Engaging Students: 6 Innovative School Fundraising Events

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.

Succession Planning for PTOs: How to Pass the Baton Smoothly

By Renee Zau, Co-founder of DonationMatch

Each year, Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs and similar groups, such as PTAs, PTSAs, HSAs, Boosters, Friends of, Clubs, Sororities, Fraternities, & Education Foundations) see new volunteers step up to lead. While this infusion of energy is exciting, it can also mean that valuable knowledge and access to critical tools and resources are at risk of being lost if there's no proper succession plan in place.

Too often, each year, we at DonationMatch encounter volunteers creating new accounts for an organization because the previous account wasn't handed off correctly. This results in unnecessary extra work and delays—particularly when it's difficult to verify new volunteers.

Succession planning, both online and offline, is essential for maintaining continuity, ensuring that communication, finances, and programming run smoothly during leadership transitions. It promotes efficiency by equipping new leaders with the tools and knowledge they need to be effective from day one. Additionally, it enhances security by safeguarding access to critical systems and protecting sensitive information.

To ensure your PTO continues running smoothly year after year, it’s essential to have a comprehensive plan for passing down information and access to digital and financial assets. Here are some simple tips and a handy checklist of what to pass on to the next team.

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What to include in a PTO Succession Plan:

✅ 1. Organizational Knowledge

• Bylaws and meeting minutes

• Year-at-a-glance calendar of events

• Volunteer and committee structure

• Annual reports or summaries

• Notes or tips from outgoing officers, including any unofficial duties or helpful habits

• Receipts or lists of key assets and equipment in storage

• Event vendor lists and lessons learned from past events

✅ 2. Financial Records

• Annual budgets and financial reports

• Bank account access info (or instructions for authorized access change)

• Tax ID number and nonprofit status documentation, including the next due dates of annual filings

• State registration information, including the next due dates of state filings and payments

• Previous year’s fundraising totals and expenses

• Payment processor login (e.g., PayPal, Square, Stripe)

• Receipts, invoices, and reimbursement forms

• Contact info for accountants or bookkeepers

✅ 3. Digital Accounts & Logins

Create a shared and secure master document or password manager (like LastPass, 1Password, or Google Password Manager) that includes:

• Website admin login and hosting provider credentials

• PTO email account(s) and recovery options

• Social media logins (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

• Fundraising platforms (e.g., MemberHub, Cheddar Up)

• Payment processing platforms (PayPal, Stripe, etc.)

• School key employee directory or contact management tools

• Google Drive/OneDrive login and key document links

✅ 4. Communication Channels

• Access to email marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact)

• Contact lists for families, volunteers, and staff

• Access to asset creation tools (e.g., Canva)

• Templates for newsletters, flyers, and event invitations

• Key email threads and communication history with school admins

✅ 5. Partner & Sponsor Information

• List of past and current sponsors/donors

• Contact info and notes on relationships (who to contact, when, and how)

• Past donation request letters and thank-you templates

• In-kind donation details and restrictions

• DonationMatch, Benevity, and other corporate giving platform logins

✅ 6. Software & Tools

Make sure new leaders have access to:

• PTO management software (e.g., MemberHub, PTOffice, Konstella)

• Event registration/ticketing software (Eventbrite, SignupGenius)

• Fundraising platforms and tools

• Survey tools (Google Forms, SurveyMonkey)

• Document storage/sharing tools (Google Drive, Dropbox)

✅ 7. Legal & Compliance

• Insurance policy documents and renewal dates

• State nonprofit registration documents (e.g. Articles of Incorporation, Secretary of State, State Attorney General’s Office, Franchise Tax Board, etc.)

• IRS Letter of Determination, filings, and tax return copies (Form 990)

• Background check policy and vendor details, if applicable

✅ 8. ORGANIZATION-SPECIFIC DETAILS TO PASS DOWN

Every PTO is unique, and some of the most valuable knowledge isn't written down—it's passed on. Be sure to include the following often-overlooked details to help the next team avoid starting from scratch:

• Event schedules, timelines, and planning checklists specific to your school’s traditions

• Preferred vendors and suppliers, including where to buy materials, school merchandise, or food—plus any known discounts or tax-exempt processes

• Expert or pro bono volunteers in your community (e.g., graphic designers, photographers, accountants) who’ve supported the PTO in the past

• Facility usage info, like how to reserve the gym, cafeteria, or parking lot for events

• Contacts and relationships with school staff, custodians, and local businesses that support events or donate regularly

• Tech quirks and workarounds for commonly used platforms or school-specific systems

• Storage locations, keys, and access info for physical supplies, decorations, or inventory used year-to-year

• Annual event feedback or notes to capture what worked and what didn’t

Capturing and sharing these insider tips can save the new team hours of guesswork and keep your PTO running smoothly.

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for a Smooth Transition,

• Schedule an overlap period or transition meeting between outgoing and incoming officers.

• Conduct a walkthrough of each system or tool being transferred.

• Set up role-based email addresses (e.g., president@ourPTO.org) that can be easily forwarded or reassigned to new officers each year.

• Update PTO contact information and addresses on all accounts.

• Host a shared-drive cleanup and organization session.

• Encourage outgoing leaders to write "how-to" guides for their roles.

• Store all documentation in one centralized, easily accessible place.

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Succession planning may not be the most glamorous part of volunteering, but it’s one of the most important. Taking the time to organize your organization’s knowledge and tools ensures that next year’s volunteers—and the students and school you serve—are set up for success.

By using this checklist and making intentional plans, you can build a lasting legacy of strong leadership and effective support.

Don’t forget to share this list with your board and team!