40 Proven School Fundraising Ideas to Skyrocket Your Revenue

Picking fundraising ideas that align with your school’s financial needs and goals is crucial. But with so many different fundraising ideas to choose from, it can be difficult to know which will work the best for your school and community.

We’ve put together this list of fundraising ideas that are perfect for every grade. Explore each of the following categories:

• Our Favorite Fundraising Idea for Schools
• Elementary School Fundraising Ideas
• Middle School Fundraising Ideas
• High School Fundraising Ideas
• No-Selling School Fundraising Ideas
• Most Profitable School Fundraising Ideas

Ideally, the fundraising idea you choose for your school should be flexible and adaptable to all sorts of budgets and goals. Let’s get started with our favorite fundraising idea, which is one of the most creative and flexible out there!

Our Favorite Fundraising Idea for Schools

1. T‑Shirt Fundraisers

Launching a t-shirt fundraiser for your school is an easy way to raise money and offer a tangible item in return for supporters’ donations.

School shirts are a flexible idea for any budget, group, or event. Choose a platform that offers flexible, low-risk options for designing, printing, and offering custom shirts to supporters. For example, Bonfire prints and ships all of the shirts directly to your supporters so you don’t have to worry about logistics. 

Bonfire also offers a free design tool and a library of free editable school t-shirt design templates that you can use to create your t-shirts. When you’re ready to sell your shirt, create and customize your school’s online shop for free. This way, you can easily present and share the fundraiser and apparel with your community.

Elementary School Fundraising Ideas

2. Family Fun Day

Family fun events are great school fundraising ideas that bring families together to help raise money for your school. This family fun event can be a school-wide picnic or field day with games and mini competitions.

Set up the event in your school’s gymnasium or outside, and sell tickets that students and parents can use to play the games and purchase concessions. Before the event, sell custom t-shirts that guests can wear during the festivities to further show their support.

3. Guessing Games

Guessing games are a fun (and inexpensive!) elementary school fundraising idea.

All you need is a jar full of candy (e.g., jelly beans, M&Ms, or Skittles) and have students and teachers pay a small amount to guess the number of candies in the jar.

Place your jar of candy in a prominent location, and encourage everyone to make a guess. Don’t forget to award the person with the closest guess a prize at the end of your fundraiser.

4. Tie‑Dye Event

A tie-dye event is a great school fundraising idea that brings your supporters together for a fun time creating a unique t-shirt. Instead of just selling white t-shirts at your event, you can design and order bulk orders of custom tie-dye shirts. Design white shirts with your school’s logo or use a slogan that represents your school.

5. Straw Draw Fundraiser

The straw draw fundraising idea is both inexpensive for schools to run and fun for students.

All you need for this fundraiser is a pack of straws and a few small prizes. Write different prizes on a piece of paper and attach them to the straws.

Your prizes don’t have to be extravagant. Offer simple things like extra recess time, candy, or free lunch. Charge students (and teachers!) $1 to draw a straw.

6. Penny Wars

A penny war incentivizes students to donate, sparks friendly competition, and serves as a lesson in counting coins and cash. Here’s how it works:

1. Create a point system for change and bills. Most schools make pennies worth one point, dollar bills worth 100 points, and so on. To add a fun twist, make silver change worth a negative value (e.g., quarters are -25 points) so students can bring change to sabotage other classes.
2. Classes then compete with each other to raise the most, encouraging students to donate to their bucket or sabotage other classes.
3. Once you reach the deadline, count up the total points for each class and award the winner!

7. Pirate-Themed Treasure Hunt

Organize a fun treasure hunt around your school, at a park, or in another community space. Aim to make the hunt exciting and educational, and promote the prospect of an enticing prize at the end of the hunt (e.g., a treasure chest of candy or no homework passes). 

Create a map and have students test their skills with a compass or following directions. Or, infuse the hunt with riddles or questions related to their learning. For example, students might have to convert fractions or practice their spelling words to unlock clues. To fundraise, simply charge a small entry fee.

8. Art Show & Auction

Let your mini Picassos flex their creative muscles by having students create art pieces at school. For the event, display their work throughout your hallways, and organize a fun night with refreshments and auction off the pieces.

While students’ parents will likely be happy to purchase their child’s artwork, consider promoting a few show-stopping, professional-grade pieces to draw more attendees and higher bids. You might feature works from local artists, baskets of art supplies, a lesson with the art teacher, etc.

9. Children’s Book Sale

Elementary school students grow and learn so much each year, and this often means they tear through and outgrow books rapidly. 

Ask parents to donate the books that their kids no longer read or need to your school. Then, organize a book sale where families can browse the donations and purchase books at a much lower price than traditional book stores. They’ll find more advanced books or new stories for their family and be able to pass along their well-loved but no longer needed copies. 

