30 Elementary School Fundraising Ideas

Updated November 2025

Easy to Implement

Principal For a Day
Rent a Spot (Parking Spot Auction)
Movie and PJ Day
School Uniform Swap
Matching Gift Drive
Jailer! Jailer!
Box Tops
Principal Challenge
Hula Hoop Contest
Spelling Bee
Cake Walk
Rock Paper Scissors Tournament
Musical Chairs Tournament
Post-It Note Challenge
Empty Can/Bottle Drive
Draw a Straw
Letter Party
Scavenger Hunt

Principal For a Day

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires minimal coordination and set up
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (small supplies for activities, certificate, signage)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (promotion, supervising activities, coordinating with administration)
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, leadership-themed fundraisers, auction events, student engagement initiatives

Auction off the opportunity for a student to shadow the Principal for the day!

Back to School BBQ

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires food prep coordination, grilling logistics, and crowd management
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ for food, grilling supplies or catering fees, serving materials, seating, signage
Volunteers Needed	8-15 including grillers or food servers, ticketing or donation collection helpers, setup and cleanup teams, and activity assistants
Ideal For	Back-to-school kickoff events, family engagement nights, outdoor community gatherings, and PTO/PTA social events

Sell tickets to a big back to school party and BBQ! The PTO/PTA can have the meat and drinks for the BBQ catered and a pot luck for the sides or each family can be responsible for their own sides. Either way, make sure to have lots of fun activities and games to bring in as much money as possible!

Rent a Spot

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple auction setup with minimal materials
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (signage, printing, optional customization for the winner)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (auction coordinator, promotion, signage setup)
Ideal For	High schools, campuses with limited parking, orientation days, back-to-school events, auction-based fundraisers

This event will be popular if you have very active school parents and/or not the best parking situation. Pick an event to auction off one of your best parking spots for the school year! Give your organization enough time to have a parking sign made with the winners name on it.

Breakfast with Santa

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - needs space, food, and volunteers
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks planning
Expenses Required	$$$ (food, décor, Santa performer)
Volunteers Needed	8-12 for cooking, serving, cleanup
Ideal For	Family engagement and community tradition

Have santa come share breakfast with your students! For an entry fee, families get access to a full breakfast spread PLUS the opportunity to meet santa and tell him what you want for Christmas!

Movie and Pj Day

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple setup with a movie, seating, and snack distribution
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (movie license if needed, snacks, drinks, cups/napkins, signage)
Volunteers Needed	3-6 (setup, snack distribution, supervision, cleanup)
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, winter celebrations, spirit days, low-cost indoor events

Turn on a cozy movie, like the Polar Express or the Santa Clause and host a pj party for your students! Collect a set donation amount and provide a movie snacks and a few sweet treats for the kids while they enjoy the movie.

Parents Night Out

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - needs childcare space and supervisors/babysitters
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (snacks, activities, babysitter fees if not volunteer-based)
Volunteers Needed	5-8 to supervise children
Ideal For	Schools with many young families

Give mom and dad a break for the evening with a Parents night out event! Have the parents register their kids ahead of time so your club knows how many to plan for. Throw in a few pizzas, some games, fun with friends and a movie and you'll have a hit!

Cowboy Breakfast

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - food prep and morning coordination
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (food, seating, signage)
Volunteers Needed	10-15 (cooks, servers, setup crew)
Ideal For	Weekend fundraisers, local traditions

Grab your boots and hat, its time for the cowboy breakfast! Sell tickets ahead of time or charge an entry fee at the door for all you can eat pancakes, eggs, sausage, and any other community staples you can think of. Feel free to pair this event with a petting zoo or any other fun events/games that would appeal to your community.

IFLY

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires partnership with an indoor skydiving facility and advance scheduling
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$-$$$ (experience fee unless discounted or donated; promotional materials)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (coordination, promotion, auction management)
Ideal For	High schools, auction nights, silent auctions, premium prize raffles, community events

Auction off a trip to indoor skydiving!

Paintball

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with a paintball facility and participant waivers
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (facility fees if not donated, safety gear, signage)
Volunteers Needed	3-6 (check-in, waiver collection, coordination with the venue)
Ideal For	Middle and high schools, sports teams, weekend events, active communities

Partner with a local paintball course and see if they would be willing to give you a portion of the proceeds to your school for organizing an event with them!

Touch/Tour a Truck

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with construction companies and vendors
Time to Implement	2-3 months planning
Expenses Required	$$ (food truck or grilling supplies, signage)
Volunteers Needed	8-12 (setup, food service, admissions)
Ideal For	Families with children, community event goers

Reach out to some local construction companies and see if they'll be able to donate a few hours for the kids to explore their rigs! The PTO/PTA can then sell tickets to the kids to get up close and personal with their favorites.

