Best School Fundraisers -
Your Most Profitable School Fundraising Ideas

The best school fundraisers are the ideas that are the least hassle but are also the most profitable...

Okay, a few of them are quite a bit of hassle but... are extremely rewarding and therefore worth it!

But remember that no fundraiser will be a success unless you plan, prepare and organize it properly. It will also take motivation and commitment.

And like with most fundraisers you will always need help.

But being a School you have a huge resource for volunteers... The teachers, the parents, the PTO, and the most energetic ones: The Kids!

So get them involved and build on their excitement and energy.

Let's look at the best school fundraisers...

The Best School Fundraisers:

Quick Links...

School Website | Apparel | School Spirit | Hassle-Free | Internet Campaign | Foundation Grants | Golf Day | Food Taste Evening |
Trivia Night | Fundraising Products | Gift Baskets

A School Website:

An informational website on your school and it's activities, will help raise some great awareness for your School...

It will also provide some superb ways of fundraising and a platform to promote your fundraisers!

For example a Supporter Wall is a fantastic Website fundraiser that makes it easy for supporters and companies to sponsor your school, and also gain exposure at the same time!

You'll need a free PayPal account for this fundraiser and I'd suggest you read the Brick Fundraising page for tips on how to make it work really well!

A few other ways of fundraising off your website is through Affiliate Fundraising, Get Paid Per Click, and selling other fundraising products off it!

If you build a good following for your website and other online communication platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, then you'll be able to promote all your fundraisers and events really well.

Increasing your fundraising capabilities!

School Apparel Fundraising

This is a fundraiser that I recommend all Schools use.

It's a fundraising idea that your students will be passionate about, their parents (and other family) will be passionate about, and past students will be passionate about supporting!

It's also a fundraiser that will continuously raise funds and create sustainable fundraising!

It is the best school fundraiser that I recommend. Learn more about Apparel and Online Apparel Fundraising here.

It's also an idea that will fit perfectly into the next type of School Fundraising Ideas...

A School Spirit Fundraiser:

What better way to fundraise than to hold a fundraiser that builds school spirit at the same time!

A school spirit fundraiser will usually use apparel but can also be customized into some other form of creative fundraising...

All as long as it creates some spirit for your school at the same time!

The right school spirit fundraiser will also be very profitable especially if there is good excitement created around it.

Read here to find out how to run a rewarding School Spirit Fundraiser.

The Hassle-Free Fundraiser:

This is definitely one of the best school fundraisers!

It's clever, it's creative... but it's so simple (and hassle-free) at the same time.

Instead of sending out another fundraising letter for the millionth time asking parents to buy a fundraising product like candy bars to raise funds for your school; send out a letter that asks for parents to simply donate $10 or $20 in luau of having to buy Candy bars again.

It will probably be quite unexpected and parents will appreciate not having to buy another fundraising product and will be happy to send in the required donation (As long as it's not too much!).

This hassle-free fundraiser idea was contributed by a visitor who has had great success with it to rewarding fundraising ideas. Read about it here.

Consider taking this idea online with a Online Donations fundraiser. In fact I'd really recommend it!

An Internet Fundraising Campaign:

If your school is not fundraising over the internet yet, it's now time to start.

An internet fundraising campaign has so much potential and so many exciting ways of fundraising that it can be a bit daunting at times... But awesomely exciting!

In fact I could go so far as to say that most of the best school fundraisers will be successful through an internet campaign!

Like I said further above the first step is to set up a school website where you can post about your latest news/events and fundraising campaigns.

In conjunction with Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook, a website can promote any fundraiser unbelievably effectively, including a Crowdfunding fundraiser through online fundraising website that simply asks for donations...

Or you can use a Crowdfunder to compliment a sponsored sporting challenge. Like a customized DIY fundraising cycle.

Then there are online fundraisers that every group should be using and promoting through an internet fundraising campaign. Like Online Apparel.

Another extremely profitable internet fundraiser is an Online Auction Fundraiser!

For me online fundraising, if done correctly, can be the most effective form of fundraising!

If you connect and converse with your supporters through a website and social media, keeping them updated and involved in what you're doing, you are going to have such a strong supporter community and vibe!!