Middle School Fundraising Ideas

10. Pie the Principal

Getting middle school students to participate in fundraising efforts can sometimes be a challenge. Luckily, a Pie the Principal fundraiser encourages students to raise money while having a good laugh in the process.

Students can donate, and if they reach the fundraising goal, one lucky student will get to pie their principal in the face.

Keep your fundraiser running for a couple of weeks, and give every student the opportunity to get involved. At the end of the fundraiser, hold a school-wide event where the principal gets pied.

11. Teacher-for-a-Day Auction

Allow kids to bid on the opportunity to be the teacher for a day or a specific lesson. Feature a variety of roles to appeal to students with different interests, like:

• Teachers for each academic subject, including math, science, English, etc.
• Coaches or PE teachers
• Music or art teachers

This is a great idea to roll into a larger fundraiser, like a fall festival or charity race, or a broader, more general raffle or auction.

12. Hula Hoop Contest

Another exciting school fundraising idea is a hula hoop contest. Ask families and the community to pledge a small amount for each minute that a student can keep their hula hoop going.

This is a great way to encourage friendly competition among students, and a fantastic and inexpensive way to raise money!

13. Shoe Drive

Hosting a shoe drive is an inexpensive and unique school fundraising idea that can be added to any other campaigns or events. Students can bring in their used and unwanted shoes to help support the school.

You can even get the whole community involved by setting up shoe donation drop-off centers around the neighborhood.

Work with a shoe drive organization that will come collect your donated shoes, and give you a check based on the number of pounds of shoes you provide.

14. Talent Show

Middle schoolers are all about expressing their individuality, making talent shows an ideal middle school fundraising idea! They allow students to pursue their interests and display their talents. Hosting a talent show is an easy way for your school to raise money while giving your students an exciting and classic school experience.

The key to a successful talent show is to start promoting it in advance, giving students enough time to register and practice their act.

Make announcements and post flyers around the hallways to generate excitement. Charge a small fee for tickets to the show so family, friends, and fellow students can watch.

15. Scavenger Hunt

Middle school fundraising ideas need to be fun and engaging, and there’s no better way to raise money than with a scavenger hunt. Plus, it gives students the opportunity to work together with their peers and parents to win an awesome prize.

To get started, you’ll need to create your clues and hide your items around the school. Allow students to enter the scavenger hunt by themselves or with a group, and charge a small fee to participate.

Reward the students who complete the scavenger hunt with a small prize!

16. Popcorn Fundraiser

Who doesn’t love popcorn? Get your students involved in raising money for your school by selling popcorn. Organizing a popcorn fundraiser is a great middle school fundraising idea because students will get the chance to sell products to their friends and family.

Find a popcorn vendor that offers a high-profit margin and a variety of flavors to choose from. We recommend scheduling your fundraiser during the holidays or sporting seasons to raise the most money.

Excite your students by turning your popcorn fundraiser into a competition and offer prizes to the students that sell the most popcorn.

17. Trivia Night or Quiz-a-Thon

To raise money with this idea, simply charge an admission fee and promote the trivia night to your community. Consider creating different games or rounds designed for various audiences. You might sort games by grade level or create separate games for parents. Or, have students and parents compete head-to-head (e.g., “Are You Smarter Than an 8th Grader?”).

While parents will likely appreciate more general trivia questions, this is a great opportunity to help students apply what they’re learning in class. For example, collaborate with their teachers to create quiz questions related to what they’re covering in biology.

18. Photo Booth Day

Create a fun event for students and allow them to document their memories with photos. Rent photo booths or create your own with props. You could even have a Polaroid picture station!

Print off the photos and sell them for a small fee (e.g., $1 per photo or photo strip). This is a great activity to add to something like a school dance to help students capture fun memories with their friends. 

High School Fundraising Ideas

19. Best Seat in the House Fundraiser

For this high school fundraising idea, you’ll host a raffle that awards the winner two prime seats to a sporting event or theater performance. Just like with team fundraising ideas, more tangible fundraising products like this yield better results.

Spread the word about your fundraiser, and encourage people to purchase raffle tickets for $1 each.

Sweeten the pot by offering the winner merchandise related to the event, as well as food and drinks. Because this campaign is so simple to plan, your school can host several best seat in the house fundraisers throughout the year!

20. Clothing Drive

Chances are, some students at your school love thrifting for their clothes. Organize a mini thrift store at your school by accepting donations from students and families. Then, organize a sale. 

Additionally, you might accept other items outside of clothes, such as athletic gear, decor, books, and movies. Students and other community members can find used, discounted items that they love while your school raises money.

