35+ Back to School Fundraisers to Jump-Start the School Year

No matter the size of your school or the ages of your students, you can’t go wrong with these popular, tried-and-true back to school fundraising ideas!

1. Read-A-Thon

Over 5,000 schools host a Read-A-Thon every year. Why? These easy fundraisers are highly profitable—but this isn’t their only benefit. Unlike other common school fundraising ideas, such as bake sales or product fundraisers, Read-A-Thons are designed to improve student literacy and instill a lifelong love of reading, which families are bound to support.

Plus, the process of hosting a Read-A-Thon requires very few volunteers and zero upfront expenses. Getting started involves only three steps

1. Sign up for a free account. Set up an account and begin fundraising in less than five minutes. Read-A-Thon comes with no contracts, minimums, or hidden fees. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive a free starter kit that comes with an admin guide to help you manage your fundraiser, along with printed flyers, posters, and stickers for students at no cost.
2. Promote your fundraiser. During the Read-A-Thon, students will have individual fundraising pages that display their reading progress and allow family and friends to support them by donating. To make it easy for you to spread the word about your fundraiser, the Read-A-Thon platform provides pre-written emails and digital flyers at no charge to your school.
3. Track fundraising progress. From start to finish, you can keep an eye on how well your Read-A-Thon is performing through a built-in dashboard on the platform. For example, you can view real-time reports on total donations earned, total minutes read, top readers, and top-performing classes all at once.

To learn more about Read-A-Thon fundraisers and how they can support your school’s goals, check out this brief video overview:

2. Book Fundraiser

Your school needs a rich collection of library resources to spark curiosity and student learning throughout the year. As students head back to school in the fall, take this opportunity to revamp your library offerings with a book fundraiser. Love My My Library provides a secure, virtual platform for you to conduct your fundraiser with ease.

To launch an online or hybrid book fundraiser with Love My Library, all you have to do is:

• Sign up for free and activate an account for each student.
• Have students collect donations from their family and friends.
• Receive 100% of donations back to your school community to improve your library.

Your students will receive 50% of individual donations to spend on books and other appealing school supply items in Love My Library’s Student Store. The other 50% of donations will go to your school, which you can use to purchase books or collect a percentage as cash. Plus, Love My Library will handle all processing and shipping at no cost to your school.

3. Movie Night

Beyond providing pure entertainment, research indicates that movies can help children develop social intelligence and gain important insights about life. By organizing a back-to-school movie night, you can give students the opportunity to bond with family, friends, and teachers as they jump into their new classes.

Set up a screen out in a sports field or in your gymnasium, depending on the weather. Then, assemble a list of family-friendly movies for your community to vote on and charge an entrance fee to attend your movie night. You can even sell classic movie concessions, such as popcorn, nachos, and soda, to raise extra funds during the event,

4. T-Shirt Fundraiser

Inspire a strong sense of school spirit early in the year by launching a back-to-school t-shirt fundraiser. To get started, partner with an online fundraising platform that allows you to create custom t-shirt designs that you can buy in bulk and sell to your school's community. To provide more options and raise more funds, you can even sell other merchandise, such as:

• Hoodies
• Hats
• Keychains
• Notebooks
• Magnets

If you want to deepen student involvement in your back to school fundraiser, consider inviting them to submit designs for your school spirit items. Then, have your community vote on the most popular designs to incorporate into your merchandise.

5. Concession Stand

School lunches can get monotonous as the year goes on. As students return to school, give them a little excitement by setting up a concession stand. You can incorporate this back to school fundraising idea into almost any event, from an open house to a sports game. All you need is a few volunteers to run the stand and some popular concession items, including:

• Hot dogs
• Pretzels
• Pizza
• Nachos
• Soda
• Candy

However, to make your concession stand options more appealing to everyone at your event, don't be afraid to go beyond traditional offerings. For example, you could include some healthier, allergen-free snacks such as fresh fruit and rice cakes.

6. Restaurant Partnership

By securing a restaurant partnership, your school can bring students, families, and teachers together for a delicious meal to celebrate classes starting back up. Plus, this fundraising idea allows you to support and establish closer relationships with local businesses in your community.

Reach out to a restaurant or cafe in your area and see whether they'd be interested in partnering with your school for a day. Some chain restaurants such as Chipotle or Panera have established sponsorship programs your school can apply to, or you can negotiate the partnership yourself with a locally-owned business.

During the agreed-upon day, you'll encourage everyone to go eat at the restaurant to show some school spirit and get together with classmates. In exchange, the restaurant will provide you with a percentage of their earnings that day.