Let's face it, most people connect and do their shopping and donating over the internet nowadays anyway!

Foundation Grants:

This is definitely one of the best school fundraisers. It's also probably one of the most underused school fundraisers.

But if done properly it's such an effective way of raising huge funds!

There is of course quite a bit of preparation, structuring and development of Grant writing skills that needs to be done to make this type of fundraising successful.

For this there is only one book that I would recommend and that's Pam Grow's Writing Grant Proposals. Follow the link to read why I recommend this fantastic book so highly!

A School Golf Day:

A golf day will always be a big income fundraiser...

...Simply because you will always find golfers to take part in your golf day, and because sponsors get such great exposure from a Golf day. You should always find willing sponsors.

As events go, this is definitely one of the best school fundraisers you could use.

But it is one of the best school fundraisers that will take a lot of work and organizing to do!

You will need sponsors, advertisers, golfers (enough to full your playing field), prizes, and a guest speaker for your dinner among other things.

You will also need to organize catering for your evening dinner and volunteers to help out with the day!

Then there's organizing all the extra golf fundraising ideas that you will use during the golf day to raise the majority of your funds. Obviously the first way you'll raise funds is through the entrance fees.

Follow the link above to find out about running a successful School golf day and to see what fundraisers you can use during it!

Food Taste Fundraiser Evening:

This is such a fun event that the kids will just love.

Each class (with the help of their teacher and parents) has the responsibility of presenting and running a tasting table that is relevant to their theme. They will have taste portions of the meals presented and will be ready to help with info about the food and to help people take tasters.

You then raise funds from people buying taste vouchers which they can use to taste the different foods. One voucher redeems for one taste morsel of food!

The students will then be required through the evening to do a presentation or demonstration of the theme for their food.

So if the themes are "Countries From Africa" the kids will do a dance from their country or speak about that countries traditions etc.

This is such a rewarding, profitable and fun fundraising event that it's definitely one of the best school fundraisers that you could use!

Remember to also use a raffle at this event and at all your other fundraiser events.

Read here for more on Food Taste Fundraisers.

Trivia Night Fundraiser:

Another Fundraising Event Evening I would highly recommend is a Trivia Night. It's fun, simple to set up, and it'll raise great funds just like the Food Taste Fundraiser above.

This is definitely one of the best school fundraiser events!

You can learn how to run this excellent fundraiser through the Trivia Fundraising Guide, which you can download when you subscribe to the Fundraiser Buzz newsletter.

Subscribe through the link above or through the form in the right hand column.

Profitable Fundraising Products:

Like always there are certain fundraising products that will always sell well through schools.

Like discount cards! Then again discount cards will sell well through any group... People just love discounts!

Then there are lollipops which are cheap, convenient and popular. Therefore easy to sell!

And of course the really cool School fundraiser that is a hit with students... Smencils!!!

These best school fundraisers are sales driven fundraising ideas and you will therefore need a sales team that you have taught properly to make them successful!

Jack Atwell provides some of the best advice in the industry on this part of fundraising through his book "Let's Raise Money". Click the link to read my review about his book.

For American and Canadian fundraisers you can grab a Free Fundraising Product Guide to review what fundraising product options and profit margins are available!

For outside of the US I would suggest you use a Google Search to find suitable suppliers of the above fundraising products...

Gift Baskets:

A really simple way of fundraising that can get your whole school involved.

Each class should be responsible for making a gift basket. Each student, with their parents, should donate a gift that is relevant to the theme, into the gift basket.

The gift baskets can then be raffled off, or auction off through a live auction, on eBay, or through an online fundraiser auction!

It's simple, it involves everyone, it's cheap, it promotes itself - while you are organizing it all the parents become involved and will help with 'word of mouth' promotion - and it will be very profitable.

So yes! Definitely one of the best school fundraisers!

For more on the Gift Basket Fundraiser.

Final Best School Fundraising Notes:

Please note that I would recommend that you do a few of the best school fundraisers together.

Often multiple fundraising campaigns can complement each other and that would certainly be the case with these fundraising ideas!

The best school fundraisers (return to top) are not the only fundraisers that a school can use and I would still recommend that you read through the other school fundraising ideas that you will find on this website!

I wish you the best of luck with your fundraising campaign!

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