21. Buy‑a‑Brick Fundraiser

If your high school is looking to make renovations or expand a building, why not host an engraved brick fundraiser?

Partner with an engraved brick manufacturer to sell bricks to students, alumni, and teachers. You can even charge extra to have the bricks engraved with the donor’s name or the name of someone they wish to honor.

Alternatively, your school can honor donors by creating a walkway or wall with the engraved bricks.

22. Karaoke Night

Who doesn’t love a night filled with friends and karaoke? Find a local restaurant that does karaoke and partner with them to organize a karaoke night.

Let the local restaurant know that you’re raising funds for a good cause, and ask them if they’d be willing to donate a percentage of the night’s proceeds to your school.

Encourage all of your friends and family to attend to reap the greatest rewards from your fundraising event.

23. Mud Run

A great high school fundraising idea is putting on a mud run. Students can pay a small fee to take part in the race, which consists of multiple obstacles covered with mud.

Order custom t-shirts for the mud run so everyone can show their school spirit and go out in style. This is a great way to get your hands (and everything else) dirty while raising money for your school. Bring out the competitive nature in high school students and try out this race for yourself!

24. Car Wash Challenge

A car wash is a traditional, classic fundraiser, but a “challenge” element adds a fresh twist. Set an ambitious (but still reachable) goal for the number of cars students can wash in a day, and offer them a prize if they hit that goal. This will incentivize them to promote the car wash ahead of time and work hard at the event itself. Or, you might divide students into teams and have them compete to get the highest ratings from their “customers.”

To boost revenue, you can even sell additional services like tire shine, bug removal, and full interior detailing.

25. Themed Movie Night

Choose a popular movie or franchise and invite students and families to join you to watch it. For example, maybe you choose a popular sci-fi franchise and:

• Decorate your school like a spaceship
• Offer themed snacks and treats
• Supply small favors that relate to the theme

Either sell all-inclusive tickets or charge additional fees for these extra refreshments and trinkets. They’ll make your movie night feel more special, adding a unique, memorable touch.

26. Silent Disco

During a silent disco, each attendee receives a pair of headphones that they can turn to different channels. These headphones usually have lights on the outside that change color to designate which channel the listener is enjoying. 

Here’s an example of how this might work:

• Green channel = pop
• Red channel = rock and metal
• Blue channel = hip hop and R&B
• Yellow channel = indie 

There are countless themes you can use for these channels. You might divide them by artists, decades, or even moods. Just make sure to choose music your students like and will be excited to dance to.

27. Glow Run

Let students (safely) embark on a nighttime run by organizing a glow run! Have them run in a safe place like your school’s track, encouraging them to wear neon or reflective clothing. Pass around various types of glow sticks like glow bracelets, necklaces, crowns or headbands, and glasses to bring the glow run to life.

No‑Selling School Fundraising Ideas

28. Simple Solicitations

Looking for some low-key no-selling school fundraising ideas? Try simple solicitations. Send out letters to your students’ families and the surrounding community, and solicit donations for your particular project or event.

You might initially hesitate to simply ask people for money. However, many parents and community members will not only be happy to contribute, but they’ll also appreciate the straightforward approach. Try sending out fundraising letters or setting up an online donation page.

29. Local Partnerships

One of the most effective no-selling school fundraising ideas is local partnerships. Collect donations from local businesses, ask them to sponsor events that your school is planning, or sell advertising space at your sporting events.

This is also a great way to get involved in the surrounding community and unite everyone around your school.

30. Clean‑Up Challenge

Host a clean-up challenge, where people can pledge money for the amount of trash the students and teachers pick up. This is a great way to incentivize a clean-up around the neighborhood and get your school’s campus looking spick and span.

31. Day-Off Challenge

Format this challenge as a peer-to-peer fundraiser where, if students reach the fundraising goal, they can get a “day off” at school. Allow them to set up individual donation pages and share the campaign with their friends and family members to secure contributions. 

To keep them motivated, share what the day off might look like. Some enticing ideas might include:

• Allowing students to wear pajamas or comfy clothes to school
• Having a full day off from structured lessons, quizzes, and tests
• Offering fun activities like a board game tournament or a reading corner
• Allowing them to watch movies all day

32. Academic A-Thons

There are all kinds of “a-thon” fundraisers out there, but academic-focused options might not be the first to come to mind. Help students show off their knowledge and reach learning objectives with the following fundraisers:

• Science-a-thon: Participants aim to complete as many science experiments, lab tasks, or other learning activities as possible within a set period of time.
• Spell-a-thon: Students will study a vocabulary list and then take a spelling test, collecting pledges for the number of words they spell correctly.
• Read-a-thon: Students log how much they read during the campaign timeline, collecting pledge donations based on how many minutes, pages, or chapters they read. 
• Language-a-thon: Participants will aim to learn as many new vocabulary words as they can, master grammar skills, or spend time practicing the language.

