15 creative back-to-school fundraising ideas
Back-to-school season is an exciting time for the community. Families, students, teachers, and administrators all play a part in helping the new school year start strong. A back-to-school fundraiser can bring people together, build excitement, and help support your school’s needs.
There are plenty of creative ways to support your school through an education fundraiser. Whether you’re planning a school fair, a bake sale, or another event, crowdfunding with GoFundMe is a safe and easy way for you to reach out to your community and collect donations.
Five tips to plan a successful school fundraiser
Before you get started, a few simple tips can help set your fundraiser up for success. Here are just a few to consider:
1. Set a realistic financial goal
Choose a goal that feels achievable. Setting an attainable goal creates a sense of momentum. It prevents the ‘drop in the bucket’ effect, where supporters feel discouraged by a massive goal and worry that their specific donation won’t actually move the needle.
2. Leverage the power of social media
Social media can help widen your reach for your school fundraiser. Share it on your own social media and encourage your network of followers to reshare. If the fundraiser is for a high school or university, you may also ask students to share on their social media with the permission of their parents.
3. Set up a GoFundMe
Crowdfunding is a great way to reach your community, and your fundraiser is easily shareable via email and on social media. Whether you plan to rely on a GoFundMe page alone or to collect donations at an offline fundraiser, setting up a crowdfunding fundraiser allows you to easily collect money and track your progress.
4. Get your community involved
Reaching out to your local community is crucial for a successful back-to-school fundraiser. Reach out to neighbors, friends, extended family, and more for support, whether you’re asking them to donate or asking them to volunteer at an event. Getting the entire local community involved—not just the school community—can help build stronger community support for your school.
5. Post regular updates
If you’ve set up an online fundraiser, keep your community engaged by posting weekly updates. Giving supporters a progress report helps them feel more involved with your cause and encourages them to continue supporting. Updating followers when you reach certain milestones is also beneficial and can motivate people to continue supporting you.
15 creative back-to-school fundraiser ideas
There are plenty of ways to engage your community in a back-to-school fundraiser. Let’s dive into some of the most creative school fundraising ideas.
1. Organize a bake sale
Everyone loves sweet treats, so organizing a bake sale is an easy way to raise money. Recruit parents and teachers to get involved by baking an assortment of individually wrapped sweets like brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. Then, set up your bake sale in a high-traffic area; the school entrance or even the entrance to a local grocery store (with permission) should work. You can ask volunteers for help selling the items. Consider having a theme for your bake sale and making flyers to promote it ahead of time.
2. Plan a walk-a-thon
Perhaps one of the most successful forms of fundraising, school walk-a-thons are a great way to get everyone involved. Students can collect pledges for walking a certain number of laps or miles. This gets everyone moving, and partnering a walk-a-thon with a GoFundMe fundraiser is an easy way to promote the event and collect donations. If there’s a theme, walkers can even dress up in costumes. Parents and teachers can also volunteer to hand out water, play music, and cheer the students on as they walk.
3. Arrange a read-a-thon
Organizing a read-a-thon is a great way to get students reading for fun. Students can raise money from supporters by reading a certain number of books, and you can set up an online platform to track their progress. Students can either choose their own books individually or they can vote on books to read together as a class and organize a book club-style discussion later.
4. Plan a school fair
School fairs can be a popular option. In some cities, they’re even considered the biggest social events of the season. Funds are raised through offline ticket sales for activity booths, games, rides, and more. Students, parents, and teachers can volunteer at the fair. If you’re planning a fair, promote it well in advance to attract more attendees.
5. Organize a casino night for parents
A themed casino night without the risk of real gambling can bring parents together. Make your casino night a ticketed event, charge a participation fee for certain games of chance, or simply ask for offline donations. Poker and blackjack are two of the most popular. Set up multiple tables for games, food, and drinks so attendees can mingle. This also encourages parents to come together and get to know each other, strengthening the community at the same time.
6. Host a dog show
Cute animals always attract supporters, and what better way to leverage this than to organize a dog show? Anyone from the community can enter their dog for a small entry fee, and you can give out prizes for categories like Best Trick, Best Bark, Best Costume, and more. Recruit an engaging host and a few judges to provide commentary on the show. You can also offer food and a pet photo booth to raise more funds.
7. Hold a cake-decorating contest
A cake-decorating contest is a great way to make the bake sale idea a little more competitive. Students, parents, and school staff can pay a small entry fee to participate in the contest. They’ll bake cakes and decorate them according to certain categories and themes. Then, they’ll bring them to a public event where community members can pay for voting tickets. Or, you can simply auction the cakes off to the highest bidder. You can also pair the contest with live competitions, or include paid activity booths like a create-your-own cake stand.
8. Create a virtual classroom wishlist
If planning a large-scale event isn’t your thing, you can instead create a virtual classroom wishlist. Ask teachers to create a list of supplies they need, and distribute this list online. Community members can then buy these items themselves and either ship them to the school or send them in with students.
9. Set up a school crowdfunding fundraiser with GoFundMe
Crowdfunding can be incredibly effective, and you’ll often find your community will rally around a school fundraiser. Use GoFundMe to tell your school’s story, let people know what you need, and post photos that will form emotional connections with your viewers. Setting up a GoFundMe is easy, and once you have your fundraiser, you can easily share it online. Whether you’re using a GoFundMe to collect donations at other events or you’re simply relying on sharing your fundraiser, it provides a simple way to track and access your funds. You can also generate a QR code for your page to use at events.
10. Plan a fun run
Similar to a walk-a-thon, a fun run encourages participants to get active. Fun runs are typically themed and ask runners for a small entry fee. You can have runners dress up in costumes according to the theme. Set up food and drink stands at the event to raise more money. You can also invite parents, teachers, and other community members to be spectators and cheer the runners on.
11. Organize a paint night
A painting class is a great opportunity for people to explore their creative side while raising money. Recruit an art teacher to teach a paint-along class to parents, teachers, students, and any community member who wants to join. Participants will pay a small entry fee, and you can provide the supplies and paints.
12. Arrange a community car wash
Car washes are a popular school fundraiser event, especially because local businesses are sometimes happy to host them in their parking lots for more visibility. Promote your car wash with flyers and recruit students, staff, and parents to wash the cars. Ask for small donations and collect them either in cash or via a QR code to your GoFundMe.
13. Hold a second-hand uniform sale
A second-hand uniform sale is an eco-friendly way to raise money. Not only does it keep clothes from being wasted, but it can also provide financial relief for families that can’t afford to pay full price for uniforms. First, ask former students and their families to donate gently used uniforms. Then, sell them to families of current and prospective students at a low price.
14. Plan a talent show
Talent shows are typically high-engagement events—students are excited to participate, and families usually show up to support them. Money can be raised through ticket sales, concessions, or partnerships with local businesses. If you can, hold the talent show in the school gym or theater to make the event as low-cost as possible.
15. Host an outdoor movie night
All you need to plan a movie night outdoors is a sheet or screen and a projector. You can host this event on the school football field or even in a volunteer’s yard. The movie night can be a ticketed event, or you can simply ask for donations at the event itself. Sell concessions and encourage people to bring blankets and chairs—it’s a great way to enjoy the last few days of warm weather before the chill of fall sets in.
Have fun while back-to-school fundraising
There are plenty of creative ways for you to bring your community together in support of your school. Whether you’re setting up a virtual wishlist or hosting a weekend-long school fair, community members will enjoy making lasting memories and supporting a good cause.
Creating a GoFundMe is another great way to reach out to your community for support. Since a GoFundMe is easily shareable, it’s a simple way for you to spread the word and widen your reach, attracting more support.