15 Event Ideas for Schools

Updated November 2025

Field Day

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: multi-station outdoor event setup
Time to Implement	6-8 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (games, prizes, food, decorations)
Volunteers Needed	15-25 (booth staff, setup, supervision)
Ideal For	End-of-year or spring family celebrations

Pull several smaller events together for a field day! Have booths for food items and games that win great prizes. This is also a great opportunity to include a silent auction and/or a petting zoo.

For an entry fee, the patrons get access to all of these fun activities plus additional opportunities to give in the form of just a plain donation or purchasing separate tickets to enjoy special events that aren't included in the entry fee.

Learn more about how to sell and redeem tickets online for free here.

Cowboy Breakfast

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: food prep + 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

Spend a Saturday hosting a special breakfast event to raise money for the school! Feature a spread of your community's most popular breakfast items and include smaller events, like a silent auction, to really bring in the cash. Charge an admission fee per person to enjoy the breakfast and include smaller games for the price of admission or charge separately to play.

Renaissance Fair

Ease of Implementation	Challenging: themed vendors + live entertainment
Time to Implement	8-12 weeks
Expenses Required	$$$ (performers, rentals, décor)
Volunteers Needed	15-25 (setup, ticketing, coordination)
Ideal For	Large school or district events

Hire a renaissance team to come and host an old timey fair for your school. For an admission fee, patrons get to explore the fair and get an idea of what life was like at the turn of the century.

Host A Bowling Night

Ease of Implementation	Easy: business partnership + promotion
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (tickets or deposit only)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (promotion, ticket sales)
Ideal For	Family nights, small group fundraisers

Partner with a local bowling alley and host a night where families can come and bowl. When partnering with businesses, they're usually willing to share a portion of the proceeds with the school for hosting their event there. If not, check to see if you can purchase tickets before the event and resell them to your patrons for the fundraising portion of the event.

Family Game Night

Ease of Implementation	Easy: board games + food setup
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (food, prizes, decorations)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (setup, servers, organizers)
Ideal For	Winter events, indoor gatherings

Host a night where families can come and play board games! For the price of admission, provide a simple dinner, like all you can eat spaghetti or pizza, and access to any board game they can think of!

Family Movie Night

Ease of Implementation	Easy: movie license + dinner setup
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (movie license, food, projector)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (setup, concessions, cleanup)
Ideal For	Family weekends, gym or outdoor screenings

Provide dinner and play a movie for the whole family to enjoy! Make sure to collect an admission fee and have smaller ways that families can give throughout the event, like an envelope wall, if time allows.

Carnival

Ease of Implementation	Challenging: requires vendors + space management
Time to Implement	8-12 weeks
Expenses Required	$$$ (games, rentals, permits)
Volunteers Needed	20-30 (setup, ticketing, security)
Ideal For	End-of-year or fall fundraisers

Hire a carnival crew to come set up their games and rides on school property if space allows and charge an admission fee for your patrons to come and enjoy the games and rides.

Pro tip: make sure to put signs up a week or so ahead of time to drum up lots of excitement and make the most of your event!

Pajama Party

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: childcare + entertainment
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (snacks, games, movie rights)
Volunteers Needed	8-12 (chaperones, setup, cleanup)
Ideal For	Elementary or early middle school students

Host an event where the kids get to lounge around in their PJ's with their friends. Have them register beforehand so the PTO/PTA can get a headcount and provide dinner and a movie before their parents come to pick them up.

Dive In Movie

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: pool partnership + licensing
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (screen rental, food trucks, lifeguards)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (setup, safety, concessions)
Ideal For	Summer events, community pools

Collect an admission feel and talk to your local pool about bringing in an inflatable screen and projector to show a movie after a long day of fun in the sun. With the addition of a few tables and chairs and a few calls to some local food trucks, you'll be able to provide the opportunity for meals for the day and possibly be able to split the proceeds with the trucks.

March Madness Week

Ease of Implementation	Easy: weeklong theme + small contests
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (decorations, prizes)
Volunteers Needed	4-6 (planning, daily activities)
Ideal For	Spring semesters, sports-themed events

For the price of a donation, host an event for the week, like one of the weeks of March Madness, to allow the kids to show support for their favorite teams! Include a few pay-to-play games and other opportunities to win some prizes to truly make the event a memorable one.

Roller Rink

Ease of Implementation	Easy: venue partnership + ticket promotion
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (tickets or rental)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (promotion, ticket sales)
Ideal For	All ages, weekend community events

Host an event at your local roller rink. The local event places will usually share the proceeds of the event with the school without the PTO/PTA having to do much of the work.

You can also make extra money from this one by turning it into a "Roll-A-Thon" fundraiser where student participants sign up to collect pledges from family and friends!

Learn more about how to run an A-Thon for free.

Put On A Sports Clinic

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: coach coordination + registration
Time to Implement	6-8 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (equipment, prizes, signage)
Volunteers Needed	8-12 (coaches, setup, check-in)
Ideal For	Summer or pre-season fundraisers

Sports events are always a big hit! See if you can persuade some of your top local athletes to come train young athletes in a popular sport and collect a registration fee when the athletes sign up!

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Breakfast With Santa

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: holiday decor + breakfast setup
Time to Implement	6-8 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (food, decorations, photographer)
Volunteers Needed	10-15 (servers, photographers, setup)
Ideal For	December fundraisers, family events

Know any Santa's? Ask one to donate his time and come to a breakfast party! Charge an admission fee for families to come and dine with The Man himself, and even provide an opportunity for families to get nice pictures taken with him for Christmas Cards for an additional fee.

Turkey Trot

Ease of Implementation	Moderate: course + timing logistics
Time to Implement	8-10 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (permits, timing, shirts, refreshments)
Volunteers Needed	15-20 (registration, setup, safety)
Ideal For	Fall/holiday athletic fundraisers

Set up a Turkey Trot 5k (or any other distance/featuring any other holiday) for your community athletes. For the registration fee, allow them to do the run and provide some goodies after the race has been finished.

Fall Festival

Ease of Implementation	Challenging: multi-booth seasonal event
Time to Implement	8-10 weeks
Expenses Required	$$$ (games, food, decor, entertainment)
Volunteers Needed	20-30 (setup, booth staff, security)
Ideal For	October-November community events

Grab a few hay bales and a few apple bobbing stations and set up a fall festival for your community! The PTO/PTA can decide if they want to have the theme feature thanksgiving, halloween, or a mixture of the two. Either way, make sure to collect an entry fee and make sure to have other opportunities for the patrons to donate to the school set up throughout the event!