Build Your Own Pizza (BYOP) Night

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires food prep coordination, ingredient stations, and optional on-site baking
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (pizza dough, toppings, sauce, cheese, boxes, gloves, tables)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (prep, topping stations, check-in, and cleanup)
Ideal For	Family nights, culinary events, fall or winter gatherings, PTO/PTA community builders

Set up a pizza bar and charge an entry fee for your students and their families to come and make their own pizza! If the club has the resources to bake them on site, you definitely can. Otherwise they can carry them out and bake them at home! Supply everything they'll need or could want to top their pizza, plus the boxes that they'll need to take them home to bake when they get a chance!

School Uniform Swap

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires a collection area and simple sorting system
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (tables, signage, laundry bags)
Volunteers Needed	3-6 for sorting and running the swap
Ideal For	Schools with uniform requirements, sustainable communities, back-to-school prep

Offer your students and their families a space to trade old uniforms that they don't need anymore! The price to enter is at least one clean uniform to donate or a flat monetary donation and the families pay a discounted rate for uniforms that they'll use. The proceeds then go towards the PTO/PTA to spend on whatever they need.

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Matching Gift Drive

Ease of Implementation	Easy - low-cost, letter-based outreach
Time to Implement	2-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (printing, envelopes, optional digital promotion)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 for coordination and tracking
Ideal For	All grade levels and donation-focused drives

Have your families/students commit to a donation amount, and then ask them to write to their friends, relatives, or community businesses asking them to match their donation. You can set a number of matches that each student needs to get, set a minimum amount that each student needs to bring in, or just ask them to do their best and get as many as they can!

Jailer! Jailer!

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple donation goal incentive
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (signage, props, optional "jail" backdrop)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 for promotion, donation tracking, and supervising the "jail time
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, high-energy donation drives

Set a monetary goal for the students to raise. Once they do, the teacher or principal gets "locked up" and the students get a free day!

Meet A Mermaid

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires hiring a performer and pool coordination
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (mermaid performer fee, pool rental, signage)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 (check-in and crowd supervision)
Ideal For	Elementary students, summer events, pool fundraisers

Hire a local mermaid to come to the community pool and accept donations from the students to go see her and ask her questions. Make sure theres a teacher on standby to help her out with any questions she wasn't prepared for.

Rubber Duck Race

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires a safe waterway and numbered ducks
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (rubber ducks, numbering supplies, prizes)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (manage duck adoption, race supervision, and final judging)
Ideal For	Spring events, outdoor festivals, family-friendly fundraisers

If you have a river near your school, allow your students to adopt a rubber duckie for a few dollars each and let them decorate them to their heart's content. On race day, take the duckies down to the river and let them race. The parent of the duckie who wins, wins a prize! Your club may want to prenumber the duckies before adopting them out to their race homes and document who adopted which number to avoid any finish line confusion.

Box Tops

Ease of Implementation	Easy - ongoing program, minimal implementation needed
Time to Implement	Year-round
Expenses Required	$0 (requires registered school)
Volunteers Needed	Minimal (teachers to collect/submit)
Ideal For	Long-term, low-effort funding

Have your students check the items that their families buy for specially marked box tops. Any that they find, have them clip them and turn them in to the school. The school will then send the boxtops back to the organization headquarters and the box top organization will send the school cool items and prizes for sending them back.

Principal Challenge

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple donation incentive with minimal setup
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (props like pies, wigs, clippers, signage)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (promotion, donation tracking, and supervising the "challenge")
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, spirit weeks, schoolwide motivation events

Set a monetary goal for your students. Once they reach it, your principal has to do something special/silly, like shave their head, take a pie to the face, or come read a book to the class with a silly wig on, for the kids!

Hula Hoop Contest

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires minimal supplies and space
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (hula hoops, small prizes, signage)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 to handle registration, judging, and setup
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, PE-themed fundraisers, indoor or outdoor events

Charge an entry fee to allow your students to compete in a hula hooping contest. Winner gets a prize at the end!

Spelling Bee

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple academic competition with minimal supplies
Time to Implement	2-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (trophies or medals, word lists, signage)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 (pronouncer, judges, registration, timekeeper)
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, academic enrichment events, literacy-focused fundraisers

Challenge your students to a spelling bee to see who comes out on top! The teachers can have preliminary competitions in their classrooms to narrow the pool down to a few spellers per class. The night of the event, collect entry fees for the parents to come watch the top spellers from each class go head to head against one another.