7. Sports Tournament

81% of students who participate in high school sports do so because they want to have fun, while 64% are motivated by playing with and making friends. By organizing a sports tournament, your school can raise funds, encourage physical activity, and help students build new connections with their classmates.

Poll your student body on which sport they would most like to participate in, such as:

• Kickball
• Basketball
• Dodgeball
• Volleyball

Then, charge an entry fee for competitors and sell tickets to spectators. You can even come up with prizes, such as trophies or t-shirts, to inspire teams to do their best.

8. Board Game Tournament

Similar to a sports tournament, a board game tournament is an opportunity for your school to raise funds while helping students build friendships that will last the school year and beyond. Start by asking students which board games they're most interested in playing. For example, you could plan a tournament with some of the following games:

• Chess
• Checkers
• Scrabble
• Connect Four
• Uno

You can either have family and friends pledge donations based on how many rounds a student completes or have participants pay a small entry fee to compete.

9. Talent Show

As your students return to classes, give them a confidence boost by organizing a talent show. Whether they play an instrument, perform magic, sing, dance, or write poetry, encourage them to enter and show off their skills to your school's community. You can host this back to school fundraising event in your gymnasium, auditorium, or even under a tent out in one of your sports fields.

To raise funds, you can charge registration fees for participants and tickets for spectators. Additionally, you can have people pay an extra fee to vote on their favorite acts. Consider livestreaming or recording the show so friends and family who can't make it in person can still watch the students perform.

10. Trivia Night

A trivia night is a popular back to school fundraiser that will help students sharpen their minds in preparation for the academic year. Charge a fee for students to participate and compile a list of questions on relevant subjects such as:

• History
• Science
• Music
• Sports
• Literature

Plus, you can even hold the trivia contest online to make it more convenient for people to participate. Have students compete individually or in teams, and award small prizes to the winners.

If you have a lot on your plate this back-to-school season, this doesn’t mean you have to skip out on planning an engaging fundraiser for your school. Here are some back to school fundraising ideas that are easy and cost-effective to implement:

11. Shoe Drive

Students quickly grow out of their shoes as they age. By launching a shoe drive fundraiser, you can give them the opportunity to clean out their closets for a good cause. The fundraising process typically looks like this:

1. Your school partners with a shoe fundraising organization.
2. As classes begin, students will drop off their gently worn, used and new shoes.
3. Once the collection is over, you'll arrange for your shoe drive partner to pick up the shoes.

The shoe fundraising organization will then issue a check to your school after calculating how many pounds of shoes you collected.

12. Matching Gifts

Around the world, companies are focusing more on how they can make an impact—not just a profit. 65% of Fortune 500 companies have matching gift programs, in which they'll match the donations their employees make to eligible nonprofits and educational institutions.

However, when people donate to your school, they might not be aware of matching gift opportunities. This back-to-school season, encourage more (and larger) donations by spreading the word about matching gift programs. You can even integrate a matching gift search tool into your school's online donation page to make it easy for donors to look up their eligibility and submit match requests.

13. eCards

eCards are a simple back to school fundraising idea that can help students, teachers, and families settle into the new school year by sending short, personalized messages to one another. To get started, all you have to do is:

1. Find an online eCard platform.
2. Create eye-catching designs with your school's logo and colors.
3. Add your eCards to an online store for people to purchase and send.

You can produce several sets of eCards for varying purposes and occasions to keep your fundraiser going throughout the whole school year. For example, students can send encouraging messages to one another, families can send thank-you notes to teachers, and teachers can send shout-outs to students who perform well in class.

14. Online Shopping Fundraiser

On average, families in the U.S. plan to spend nearly $900 on back-to-school shopping. As students begin purchasing essential supplies for the school year, take this opportunity to raise some extra funds with an online shopping fundraiser. This type of fundraiser typically involves the following steps:

1. Your school partners with an online shopping fundraising platform.
2. Students and their families download the platform's browser extension and mobile app.
3. When students and families shop at participating retailers, your school receives a portion of the proceeds.

Plus, you can leave this fundraiser open year-round, so you can continue raising money when participants make everyday purchases such as grocery items and clothing.

15. Penny Drive

A penny drive is a back to school fundraiser that is easy and accessible for all of your students to get involved in. All you have to do is set up collection jars in classrooms and have students gather loose change to contribute.

To boost participation, you can turn your penny drive into a friendly competition to see which class can collect the most during the fundraiser. Decide on a compelling incentive, such as a class pizza party or extended recess, to reward the top-performing classes.

16. Parking Spot Fundraiser

If you're trying to think of a highly engaging back to school fundraiser for your high school, look no further than a parking spot fundraiser. Auction off premium parking spots for students to reserve for the entire year, ensuring that they never have to worry about finding parking when they're running late or carrying heavy books to class.

