Guest post by ABC Fundraising
According to ABC Fundraising, 80% of parents who model philanthropic behavior see their children mirror these habits. To inspire the next generation of givers, the adults in their lives need to do their part—and that doesn’t have to stop at home.
School is where students learn about math, science, history, and language arts, but it’s also where they learn important life skills. By planning and hosting fundraising events your students will enjoy, you can get them excited about giving back and earn more for your school at the same time.
In this guide, we’ll review several school fundraising event ideas to engage your students and boost revenue. Remember to adapt these ideas to your school’s unique student body as needed. Let’s get started!
1. Color Run
A color run is a twist on traditional school fundraising ideas like fun runs and walkathons. Instead of simply collecting pledges and running or walking to support your school, color runs involve volunteers throwing colored powder on participants as they complete the route.
To host a successful color run, keep the following tips in mind:
Find a suitable outdoor space. Look for an open park or field where you can host your color run. Alternatively, you can host the event on school grounds if you have ample space.
Gather the necessary supplies. Perhaps the most important element of a color run is the color itself. Purchase non-toxic, environmentally friendly color powder, or make your own using cornstarch, water, and food dye. Additionally, stock up on water, bib numbers, and first aid supplies.
Tell participants to wear white. To make the colors pop, participants should wear white during the color run. You may even create and hand out white t-shirts with your school and event name for a personal touch.
Make your color run even more fun with some live entertainment. Consider hiring a DJ or even just playing family-friendly music to create an exciting atmosphere.
2. Carnival
Spring is the perfect time of year to host a school carnival fundraiser. The nice weather will encourage students and their families to join the fun and support your school.
Make your carnival extra engaging by incorporating:
Games. Classic carnival games like ring toss, balloon darts, and basketball shooting are sure to be crowd-pleasers for students and parents alike.
Activities. Get younger students excited about your carnival with bounce houses, face painting, and craft stations.
Snacks. Serve all the best carnival delights, including cotton candy, popcorn, funnel cakes, and snow cones.
Sponsors with giveaways. Local businesses could want a booth to demonstrate community spirit and distribute their own products, gift cards, or coupons.
To make your carnival a success, you’ll need a solid team of volunteers to check people in and run each booth. Whether your volunteers are older students, teachers, or parents, remember to thank them for their hard work and dedication to your fundraising event.
3. Talent Show
A talent show allows students to showcase their passions and become directly involved in hosting your fundraising event. Prepare for the big day by:
Holding auditions. While you don’t necessarily need to reject any acts from your show, holding auditions encourages students to take the show seriously and allows you to make sure each act is school-appropriate.
Selling tickets. The main fundraising aspect of your talent show will come from selling tickets to friends, family, and community members. Use online invitation software along with your typical communication channels to share event details and include a ticket sales link.
Having a practice run. Familiarize students with your show order and the feeling of getting on stage in front of an audience. A practice run or rehearsal is also an ideal opportunity for testing out any equipment you’ll use during your talent show, such as microphones and speakers.
Remind students they don’t have to have a traditional talent like singing or playing an instrument to participate in your talent show. Encourage everyone interested to sign up and show off their skills.
4. Read-a-thon
Incentivize students to read and earn more for your school with a read-a-thon. During a read-a-thon, students collect pledges from friends and family and earn donations based on how many pages they read or how much time they spend reading.
Try out these tips to make your read-a-thon more engaging for students:
Host a kick-off event. Get students excited about your read-a-thon by celebrating the beginning of your fundraiser with a party. Offer cozy spots for students to read, announce your fundraising goal, and invite local authors to speak and sign books.
Incentivize participation. Besides earning donations for your school, provide further incentives for students to participate. You may offer individual prizes for students who read the most pages or use team prizes to inspire friendly competition between classes or grades.
Hold a book drive. Take this opportunity to collect in-kind donations of new and gently used books, either for your own classrooms or for children in need. Explain to students the importance of sustainability and donating items you no longer use instead of discarding them.
Provide reading logs or digital trackers to help students keep track of the number of books and pages they read. That way, they can more easily collect pledges and measure their progress.
5. Restaurant Proceeds Night
A restaurant proceeds night (an evening where a restaurant donates a percentage of its proceeds to your school) presents a win-win-win opportunity for everyone involved. Students and families get a delicious meal, local restaurants receive more business, and your school earns more revenue.
This type of fundraiser can also be the beginning of an impactful partnership between your school and the restaurant that increases the return on investment (ROI) for both parties. For instance, they may be willing to sponsor or donate to future fundraising events in exchange for promoting their business.
To facilitate these partnerships, Double the Donation’s corporate sponsorship guide recommends working with businesses that share your values and believe in your cause. Consider having a partnership discussion before working with a particular business or scouring their website to see the types of organizations they typically support.
6. Movie Night
Looking for a low-cost yet inclusive and engaging school fundraising event? Look no further than a movie night.
All you need to host a successful movie night is:
A movie. Choose a movie that’s family-friendly but also appealing to students of all ages. Survey your student body so they can vote on their top choices. Don’t forget to first secure a license for a public showing, as this may also influence your selection.
A place to show your movie. You may host your movie night in your school auditorium, a classroom, outside on school grounds, at a local park, or a movie theater, depending on your resources and turnout.
A TV or projector. If you’re hosting the movie night at your school or a park, you’ll need a TV or projector to show the movie to everyone.
Hosting concurrent fundraising ideas can create an even more immersive experience and raise more for your cause. For example, a concurrent fundraiser that aligns with the theater theme would be selling popcorn at your movie night. From traditional movie theater butter to sweet kettle corn, the possibilities are endless.
No matter which type of fundraising event you’re hosting, send a post-event survey to gauge participants’ opinions and improve the experience for next time. Encourage parents to include students’ input so you can get feedback from your youngest supporters, too.