Creative Fundraising Ideas for Schools

In today's tough economic times with schools enduring budget cuts, it's more important than ever to have fundraisers. Families are also suffering from the economy so coming up with unique school fundraising ideas, that will earn money without causing too much strain on anyone, poses a challenge.

Some of the more popular fundraising methods are becoming a thing of the past. It's no longer safe for children to go door to door selling things. Although schools still use the sale of products as fundraisers, parents seem to be doing most of the work by contacting family, friends and co-workers to buy the items. Car washes are another fundraising event that may not be safe for children, especially young ones. In today's world we need to get creative and come up with new ideas.

Here are a few ideas that are fun, and involve students, their families and even school staff:

School Jumble Sale

This type of yard sale can be held on the school playground and is sure to draw attention from the community. Students, parents and staff can drop off items to be sold prior to the day of the event. Volunteers sign up to work the day of the sale, and 100% of the proceeds go to the school. Schools might want to consider combining this with a bake sale, or even set up games that can be played by purchasing tickets. This becomes a fun day for the community as a whole! Flyers, road signs and other advertising should e done ahead of time. In addition to people bringing items from home to sell, the school may want to inventory their supplies and see if there are any that can be added to the sale.


Many local businesses are happy to help schools with fundraisers. Why not, it helps them too by bringing in business! The school contacts local businesses to set up a date where a percentage of their sales go to the school fund. Restaurants, ice cream parlours, miniature golf centres, retail stores, the possibilities are unlimited. Advertising can be done on both ends. Schools send home notices with students, and businesses advertise to their customers. This is another great way to include the entire family and school staff in the fundraising event.

Student Art Show and Sale

Children are amazingly creative and most enjoy showing off their talents. How about spending class, and homework, time having students create all kinds of art projects that will be used to raise money for their school. The school then holds an art show, showcasing the students work and selling it to the public. This type of fundraiser may need to be combined with another event, such as the above mentioned jumble sale.

These are just a few ideas showing that unique school fundraising ideas can be fun. They can also involve the students, and their family, more than some of the traditional fundraising methods do.

For more information on general fundraising including unique school fundraising ideas and sponsorship ideas, visit Easy Fundraising who can offer help in the field.