You can even provide students with a stronger sense of ownership by allowing them to decorate their parking spots with chalk or paint. If you want to use this fundraiser for an elementary or middle school, you could auction off parking spots to parents who pick up and drop off their students instead.

17. Guessing Game

A guessing game requires minimal preparation and investment to start raising funds for your school. Simply take a glass jar and fill it with candy, such as jelly beans or M&Ms. Then, set it up in a common area, such as your school lobby or cafeteria, and allow students to guess the number of pieces in the jar.

Charge $1 or $2 per guess. Whoever has the closest guess at the end of your fundraiser will win a prize—this can either be the entire jar of candy or some charming school supplies, like a set of notebooks branded to your school.

18. Pie-in-the-Face

While returning to school is an exciting time for students, it's not uncommon for some of them to feel a little anxious about their new classes. By planning a pie-in-the-face fundraiser, you can make the start of the school year more lighthearted for students and teachers alike.

Have teachers volunteer to have pies thrown in their faces if their class raises a certain amount of funds before the deadline. Or, you can simply set up pie-throwing stations out in a sports field and have students pay for each pie they throw at a teacher's face. Just be sure to prepare plenty of towels and tarps to make it easy to clean up after the event.

19. Social Media Challenge

According to Gallup, 51% of U.S. teenagers report spending at least four hours a day on social media. Social media platforms have become ideal places to engage your students, their families, and other community members in your school's fundraising efforts.

As students prepare for back to school, launch a social media challenge that encourages them to have a little fun outside of classes. For example, you can invite them to post their back-to-school outfits or new school supplies, along with a special hashtag related to your school or mascot.

20. Plant Sale

Plants can be a calming addition to any living area. As busy schedules resume with the back-to-school season, consider organizing a plant sale for your school community. Reach out to local gardeners or plant shops to see if they'd be willing to donate or provide a discount on plants to sell.

If you're looking to host a plant sale more regularly, you might even set up a garden or greenhouse where you can get students involved in growing flowers, herbs, and other plants. Then, when these plants are fully grown, you can sell them in your fundraiser.

21. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt may take some planning, but it can be a highly engaging back to school fundraiser for your students and their families. You can hold it on your school's grounds to give students the chance to familiarize themselves with the layout and have participants sign up for a fee. Then, challenge them to find various items in your classrooms, such as a school mascot plush or a specific textbook.

To make participation easier for your school community, you could even make it a virtual scavenger hunt. Simply provide students with a list of school supplies or other household items, which they can take pictures of when they find them.

22. Car Wash

If the weather is nice, consider planning a car wash fundraiser when students return to school. This back-to-school fundraising idea is one that almost everyone in your community will appreciate—the chance to clean their cars as fall approaches. Set up stations in your school's parking lot, prepare cleaning supplies, and recruit student volunteers.

Then, invite members of your community over to have their cars washed. You can also sell them snacks and drinks while they wait to raise extra funds.

23. Bingo Day

Bingo is a game that you can adapt to appeal to all ages. A bingo day is a back to school fundraiser that is both low-cost and easy to get involved in. You can either hold this event during recess or after classes are over. Find and print out bingo sheets that are relevant to school subjects or provide icebreaker opportunities for students to get to know one another better.

To raise funds, simply have students pay an entry fee to participate. Come up with a few prizes, such as branded t-shirts or notebooks, to make the games more exciting to play.

24. Pajama Day

If some of your students are night owls, they may find it challenging to start waking up early for school again. Make the transition easier for them by hosting a pajama day. Ask students to pay a small fee to come to class in their cozy pajamas, or set a fundraising goal that allows an entire class to hold a pajama party if they collect enough funds.

You can even turn your pajama day into a little contest, with categories such as "comfiest" and "silliest" pajamas that students can vote on.

Planning a highly engaging, showstopping event can set the tone for the rest of your school year. Explore these back to school event fundraisers for some ideas to inspire you.

25. Gala Dinner

For many students and their families, going back to school is a momentous time. So why not give it the celebration it deserves with a fancy gala dinner? Decorate your school cafeteria and have students volunteer to act as servers or even perform live music entertainment. Then, have their families and other community members purchase tickets to attend.

During the gala dinner, you can provide other activities, such as an auction, raffle, or photo booth for guests to engage in. These ideas can all bring in additional funding for your school.

26. Concert

Music has the power to bring people together and help them feel more connected to the community. Contact local musicians and bands in your area to see if they'd be willing to donate performances at your school. Or, consider having your school's band put on a concert for your back to school fundraiser.

