2026 School Fundraising Guide

School Fundraising in 2026: An Ultimate Guide

If you work in a school or have school-aged kids, you understand the importance of fundraising. The benefits of school fundraising go well beyond supplementing the school’s budget for things like field trips, enrichment programs, and facility upgrades. When done right, school fundraisers also strengthen the bond between schools, families, and the larger community, all while bringing in essential funds. Plus, when planned correctly, school fundraisers can be fun!

However, school fundraising can also be a major challenge when you don’t know where to turn. Successful fundraising takes a lot of planning, resources, communication, and buy-in from parents and community members. It can be overwhelming, especially for those new to school fundraising.

At Booster, we’ve spent 20 years in the field, building a wealth of expertise about what kind of school fundraisers can bring the most success to your school community. We’ve reached out to the school fundraising experts on our staff and compiled their expertise into this comprehensive guide.

Keep reading to learn more about why school fundraising matters, our favorite school fundraising ideas, and some tips and best practices for how to do a school fundraiser.

What are the best school fundraisers?

There is a wide range of types of school fundraisers to choose from, from hands-on event-based fundraisers to fundraisers that are more hands-off. Every kind of school fundraiser comes with its own strengths and challenges in terms of how to plan for it, how much volunteer power is needed, how long it will take to implement, and how much money it is likely to raise.

Some school fundraisers can be accomplished with a hands-off approach, while others require careful management at every step. What works best for one school or fundraising organization might not work as well for another. Each school should assess its needs and assets carefully when considering the best school fundraisers. The best approach to school fundraising usually involves a combination of different types of fundraisers, such as one-time events and ongoing campaigns, throughout the year.

Below are some of the most popular school fundraising ideas, along with their pros and cons and tips for pulling it off at your school!

A-Thon School Fundraiser Ideas

• ​Fun Run/Jog-a-Thon
• ​Walk-a-Thon
• ​Read-a-Thon
• ​Dance Fit/Dance-a-Thon
• ​Bowl-a-Thon
• ​Community Dog Walk
• ​Clean-a-Thon
• ​Can-a-Thon

Learn about how each “a-thon” school fundraiser works below!

Fun Run/Jog-a-Thon

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Potential profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Fun runs and jog-a-thons are among the most popular fundraisers across many sectors, not just schools. One of the strengths of this type of fundraiser is that it centers on physical fitness. Participants get the chance to be outdoors and active in a fun, non-competitive setting.

Because these events center on physical activity, organizers need to take extra precautions to protect the safety of participants. Fun runs and other physical activities also require space. You’ll need to carefully plan for the location of your event. Will it be held on school grounds, or will you need to get permits to hold the event off-campus? If you want to keep costs low, it’s a good idea to use school property such as a track or sports field.

Finally, you’ll need to make sure you have enough volunteers on hand the day of the event, including people to set up, supervise, and tear down any physical materials. Boosterthon programs can provide plenty of helping hands, plus the MyBooster fundraising platform makes donation tracking and collection easy. Booster also offers unique variations of school fitness fundraisers such as a Color Run or the indoor Glow Run.

Tip: Have participants wear custom fundraiser shirts for the event to boost excitement!

Walk-a-Thon

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Walk-a-thons work the same as fun runs. Donors pledge a certain amount per distance walked by participants. Walk-a-thons also promise the same physical benefits and fun for participants, as well as similar considerations such as picking an appropriate location and planning for safety.

Always remember to promote your event ahead of time and drum up excitement by having participants wear custom swag, like t-shirts or hats.

Tip: Consider tacking on extra incentives for participation beyond just raising funds for the school. One idea is to offer cool prizes for the longest distance walked like gift cards or gadgets. Or do a principal challenge in which the school principal promises to do something silly or outrageous – like getting pies thrown at them – if a certain distance is walked or amount of money is raised.

Read-a-Thon

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Why not raise funds while encouraging students to foster a love of reading? Like other a-thon school fundraisers, donors pledge to donate a certain amount per books or pages read by participating students. Unlike physical events, you don’t need a big outdoor space and can organize a read-a-thon with less effort and volunteer power.

A read-a-thon provides lots of opportunities for extra profits. During the read-a-thon, auction off the latest book series kids are excited about, or hold a raffle with prizes such as new books, kindles, reading lights, bookmarks, and more. You can sell snacks and drinks like cookies, crackers, fruit, and hot chocolate too. Or design special spirit wear for the event and sell, auction, or raffle it off during the event.