Cake Walk

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires simple setup and minimal supplies
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (prizes, tape, music setup, signage)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 (setup, music control, registration, prize distribution)
Ideal For	School carnivals, fall festivals, family nights, elementary and middle schools

Write prizes on a few pieces of paper and tape them to the ground. The students who wish to participate then pay an entry fee to walk around the circle to music. Once the music stops, the student stops, and whatever prize they're standing on is the prize that they win.

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires minimal setup, simple rules, and no equipment
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (basic signage, small prizes for winners)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (manage registration, track rounds, supervise matches, and handle buy-ins)
Ideal For	All grade levels, indoor events, fast-paced competitions, spirit-building activities

Charge an entry fee for the students to all compete against one another in a rock paper scissors tournament. Once the competition gets down to a few kids, see if any of the students want to buy back in for an extra payment. Last person standing wins a prize!

Musical Chairs Tournament

Ease of Implementation	Easy - minimal supplies and simple setup
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (chairs, music setup, small and grand prizes)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 (music control, registration, supervision, prize coordination)
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, carnival nights, spirit events, large-group activities

Charge an entry fee for the students to participate in a musical chairs tournament. Have a really good prize to draw lots of participation and pair the tournament with a bigger event or other games to bring in as much money as possible.

Post It Note Challenge

Ease of Implementation	Easy - only requires Post-it notes and wall space
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (Post-it notes, signage, small prizes)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (setup, timing/judging, prize management)
Ideal For	All grade levels, indoor fundraisers, classroom competitions, quick-turn events

This event is pretty straight forward. Sell the students a stack of post it notes for $1 and have them go head to head to see who can stick their stack of notes to the wall the fastest! You can make it into a bracket style event where the winner of several rounds wins a big prize or you can let the winner of the individual head to heads pick a prize from a prize box.

Empty Can/Bottle Drive

Ease of Implementation	Easy - collection and redemption logistics
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (bags, posters)
Volunteers Needed	6-12 (collection, sorting, transport)
Ideal For	Communities with deposit refunds

Have your students and their families set aside their empty bottles and cans over the course of a few weeks/months and then turn them in to the school. The school can then take all of the cans and bottles to a recycling center and trade them in for cash, which will then go to the PTA/PTO.

Food Fight!

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires a controlled space, safety planning, and substantial cleanup
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (bulk inexpensive food items, plastic sheeting/tarps, gloves, cleanup supplies)
Volunteers Needed	6-12 (setup, supervision, safety monitors, cleanup crew)
Ideal For	Middle and high schools, outdoor events, high-energy spirit days, novelty fundraisers

For an entry fee, provide the students with all the mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, or any other goopey, messy food for they would need to have the most epic food fight imaginable! Make sure to either cover your area with lots of plastic or just hold the event outside for easier

Pirates and Princesses Tea Party

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - lunch/tea party setup required
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$-$$$ (catering, venue)
Volunteers Needed	8-10 (setup, serving, coordination, cleanup)
Ideal For	All grade levels, lunchtime fundraisers, community events

Host a tea party for your students with a theme like pirates and princesses! Feel free to sell tickets or charge an entry fee at the door. Either way, treat the student to their choice of tea and scones or cookies or whatever other tea party food that would be exciting to your community.

Draw a Straw

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires minimal supplies and simple setup
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (straws, small prize papers, optional treasure box items)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (setup, supervising draws, prize distribution)
Ideal For	Elementary and middle schools, quick-turn fundraisers, classroom events, low-cost games

Type/write a few prizes, like "15 minutes extra reading time" or "pick from the treasure box", on a few pieces of paper then roll them up and slide them into straws. The students can then pay to draw a straw out of the bunch and win the prize thats written on the paper!

Letter Party

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple writing activity with light coordination
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (paper, envelopes, postage-optional if emailing)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (organizing lists, proofreading, collecting finished letters)
Ideal For	All grade levels, sponsorship outreach, ongoing fundraising campaigns

Have your students write letters to local businesses asking for donations to the PTO/PTA. They can include pictures that they've drawn in the envelopes or other little touches to make their letters more personal.

Scavenger Hunt

Ease of Implementation	Easy - printable lists and small prizes
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (printing lists, small prizes or treasure box items)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (setup, check-in table, prize distribution)
Ideal For	All grade levels, festival add-on activity, community events

Prepare a scavenger hunt for your students and charge an entry fee to participate. Make it as long or as short as you want and make sure to hide some cool goodies for them along the way!