Beyond selling concert tickets, you can set up a concession stand to make extra funds. To allow more people to appreciate your back-to-school concert, consider livestreaming or recording it for later viewing.

27. Fall Festival

Fall is associated with more than just back to school. Celebrate the season and raise funds for your school by planning a back to school fall festival. Set up tents in a sports field and arrange a variety of entertaining activities for attendees, such as:

• Hayrides
• Face painting
• Pumpkin picking
• Corn maze
• Bobbing for apples
• Carnival games
• Halloween costume contests

Beyond charging for admission, consider setting up a photo booth and selling seasonal concessions, such as mini pumpkin pies and caramel apples.

28. Auction

An auction is a thrilling and memorable fundraising idea that your school can plan during the back-to-school season. Depending on your goals and resources, you can host a live traditional auction or an online one. To procure enticing items that will catch the attention of students, their families, teachers, and other community members, reach out to local businesses for in-kind donations. See if they'd be willing to provide:

• Sports or concert tickets
• Vacation packages
• Sports memorabilia
• VIP experiences

You'll need an easy-to-use auction platform to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Consider surveying potential attendees ahead of time to find out which types of items they'd be most interested in bidding on.

29. Field Day

Bring your school community closer by organizing a field day for your back to school fundraiser. For an entry fee, allow students to get active and bond with their classmates through activities such as:

• Tug-of-war
• Obstacle courses
• Hula hooping
• Relay races

While you'll typically hold a field day outside, make sure you have your gymnasium or another indoor location prepared in case of inclement weather.

30. School Dance

Give your students an occasion to look forward to at the beginning of the school year by planning a back-to-school dance. Decorate your gym with an engaging fall theme, pulling inspiration from pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and autumn leaves. Then, have students purchase tickets to attend.

To put a creative twist on your school dance, consider turning it into a silent disco party, a costume party, or a masquerade ball.

31. School Sleepover

By organizing a school sleepover, you can raise funds and help students settle in at your school—literally. Charge an entry fee and have students bring their sleeping bags for a fun-filled evening with their classmates. You can plan all sorts of social activities, such as:

• Board games
• Karaoke
• S’mores roasting
• Arts and crafts

Before the event, share a packing list with students to ensure that they bring everything they need to stay overnight at your school, including a toothbrush and pajamas.

32. Spelling Bee

Your school’s students come to class to participate in enriching, academic experiences that will set them up for success in their adult lives. Celebrate student literacy and learning by hosting a spelling bee for back to school fundraising. Have students pay an entry fee to compete and encourage their friends and family to purchase tickets to cheer them on.

To incentivize more students to participate, decide on some compelling prizes, such as trophies or school spirit wear. Additionally, sell concessions during the spelling bee for spectators to enjoy.

33. Art Show

Your school likely has some talented artists among your student body. As classes resume, take this opportunity to highlight some of their artistic creations in an art show. Invite students to submit art pieces that they’ve created in art class or in their free time. Then, display the art around your auditorium, gym, or cafeteria and sell tickets for families and other community members to view them.

You can sell concessions and enlist some student musicians to provide live entertainment during the art show. If some students are willing, consider allowing them to sell their artwork and donate a portion of their proceeds to your school.

34. Food Truck Day

Your school’s cafeteria might not be able to provide a ton of variety when it comes to lunch options every day, but you can spark a little excitement in your students by planning a food truck day. Connect with local food truck vendors in your area and invite them to your fundraiser. In exchange, they can agree to share a percentage of their profit with your school. Or, you can charge food trucks for parking spots to sell food to your students on the event day.

Be sure to secure a variety of options for your students, so those who have allergies or other dietary requirements can find something that fits their needs.

35. Parents’ Night Out

A parents’ night out is a back to school fundraiser that is especially perfect for elementary schools and middle schools. Give the families of these younger students a chance to enjoy some time for themselves by providing childcare at your school after hours. In exchange for a fee, families can drop their children off for a safe and engaging evening with classmates.

You’ll need to recruit teachers and other adult volunteers to look after students during the event. To keep students occupied, you can organize activities such as movie marathons and read-alouds.

36. Pancake Breakfast

More than 27% of students aged 12 to 19, on average, skip breakfast in the morning. For those of your students who struggle to find time to eat a healthy meal at the start of the day, a pancake breakfast can be particularly appealing. Set up a space in your school cafeteria and serve warm, delicious pancakes before classes begin. Or, host a breakfast that is open to families and community members on a weekend morning.

Prepare a variety of toppings, including syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruit, and chocolate chips for guests to add to their liking. Then, provide beverages to go along with the pancakes, such as milk, juice, and coffee. You can either charge per plate or simply have attendees pay an entry fee to enjoy the breakfast.

