9 Potent and Creative PTA Fundraising Ideas

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’ve probably heard the saying that one man’s trash is another’s treasure. That’s exactly what a shoe drive fundraiser is all about⁠—while also empowering your school to raise much-needed funding.
As we mentioned above, Fundly offers a simple solution for schools who want to crowdfund. A campaign creator will build a crowdfunding page (for free!) and use videos, photos, and text to incentivize donations. If your crowdfunding campaign goes well, your team might even be ready to tackle a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign! These require more extensive planning and strategy, but the payoff from a winning campaign can be immense. With schools, you already have a qualified crowd, your teachers, students, alumni, and faculty.
You can also ask businesses for donation matching or gifts to fund necessary components of your event. In the post-pandemic era, many organizers are searching for covid-friendly fundraising ideas for schools that are still engaging. While this can be a challenge, with a little creativity, you can set up an online fundraiser that gets attention. A family-favorite fundraiser perfect for every time of year, a bake sale is a fun and delicious way to get kids involved in a fundraising event.
Also, make sure one person is first aid certified in case of an incident while hiking or camping. If camping, try to have the equipment borrowed from local companies to minimize costs. You can go the extra mile and turn this into an all-day snow fest with a carnival, a winter market, crafting activities, and more. How ‘all-out’ you go will depend on your fundraising goal, your current capacity, and how much time you have left until the event. Organize a massive snowball fight and a fort-building competition, involving as much of your community as possible. Have participants form teams (e.g. one school competing against another, or one local business against another).
Online sales will continue to accrue for 5 days following the event. The ShopWithScip fundraising program has successfully teamed up with public and private schools of all levels. Cookie dough fundraising is a way to raise funds by selling tubs of pre-made cookie dough. Supporters buy the dough, and the proceeds go toward a specific cause or organization. Most sales are made during the first few days of the fundraiser, so you’ll want to encourage all your students to get off to a strong start. Checking their progress early will encourage accountability.
A good movie night could be a stand-alone fundraising event, or part of a bigger event, such as a fall festival or open house. This is the type of event that can easily become an annual favorite for students and teachers alike. A livestreamed scavenger hunt offers just as much excitement. Choose common household items like baseball caps, toothpaste, and headphones. Or pick a theme that matches your project, like all music-related items for a choir trip fundraiser. Participants can proudly display their finds — and donate — over Zoom.
Youth basketball teams and leagues are always on the hunt for new unique fundraising ideas to help them raise money. Teams that make it to the tournaments need to raise lots of money to support the trips which often take them across state or even cross-country. There are also constant improvements being made to high school basketball locker rooms, basketball courts etc. To raise the amount of money needed to support a team or league, coaches have been turning to ABC Fundraising® for over 2 decades.
A great snack before or after school and at many school events is bagels and cream cheese, so this makes a great school fundraising idea. donations for nonprofits with a local bagel shop or grocery store to buy bulk bagels and cream cheese at a discount or make bagels on-site if you can. On the day of the sale, set up tables or booths and provide a variety of flavor choices for both bagels and cream cheese. Have volunteers ready to prep and sell bagels, including toasting and spreading cream cheese.
The big difference is that runners compete on their own, track their time, and send you their results online. Whether you’re a member of the school’s fundraising committee or a student participating in a community service project, crowdfunding can effectively achieve your goals. Many school fundraisers organize offline events to increase awareness and encourage participation. This is another great fundraising opportunity to host leading up to the holiday season. After all, you know students’ parents and other community members are likely making a ton of gift purchases.
Going on a trip for school is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now that you know how to raise money for a school trip, choose one of these ideas and start fundraising for students and teachers. With GoFundMe’s advanced tools, you’ll be able to easily spread awareness of your fundraiser to increase donations. Whether you crowdfund for teachers, fundraise for yourself, with peers, or with parents, start a GoFundMe today and reach your fundraising goals for your next school trip.