Every school is different, but it’s important not to overwhelm families with too many fundraising events each year. A good rule of thumb is to have one major event each year (which may be a parents-only) plus one or two other small fundraising events each term.
Here is a list of fun school fundraising ideas you can hold throughout the year.
January:
Back to School Labels and lunch boxes (send email links to the parent body for your passive fundraising partners who sell name labels and personalised items for school.)
February:
Welcome Picnic – sell raffles/icy poles/cake stall. Make the raffle prizes a little special by having things like ‘chose the theme for a free dress day’ or ‘sit in the principal’s chair during assembly’ or ‘win a class party’. These great prizes don’t need to cost anything but could potentially raise a lot of money and create lots of excitement for the start of year. Find other great free raffle ideas here, and check out my tips for running a profitable cake stall here. Get the teachers, P&C or school board to cook and serve hot dogs to the school families. A great way to get to know people.
Establish your passive fundraisers – learn more here.
Get the students to vote on one child-led fundraiser they want to hold during the year. Learn more here.
March:
Celebrate Harmony Day with an event that celebrates diversity – check out some great ideas here.
Set up a weekly tuck shop or ‘Friday Feast’ with classes taking turns to run little cake stalls during lunch, or having a different theme each week. Learn more here.
Ride2School Day – celebrate with an early breakfast or best-dressed-bike parade. Learn more here.
Register for a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle for later in the year. Learn more here.
April:
Easter fundraising events – find some great non-chocolate ideas here.
Easter hat ‘free dress day’ for a gold coin donation to charity
Indoor/outdoor movie night – make it more special by having a VIP section. Learn more about running a movie night here.
May:
Mothers’ Day A morning tea, raffle hamper, customised tea-towels or run a stall with cute DIY crafts made by the kids.
Crazy sock ‘free dress day’ for a gold coin donation to charity
Quiz Night or Bingo Night for parents. Learn more about running a quiz night here.
June:
Winter Wonderland themed Disco – check out other cool themes for discos here.
Soup Kitchen/Hot Chocolate before school – get each year group of class to make and sell homemade soup or hot chocolate at lunch or before school every Friday for the winter months.
July:
Family Challenge Night – a great indoor DIY event for when the weather is cold and wet, family groups compete against each other in a series of fun challenges. Learn more here.
Pyjama ‘Free Dress Day’ for a gold coin donation to charity
Remind everyone about your passive fundraisers
August:
Book Week Readathon – check out how to run a readathon here.
Second-Hand Book Stall
Book Fair – check out my review of the Scholastic Book Fair here.
RSPCA Cupcake Day – fight animal cruelty. Learn more here.
Food drive for Homelessness Week – awareness raising for homelessness. Learn more.
September:
Fathers’ Day Stall/Raffle/BBQ
Colour Run/Fun Run – as the weather begins to warm up it’s a great time to organise a colour run, Learn more here.
October:
Grandparents Day Morning Tea – combine with other small fundraisers such as raffles, an art auction, Book Fair, tote bags, sponsoring a brick/tree, or a school recipe book. You can even start a few months early and ask grandparents to contribute a recipe for the book.
Halloween Disco
Loud Shirt Day – supporting deaf children. Learn more here.
November:
‘Spring Clean’ Car Boot Sale – encourage families/local community to do a spring clean and then run a car boot sale on the school oval. Learn how to run a car boot sale here.
The Friday Freeze – during the hot months towards the end of year, get each class to buy and sell icy-poles in the playground during lunch or after school.
Register your school for Share The Dignity’s ‘It’s In The Bag Christmas Appeal’ – and collect essentials for women experiencing homelessness. Learn more here.
December:
Christmas Fete – check out some great make-ahead fete stall ideas here.
Art Auction – collaborative art projects made by each class during the year.
Carols by Candlelight
Graduation fundraisers – whether the graduating students need to fundraise to pay for a gift for the school, or the school is fundraising to help pay for a special send off, there are some great graduation fundraising ideas here.