37. Community Cleanup

A community cleanup is an engaging back to school fundraiser that can promote civic responsibility and environmental stewardship among your students. Identify a local park, beach, or field that has accumulated litter over time. Then, recruit student participants to go out and clean it up.

The fundraising process is simple: Your students will collect pledges from their friends and family based on the number of trash bags they fill up during the cleanup. Be sure to prepare them with plenty of trash bags, gloves, and water bottles so they can have a safe and productive experience at the event.

As you prepare for your next fundraiser, keep the following tips in mind to make it as engaging and successful as possible.

Choose the Right Fundraiser

Ultimately, the most effective fundraising ideas for your school will depend on your goals, resources, student interests, and community preferences. To narrow down your options, follow these steps:

• Consider how much time, money, and volunteers you have available for your back to school fundraiser.
• Determine the purpose of your fundraiser and set a clear fundraising goal.
• Evaluate your past fundraising efforts, including what went well and what could be improved.
• Reach out to students, their families, and other community members to assess their interests.

If you’re hoping to maximize participation during your back to school fundraiser, for instance, you might opt for an online fundraising idea like a Read-A-Thon to make it easy for students to participate and families to donate from anywhere. If you see a lot of engagement, you can then consider hosting the fundraiser at other times during the school year, such as Read Across America in March.

Promote the Fundraiser Across Multiple Platforms

Even once you’ve planned a highly engaging fundraiser for back to school, you need to spread the word far and wide to ensure that students and their families are aware of the opportunity to participate. Appeal to a wide variety of communication preferences and habits by promoting your fundraiser on these platforms:

• Website. Create a specific event page that includes the details of your upcoming fundraiser and a registration form. Additionally, make sure you have a mobile-friendly, streamlined donation page for people to donate directly to your school through your website.
• Social Media. Build excitement leading up to your back to school fundraiser by producing attention-grabbing countdown posts, sneak peeks, and polls. Use hashtags relevant to your school to boost visibility and make it easier for people to find your content.
• Email. Many students and their families use email to stay up to date on important happenings at your school. Use emails to announce your upcoming fundraiser, share updates, and provide details on how to participate. Include links to your event or donation page in your messages so interested recipients can immediately take action and get involved.
• Texting. The average American spends over four hours every day using their smartphone. Invite students and their families to opt into receiving texts from your school. Then, use a reliable texting platform to send mass messages announcing your fundraiser, encouraging families to donate, providing regular updates throughout the event, and highlighting prizes that will excite your students.

Additionally, you can put up colorful posters around the school and print out flyers that students can take home.

Provide Incentives for Students

While your back to school fundraiser is all about raising money to provide outstanding academic experiences to your students, incentives can provide the added motivation some students need to get involved. When you plan your fundraiser, come up with some enticing prizes for the top contributors.

If you decide to host a Read-A-Thon, there are two prize models you can choose from:

• School-Sponsored Rewards. Your school will handle student rewards on its own and receive 80% of total donations in cash. Read-A-Thon provides more than 100 prize coupon templates you can browse and have shipped to your school at no charge.
• Read-A-Thon Prize Store. Read-A-Thon handles all student rewards for your school. Your school receives 75% of total donations in cash, while students earn points as their friends and family support them, which they can spend on toys and books in Read-A-Thon’s online prize store. These rewards will be processed and shipped to your school for free.

Plus, Read-A-Thon has a Disney contest that your school can opt into. Twice a year, students will have the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip for four to Disney World. All your school has to do is sit back and watch as students enthusiastically raise money toward their fundraising goals.

Gearing Up for the School Year with a Back to School Fundraiser

The right back to school fundraising idea can pave the way for a successful school year by encouraging high engagement from both students and their families. After your event, remember to thank everyone who contributed, including volunteers and donors. Remind them of everything donations will help you accomplish, whether that’s upgrading your library or expanding your extracurricular offerings.

By thanking your community and listening to their feedback, you can set your school up to plan more engaging and lucrative fundraisers year after year.

For more fundraising tips and ideas, check out our additional resources:

• Online Fundraising For Schools: 11 Ideas + Tools For Success. Online fundraisers allow you to expand your reach and raise more for your school. Get inspired with these ideas.
• 10+ Middle School Fundraising Ideas to Wow Your Community. Explore the most compelling fundraising ideas to engage your middle school’s community in this article.
• 10+ PTA Fundraising Ideas Your School Community Will Love. Tired of planning the same old PTA fundraiser? Use this list to freshen up your fundraising calendar.