Back to School Fundraising Ideas

August 23, 2021

Back to school means school supplies! Not just for regular school but for your business too! Need to host a fundraiser to get money for your next competition, team uniforms, event, new equipment, facility upgrades, etc? Well, look no further! Here are 20 great ideas, sure to put the fun back into fundraising!

 

1. Sell single candy bars, chips, or snacks! Everyone snacks now and then, this is a relatively low-cost fundraising technique that’s sure to bring in the money.

2. Hop on the reusable bandwagon. Sell reusable water bottles or shopping bags in different colors or designs. Try including your business name or logo in the design for maximum impact!

3. Hair accessories. For girl intensive athletic programs, selling hair accessories like bows, hair ties, and headbands can be a big hit!

4. Holiday items. Schools send home fundraising catalogs with handy kitchen and garage gadgets, wrapping paper, baked good mixes, and more. There’s no reason why you can’t too!

5. Magazine subscriptions. Everyone knows it’s much less expensive to subscribe than buy in line at the grocery store. So why not raise a little money in the process?

6. Host a social event! Host a special event with a cover charge to raise awareness, show off your skills, and raise money! Example events are game nights, competitions, ice cream socials, car washes, carnival games, etc.

7. Exercise for donations! Have your fundraisers perform 10 jumping jacks, walk a mile, or perform some other kind of exercise for every dollar raised!

8. Sell custom shirts or pajama pants! Loungewear is always in style. Order some basic tees and PJ bottoms to sell at a marked-up price for your cause.

9. Scratch card donations. Leave the donation amount up to chance! Each person who is donating gets a scratch card with a predetermined number of dots ranging in value (for example, from Free - $2.50). The recipient of the card scratches as many dots as he/she desires on the card and matches the total in donations. In return, he/she keeps the scratch card with exclusive coupons on the back! (This one is a little different from your average fundraiser, CHECK IT OUT!)

10. Coupons. Not a big fan of the scratch card idea? Well, you can skip the scratch card and sell sheets of coupons/discounts/promotions for local businesses (just not your competition, we wouldn’t want to send mixed messages)!

11. Candles for everyone! Most households have at least one candle. They smell great and are handy to have around when the power goes out. Why not sell them for a good cause?

12. Social fundraising. We’ve all seen the ALS ice bucket challenge videos. Make your fundraiser go viral with a similar technique! Just make sure the challenge is safe for participants.

13. Calendars. Most people have one in their home or office, or maybe both. Why not create your own and sell it to raise money? Customize it with pictures of your employees or customers (with permission of course) to generate demand with friends and family!

14. Cookbooks or recipe cards. Odds are that someone in your business or on your team can cook. Or knows someone who can. Ask members to contribute homemade recipes and sell them. (It’s like a bake sale without the hassle!)

15. Have a good old-fashioned bake sale. It’s a low-budget classic. And almost anyone can make rice crispy treats or brownies to raise money.

16. Weather wear. Umbrellas, scarves, hats, windbreakers, and gloves are great items to customize and sell to raise funds. Everybody needs them from time to time, but not everybody remembers to specifically shop for them.

17. 50/50 raffles. They’ve happened at just about every county fair I’ve ever been to. This simple fundraising technique is tried and true and simple to run. All you have to do is count the donations, divide them in two, and draw a winner!

18. Regular old prize raffles. Raffle off a few groups of items like electronics, coolers, merchandise, free lessons, or gift cards and raise money selling the tickets!

19. Hold a resale event.  Almost everyone has something they are trying to get rid of. But not everybody can hold a yard sale. Encourage people to donate new or gently used items, slap a price tag on them, and charge a one-dollar entry fee to browse.

20. Auctions. Auction off a slew of donated items that might appeal to your audience and use the funds to help pay your way! (Hint: Themed auctions can be tons of fun!)