Tip: Add a bonus incentive by injecting a little friendly competition into the event. Offer a prize such as a pizza party or pancake breakfast to the grade level that reads/raises the most!

Dance Fit/Dance-a-Thon

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school

With a dance-a-thon, donors pledge a certain amount per time danced. Your school likely already has a perfect location for the event, such as the cafeteria, making this a fairly low-cost option. Just grab or rent some sound equipment, set up an exciting playlist, and let the dancing begin! This is especially good for students in elementary and middle school.

Tip: Take your dance-a-thon up a notch by adding the Dance Fit program. Boosterthon’s Dance Fit, developed in partnership with the popular game Just Dance, incorporates high energy music and a super fun dance routine into your event. You also get access to the MyBooster platform, making tracking and collecting donations even smoother.

Bowl-a-Thon

Effort: Low
Cost: Variable
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Partner with a local bowling alley for the night or afternoon and invite donors to come and raise money for your school while engaging in a little friendly competition. There are a few options for how to structure donations. You could structure your event like a restaurant night, where the bowling alley agrees to donate a percentage of profits from the night to your school. You can also boost profits by adding a raffle or selling custom shirts for your event.

Tip: If possible, choose a bowling alley that has extra activities like arcade games.

Community Dog Walk

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

With a community dog walk, you can structure donations like a walk-a-thon in which donors pledge an amount to donate per mile or minute. Walkers get to bring their furry friends along! You can even partner with a local animal shelter and encourage participants and donors to adopt a new family pet.

Tip: Raffle off dog-friendly prizes like gift cards to the pet store or dog groomer, dog toys, harnesses, and more.

Clean-a-Thon

Effort: Medium
Cost: Medium
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

A clean-a-thon is a great way for your school to get involved with the local community. Reach out to local restaurants, offices, clothing stores, and other businesses to see if any of them would like to participate. The premise is simple: students clean up their place of business for a fee, which increases as the size of the space increases. You can also avoid discussing a fee and instead ask for donations!

Tip: To keep this school fundraiser as safe as possible, limit the cleaning supplies to all-natural products. If possible, avoid cleaning spaces with expensive office equipment or other things students may accidentally break.

Can-a-Thon

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: Medium
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

This is the perfect school fundraiser for the autumn months, as the collected canned goods can be donated to a local charity or food drive. Parents, friends, and family members of your students can pledge a certain amount per can and once the cans are added up the donations are tallied and collected.

Tip: Although fall is a great season for this, this school fundraiser can take place any time of year. Make sure to collect non-perishables and to check the expiration dates before donating the cans to charity.

Low-Effort School Fundraising Ideas

• ​Text-to-Give
• ​Corporate Gift Matching
• ​Raffle
• ​Crowdfunding
• ​Spirit Wear Store
• ​Donations Page
• ​Sponsorship/Advertisements
• ​Boxtops Campaign
• ​Fill-the-Jar Game

Learn about how each low-effort school fundraiser works below!

Text-to-Give

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Set up a text-to-give phone number and choose an easy keyword like “give.” Donors text the word to the number, confirm the amount of their donation, and it’s quick and easy for everyone involved.

Tip: This type of fundraiser is best for a specific school fundraising goal. Let donors know what the money will be used for such as playground renovations or new computers.

Corporate Gift Matching

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Corporate matching is one of the easiest and sadly underutilized school fundraising ideas. When an employee donates to an organization, their employer matches that donation with a donation of their own. Donation matching ratios vary depending on the company.

You can research companies in your area that participate in gift matching and make sure parents and community members know if their employer participates. Use social media, email, newsletters, and more to encourage parents to find out if their company will match donations to your school.

Tip: The easiest way to increase corporate matching for your school is with donation technology that will integrate corporate matching into the donor checkout process.

Raffle

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Raffles are the perfect low-effort school fundraiser for any grade level. One of the best ways to use a raffle is as an add-on to another school fundraiser such as a talent show, school carnival, restaurant night, or other event.

The most important aspect of a raffle school fundraiser is the prizes you offer to donors. Gift cards, gadgets, and unique experiences are all good ideas.

Tip: To keep costs low, have local businesses donate enticing prizes.

Crowdfunding

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Crowdfunding works by collecting relatively small donations from large numbers of donors. Since crowdfunding typically happens online, the potential reach is much higher than an in-person event.