For each of these campaigns, students will raise money by collecting pledges from their community of supporters. Then, they’ll report their performance in the a-thon and collect the pledged donations from supporters.

33. Recycling Drive

Encourage your community to be more sustainable by organizing a recycling drive. Have your school community donate their recyclable cans, bottles, and boxes, and set a goal for a certain number of pounds of recyclable materials.

Consider offering a sustainable prize to motivate students to participate, like giving them the opportunity to have class outside or make crafts out of some of the donated items.

34. Fitness Challenge

Challenge students to practice healthy habits. Ask them to collect pledged donations, provided they meet certain fitness goals. For instance, they might have to meet one of the following goals each day:

• Walk a certain distance or number of steps
• Do 25 jumping jacks or another active task
• Complete a sunrise yoga flow
• Get 30 minutes of exercise 

Most Profitable School Fundraising Ideas

35. Restaurant Night

Restaurant nights, also called percentage or spirit nights, are a great way to build relationships with local businesses while raising money for your school. 

First, reach out to local restaurants to partner with. Request that on a set date, they donate a percentage of the profits made to your school. Consider offering something in return, like promoting their business at your football games or printing their logo on your homecoming t-shirts. Then, promote the event to your community well in advance to drive attendance (and revenue!). 

Ideally, the restaurant will get more customers, and you’ll raise money to fuel your school’s initiatives.

36. Coupon Books

This is another idea that allows your school to build out its network of local connections. Partner with local businesses to create and sell coupon books with exclusive deals and discounts. Collect entries from a variety of businesses, including restaurants, hair salons, and mechanics. You could even sell sponsorships, like having their logo on the front of the booklet or in marketing materials, to secure more funding.

Another key benefit here is that the coupon book will continuously spread awareness of your school. Any time supporters use the coupons, they will think of your school.

37. Ticketed Skill Class or Workshop Series

Have a teacher, parent, or volunteer with a unique or desirable skill that they’re willing to teach? Set up a series of classes or workshops with this expert and sell tickets to raise money. You might offer:

• Cooking classes from a chef
• An intro to ceramics or pottery
• A beginner’s ballroom dance class
• A glassblowing workshop

38. Teachers vs. Students Sports Tournament

Challenge student athletes by having them play against their coaches, teachers, parents, or alumni. Organize a tournament for each of your school’s sports teams (e.g., football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, etc.), and promote the event. Have participants pay a fee to enter, and sell tickets to attend as a spectator. You can also sell concessions and event merchandise to boost profits.

39. Basket Raffle Night

Raffles are only successful when there are unique, compelling prizes on the line. Raffle baskets tailored to different hobbies or interests are a great option. You can even secure donated prize baskets by:

• Having teachers develop a themed basket idea, create a wish list of basket items, and request donations from parents.
• Reaching out to local businesses for in-kind donations.

Invite your community to join in at the event and help sell raffle tickets. The more tickets they buy, the more likely they are to win a basket. You can either have one large “pot” to draw from or allow attendees to enter tickets for specific baskets, similar to bidding on items during an auction.

40. DIY Craft or STEM Kits

Assemble simple kits that align with various student interests and sell them at school. For instance, you might create:

• A bracelet-making kit
• A science experience kit
• A painting kit

Each kit should contain detailed instructions and all of the materials needed to complete the craft or activity. For instance, you might create a chemistry-focused kit that allows students to witness various chemical reactions. 

Additionally, make sure to track how much each kit costs you to produce and price them accordingly. Set a fundraising goal and then work from there to determine how many kits you’ll need to sell.

Wrapping Up

The more excited your school’s staff and students are about your fundraiser, the more likely people will gravitate toward your campaign and want to donate. That’s why we always recommend choosing a school fundraising idea that you’re the most passionate about and want to promote. Fundraising events can and should be fun, so gather your community, and the rest will take care of itself!

To bring your fundraiser to the next level, check out these additional resources:

• 8 T-Shirt Fundraising Ideas That Work for Any Cause. Intrigued by t-shirt fundraisers? Get more creative ideas in this guide.
• 30+ PTO & PTA Fundraising Ideas That Can Help Grow Your School’s Revenue. If you’re a member of your school’s PTO or PTA and need fundraising inspiration, look no further than this list of ideas.
• How to Make Custom Merch That Sells. You might be new to making custom merchandise, and that’s okay. Check out this guide first to get all the tips and tricks you need to get started.