The Most Popular Fundraising Idea
Use our most popular fundraising idea to raise money right now.
Other Great Fundraising Ideas
Yard Sale
Yard sales are an easy way to raise funds and de-clutter your home in one fell swoop. As long as you have a good mix of high- and low-value items, you’ll be all set. Ask for contributions from the whole PTA, plus the larger school community.
Pick a date, ask other members of the PTA to participate, promote around town, and get organized. Strong advertising, solid items, and reasonable pricing will be your keys to success.
Remember, yard sales are especially lucrative for organizations like PTAs with locally-based supporters, so consider hosting the sale on the yard of the school as a central location.
Carol Singing
Are you looking to fundraise around the holidays? Does your PTA have a group of students with beautiful singing voices? Hosting a caroling fundraiser might just be the perfect fit, as long as this PTA fundraising idea doesn’t exclude non-Christian students.
Recruit your carolers to walk through your schools’s neighborhood and bring Christmas cheer door-to-door. Have the carolers carry a donation jar to collect funds.
Make sure your carolers take a moment during their set to explain who and what they’re fundraising for. That way, your carolers will be raising cheer and awareness.
Dog Walking
There are two types of dog walk fundraisers, both of which can be lucrative. The first path is as simple as it gets, you can walk dogs in your school’s neighborhood in exchange for donations for the PTA.
The second option combines dog walking and walkathons. Host a traditional walkathon with a twist by asking participants to bring their pooches. Host it at the school’s track to make it easy!
For dog walkathons, you’ll have to put time and energy into ensuring the event is safe and fun for all involved. Mark out the course and set up water stations for people and pets alike.
Engraved Bricks
Engraved bricks are the perfect choice for folks looking to fundraise to cover construction and building costs, especially educational institutions. Whether you’re remodeling a field house or a new science wing at school, consider this idea.
Sell engraved bricks to donors and either set up the bricks as an art installation or incorporate them into the actual structure you’re building.
Donors will love the permanence of your recognition and you can get creative with how you display them. There are even companies dedicated to providing this kind of fundraising brick.
Jelly Bean Count
Jelly bean count fundraisers are perfect PTA and school fundraisers. To get started, you’ll need jelly beans, a jar, and a central location to place your full jar, like the school library
Then, fill the jar with jelly beans, but make sure to note the exact number in the jar. Next, have participants try to guess the number, and ask them to donate in exchange for a guess.
After a set amount of time, review the guesses and reveal the winner. You get to keep the donations and the winner gets to keep the jelly beans. If you have an older crowd, you can follow this structure with other countable items.
Grocery Store Fundraisers
With grocery store fundraisers, you have a few options for how to raise money. You can see if the store has a corporate giving program or would be willing to do a checkout charity.
Additionally, you can set up a grocery delivery program within your school’s community. Have students or parents shop for and deliver groceries to members of the community in exchange for donations.
When it comes to grocery stores, you can fundraise and serve your school’s community. Visit your local store to see what you can do for your PTA.
Dance Marathon
Ready to shake, rattle, and roll? You’re in luck because a dance marathon fundraiser is your perfect pick. Dance marathons are exactly as the name implies. And your PTA can host it for students within the school’s gym.
Participants sign up to dance and secure sponsors who agree to donate money according to how long the dancer lasts (i.e. $5 for every hour danced).
Of course, you’ll have to put rules in place for what constitutes continuous dancing, and you’ll want to invite the whole school community to come out and watch. For extra funding, sell concessions to spectators.
Charity Concert
Charity concerts can be big money makers, but they’re a bit higher maintenance than some of the other fundraising ideas on this list. They’re high risk, high reward fundraisers. So your PTA should plan accordingly.
To be successful, you’ll need a venue, performers, promotions, concessions, proper equipment, and decorations. The less you spend on those essentials, the more you’ll make for every ticket sold.
Know you’re audience and plan your event accordingly. A concert for elementary students and families will have different needs than one aimed at teens in high school, so be strategic.
Walkathons
Get some exercise and raise money all at once! Walkathons are a fundraising staple, and they’ve definitely earned their place. You get to organize this great PTA fundraising idea and your kids get to be active.
Usually organized by a specific community, walkathons ask walkers to secure donation pledges based on the distance they’re able to walk.
Pledges will be the driving force of the event, but make sure that your walkathon offers items for sale such as concessions and commemorative t-shirts. Also, plan around weather and pick indoor venues during winter.
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