prizes similar "Be a Principal for a Day" or "Pie a Teacher" can be simply as enticing.

To get the brawl rolling on your fundraising raffle, make sure to promote information technology to your students, parents, and faculty. Advertise the upcoming event on your school's website, through electronic mail newsletters, and even with physical marketing materials posted around the school. Participants can and then easily purchase a raffle ticket, whether in-person or online. It'south best to provide both options!

You can host a fundraising raffle as a stand-alone outcome or aslope another campaign. Selling raffle tickets is a swell way to give an existing event a acquirement boost— just make certain to choose a corking prize.

An online auction is a great way to raise money for your school.

12. Plan an online auction.

A school fundraising idea that is certain to enhance a lot of money is an online auction.

If you decide to host a school auction fundraiser, consider providing attendees with a mobile bidding app.

Similar to traditional auctions, participants can browse items, place bids, increase bids, outbid others, and receive their item at the finish. The simply deviation is that this takes identify entirely online and relies on an online auction platform.

To have a successful online auction for your school, make sure you:

  1. Promote the fundraising event well beforehand through your website, e-mail communications, and other marketing materials.
  2. Take a dedicated event registration form for the online auction.
  3. Collect the items you want to auction off.
  4. Provide participants with a dedicated mobile bidding app so that they tin can easily explore, bid, and checkout.

With an online auction, you lot rid yourself of newspaper bids and long checkout lines. Yous'll be raising money for your school in no fourth dimension, all while providing participants with a fun and unique experience.

Online and virtual events are all the rage now, so hosting one as your next school fundraiser is a great idea.

thirteen. Sell tickets for an online event

With virtual and online events increasing in popularity, consider the types of experiences your schoolhouse tin host. And so, sell tickets for this online event equally a way to enhance money!

For instance, many schools have had success planning the post-obit online events:

  • Virtual talent show
  • Virtual concert
  • Online cooking grade
  • And more!

To pull off the online event that your schoolhouse wants to host, you're going to need several online tools.

For case, will you need a livestreaming tool? A video conferencing platform? What are the tools that your participants will need? These are all questions that you have to consider beforehand.

Accepting in-kind donations is also a great way to fundraise for your school.

14. Create an Amazon Wish List for in-kind donations

We talked about donating old sneakers in a previous section, but y'all can enquire fundraisers for other in-kind donations as well! Consider creating an Amazon Wish Listing consisting of all the items your schoolhouse may need. This can include:

  • Schoolhouse supplies similar pencils, markers, and paper
  • Cleaning supplies like paper towels, hand sanitizer, and cleaning sprays
  • Textbooks
  • Technology like iPads and projectors

By creating an Amazon Wish List, you provide supporters with an piece of cake manner to browse through items. If they would like to donate something, all they have to do is purchase it on Amazon and have it delivered to your school.

Here's an example of an Amazon Wish List as a school fundraising idea.

Convenience is e'er key, and this fundraising method allows supporters to go involved without ever leaving their homes!


Figuring out the best way to raise money for your school isn't piece of cake. Yet, with these awesome strategies in mind, your school is ready to rock your next fundraiser!

Nevertheless looking to learn more about schoolhouse fundraising? You're in luck! Keep reading for some of our favorite school fundraising resource:

  • Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Everything Your Nonprofit Needs to Know. Want to become an skillful on one of our favorite school fundraising ideas, peer-to-peer fundraising? Check out our in-depth guide to master this method!
  • Virtual Fundraising Ideas | The Complete Guide for 2020. Looking for fundraising ideas that can exist done entirely online? Visit our consummate guide to virtual fundraising ideas to larn more.
  • 5 Top PayPal Alternatives for Nonprofits. Call up PayPal is the only tool out at that place to process fundraising payments? Call back once more! Find our favorite PayPal alternatives you tin use at your next schoolhouse fundraiser.
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