One of the most important factors in the success of a crowdfunding campaign is the platform you use to host and share the school fundraiser. Some schools may want to use a platform specifically designed for school fundraisers to streamline and enrich the pledge process.

Tip: Use crowdfunding for specific projects rather than general funding. Donors are more likely to pledge when they know exactly where their money is going.

Spirit Gear Store

Effort: Low
Cost: Medium
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

School spirit gear is one of the best ways to raise funds for schools and classrooms since participants get something in return for their contribution. Selling shirts and other spirit gear featuring school colors and fun designs allows parents and community members to show off their support.

Tip: To create a constant stream of funds, have a fresh spirit gear store at multiple times throughout the year. Special items can be designed around certain events from back-to-school and teacher gifts to holiday shops, graduation and more.

Donations Page

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Setting up a donations page online is an easy way to collect funds. Just make sure the page is well-designed with clear descriptions, easy navigation and a secure, private way to donate.

Tip: Include links to your donation page on all your school fundraising promotions, plus school newsletters, your school website, and anywhere else parents and community members might find you.

Sponsorships/Advertisements

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Talk to local businesses about whether they’d like to place their logo or advertisements on your event flyers, spirit gear, or other promotional materials. Ad revenue is a great, easy way to collect funds without much effort while also strengthening your bonds with businesses around town.

Tip: Keep in contact with businesses that place ads. These relationships can be mutually beneficial over many years.

Box Tops Campaign

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: Variable
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

The Box Tops for Education program has been helping schools raise funds for many years. Traditionally, schools enroll in a Box Tops campaign to receive ten cents for every participating product shopper’s buy. Now they’ve adapted to the digital age by allowing shoppers to scan their receipts with an app or submit digital receipts rather than saving and sending in physical Box Top labels.

Tip: Promote your Box Tops campaign as much as possible. Families can’t participate unless they’re aware of it!

Fill-the-Jar Game

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: Medium
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Grab a clear jar of any size, although the bigger the jar the more noticeable it’ll be. Place it in a location at school that gets a lot of foot traffic and fill it with an item. Students and parents can purchase guesses and the closest guess wins the jar or a special prize.

Tip: Fill the jar with items that are meaningful to your school or specific to the goal of the school fundraiser.

Event School Fundraiser Ideas

• ​Auction
• ​Bake Sale
• ​Book Sale
• ​Restaurant Night
• ​Movie Night
• ​Talent Show
• ​Karaoke Night
• ​Pajama Day
• ​School Sleepover
• ​School Carnival
• ​Trivia Night
• ​Skate Party
• ​Swim Party
• ​Board Game Tournament
• ​Car Wash
• ​No Uniform Day
• ​Yard Sale

Learn about how each event school fundraiser works below!

Auction

Effort: Low
Cost: Variable
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Charity auctions are another tried-and-true school fundraising idea that works great! With this type of fundraiser, schools auction off donated items or experiences using the participants’ bids to supplement the school’s budget.

An auction night can help schools raise a lot of money at once while also providing a fun experience for guests. Schools can choose to host live auctions or silent auctions in which bidders use bidding sheets or apps to make bids. Auctions can easily be adapted to a virtual format, so you don’t have to worry about finding a space to host the event. Organizations can also choose to implement auction software at a live event to make the process more efficient and convenient.

The biggest challenge of hosting an auction for school fundraising is making sure the items or experiences you’re auctioning are enticing enough to get significant bids. If you’re hosting a live event, you’ll need lots of resources to both plan and host the event, including finding an auctioneer. Finally, if any part of your auction will occur online, you’ll need to choose the right software and carefully check all technical equipment to make sure the event runs smoothly.

Tip: Pick a theme for the auction to get guests excited and to tie together your prizes, activities, refreshments, and decorations with a fun, cohesive concept.

Bake Sale

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Profit: Variable
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Bake sales have long been one of the most popular school fundraising ideas for schools because, like auctions, they rely on donated products. Bake sales work by having volunteers – usually parents or other community members – provide baked goods to be sold at a community event. A bake sale can be a great opportunity for community bonding and everyone loves a good brownie or cookie.

There are several important considerations to make when planning a school bake sale. You’ll need to organize a sign-up and provide clear guidance on what kind of baked goods you need so you end up with a good amount and variety. You’ll also need to staff the event and carefully plan your location. You’ll need to check your local health codes to make sure your bake sale doesn’t break any laws or make anyone sick.

Tip: Offering other refreshments besides baked goods is a great way to boost profits. Some great, low-budget options are coffee, lemonade or water.

Book Sale

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

A book sale is an awesome way to do some spring cleaning, encourage literacy, and benefit the community while raising money for your school. Have school families donate books that are in good condition. Then sell them to community members as a school fundraiser.

To make sales go smoothly, organize books by reading level (children’s books, YA, etc.), genre, and language if necessary. You can also boost profits by selling refreshments like coffee or lemonade.

Tip: Design custom bookmarks or book labels using your school logo and sell them at the event!

Restaurant Night

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Restaurant nights are a great school fundraising idea for bringing people together and involving the community while raising a lot of money for your school. These school fundraising events work by having a group of people dine at a restaurant on the same night. Then the restaurant donates a portion of the proceeds to support the school fundraising goal.

There are countless restaurants that will partner with schools to host such events. Some schools establish long-standing relationships with restaurants to host these events annually or multiple times per year.

Tip: Make sure the restaurant you partner with is popular enough in the community. You won’t raise much money if no one wants to eat there!

Movie Night

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school

Screen a film in your school auditorium or gym, or rent out a local theater for the night if you have the funds. Make sure to choose the movie carefully. Since the audience will likely contain young people, it should be family-friendly and popular enough that people will want to buy tickets!

Tip: Maximize funds by selling concessions like popcorn, candy and drinks.

Talent Show

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Middle school, high school

A talent show is a great way for older students to show off their skills and explore their creativity while helping raise money for their school. This type of school fundraiser takes careful planning but with enough volunteers and time it can really pay off. Reach out to school groups like student government for extra help and participants!

Organizing a talent show requires a lot of prep time so students can prepare and practice their routines. You’ll also need to create a clear schedule for the big night so each routine goes smoothly. Post sign-ups early and consider letting students sign up through an online form to keep things easy.

Remember to clearly explain any limitations or restrictions to student performances and get as much information as possible on what kinds of equipment students will provide or require for their routines. Also, decide if you want to hold auditions to review routines before the show.

To make this a great school fundraiser, sell tickets to the event. Also, consider selling concessions and merchandise for extra profit.

Tip: Plan your talent show around other major fundraising events to ensure people will be able to attend and donate.

Karaoke Night

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: High
Grade levels: Middle school, high school

This is another great way to allow students to let loose and show off their talents while raising money for your school. You can keep costs low by renting equipment and hosting the event on your campus.

Choose songs that are fun and popular but somewhat school-friendly. Sell tickets to your event and make sure to promote it like crazy!

Tip: Make extra funds by allowing participants to “bid” to sing certain songs. Make a list of popular songs people will be motivated to pay for. You can request bids for every song and have tiered pricing depending on the song, or you can have some free songs and a few extra special ones available for bidding.

Pajama Day

Effort: Low
Cost: Low
Profit: Variable
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school

A pajama day lets people relax and get comfy in a way they usually don’t get to at school. The basic formula is that students get sponsored to wear their PJs all day, while adult participants (such as teachers and administration) can pay for the privilege.

This is a super low-effort school fundraiser that’s tons of fun for participants. Boost donations by adding the option for students to do extra challenges in their PJs, such as a dance routine or physical activity.

Tip: Increase your profits with this school fundraiser by selling breakfast foods like bagels, muffins, juice, and coffee!

School Sleepover

Effort: Medium
Cost: Low
Profit: Variable
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

This can be a variation on the pajama day theme. However, it does entail extra precautions to keep kids safe. Choose a safe location (such as the school gym or cafeteria) and enlist plenty of trusty chaperones.

It’s also a good idea to organize a few fun activities to keep participants occupied throughout the night. Think board games, scary stories, read alouds, mini dance parties, etc. Overall, you can organize this in much the same way as a pajama day.

Tip: Give all students a list of supplies they’ll need for the night, such as a sleeping bag, toothbrush, towel, etc. It’s not a bad idea to have backup supplies on hand for any kids who forget something important!

School Carnival

Effort: High
Cost: Medium
Profit: High
Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

If you’re up for a bit of a challenge, consider throwing a school carnival. This is a high-effort event, but it can pay off when done right. The best way to organize a school carnival is to partner with local businesses to secure donations for prizes, games, activities, decorations, and more.

You’ll need plenty of volunteers to set up, supervise, and take down the event. You’ll also want to schedule your event around other school fundraisers so people have the energy and funds to donate. This is a great event for the end of the year, when kids want a chance to kick back, relax, and socialize with their classmates before the summer starts.