Updated November 2025

Table of Contents

Easy to Implement

• Rent a Spot
• Auction Cleaning Services
• Ice Pop Social
• Uniform Swap
• Toddle Waddle
• Baby/Big Kid Spell-a-Thon
• Matching Gift Drive
• T-Shirt Sales
• Pictures with Santa
• Pick an Egg
• Grow a Beard
• Baby/Big Kid Bounce-a-Thon

Moderate to Implement

• Breakfast with Santa
• Touch a Truck
• Disco Party
• Easter Egg Hunt
• Fairy Tea Party
• Gardening Lessons
• Auction (Pee Wee) Sports Lessons
• Pizza Kit Night
• Auction Babysitting Services
• Babies Day In
• Auction Music Lessons
• Meditation Night
• Auction Gift Baskets
• Petting Zoo
• Cowboy Breakfast
• Happy Hour
• Date Auction
• Auction Lawn Care Service

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

Invite your little ones and their families to come enjoy breakfast with Santa! Make sure to have lots of community and kid friendly staples and either accept donations at the door or sell tickets before the event.

See also: 15 December Fundraiser Ideas15 December Fundraiser Ideas

Touch a Truck

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with fire dept/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

Call up some heavy machinery operators and sell tickets or accept donations for the kids to get an up close and personal look at their favorites.

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	Preschools, campuses with limited parking, orientation days, back-to-school events, auction-based fundraisers

This event is perfect if parking is difficult at your facility and/or if you have very active parents who spend a lot of time at the preschool. During an event, auction off one of your choice parking spots to the hightest bidder for the entire school year. Make sure to give yourself enough time to get a custom sign made, designating it as the winners space for the duration of the year.

Disco Party

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires music, decorations, kid-friendly setup
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (DJ or speakers, lights, snacks, decorations)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (chaperones, ticketing, setup/cleanup, snack station)
Ideal For	Preschools, themed dances, family nights

Pull out your disco gear and throw a party for the little ones! The PTO/PTA can sell tickets and make sure to have the babies' favorites ready to go. Include lots of lights and plenty of friends for them to boogie the night away. Check out our guide on how to run a dance-a-thon here!

Auction Cleaning Services

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires securing a vendor and running a simple auction
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (promotion, signage; service donated)
Volunteers Needed	2-3 (auction coordinator, promotion, checkout table)
Ideal For	Adult-oriented fundraisers, silent auctions, community nights

Partner with a reputable cleaning company and see if they would be willing to donate a few hours of their time. Then, have a silent auction where you auction the services off to the highest bidder!

Easter Egg Hunt

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires setup and prize prep
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (plastic eggs, candy, small/large prizes)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (setup, monitoring, prize table)
Ideal For	School-wide events, family/community days

Have parents pay per batch of eggs for your club to hide easter eggs around their property for the littles to find. Your club can also offer an additional service where someone in an Easter Bunny costume leaves a note on the porch for the kids to see.

Fairy 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

Sell wings to your very own fairy tea party! Feel free to sell tickets in advance to secure all of the refreshments and the wings for the kids before the event.

Gardening Lessons

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires gardening supplies, space, and an instructor
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (soil, pots, seeds/seedlings, tools, watering cans, signage)
Volunteers Needed	4-8 (instructors/helpers, setup, cleanup)
Ideal For	Preschools, spring events, STEM programs, outdoor education

Whats cuter than kids and a little dirt? Host a gardening class for the kids to plant and tend to their very first veggies! The school can keep their plants so the kids can check on them periodically and watch them grow or the club can send the plants home with the parents for them to tend to every day.

Ice Pop Social

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires minimum preparation
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (ice pops)
Volunteers Needed	4-6 (setup, serving, cleanup)
Ideal For	Family-friendly events, end-of-school celebrations, sports teams, summer carnivals

If we feel like ice cream and all the choices are a little too intense for the kids, change the event to an ice pop social! You can have your patrons pay per pop or include this activity in a larger event.

Auction (Pee Wee) Sports Lessons

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with local coaches or athletes
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (promotion, auction materials)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (coordination, auction management, communication with instructors)
Ideal For	Sports-focused communities, family events, auction nights

Know any sports enthusiasts who know how to teach children? Reach out to them and see if they would be willing to donate a lesson or two for your fundraiser and then auction them off at an event or over the course of a week!

Pizza Kit Night

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires ingredient prep and topping stations
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (dough, cheese, sauce, toppings, boxes, serving supplies)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (prep, topping stations, check-in, cleanup)
Ideal For	Family nights, culinary events, winter and fall gatherings

Bring your families together for a build your own pizza night! Collect donations per person and offer the dough plus all of the toppings anyone could want. If you have the resources to make the pizzas at the event, great. If not, providing to go boxes so the families can take them home to bake should work too.

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

If your preschool requires uniforms, give parents a break on constantly having to replace them by offering to swap them for a discount. Entry fee to the swap is either a flat fee donation or at least one uniform thats clean and ready for its new home. After that, parents can purchase slightly used uniforms that their kids will be able to wear for less than it would cost to buy a whole new one.

Toddle Waddle

Ease of Implementation	Easy - similar to a walk-a-thon but shorter and simpler
Time to Implement	8-12 weeks (all a-thons take this long to plan)
Expenses Required	$ (signage, pledge sheets, small prizes)
Volunteers Needed	4-6 (course setup, tracking, cheering, snack table)
Ideal For	Preschool and early elementary, family fun runs, spring outdoor events

Think a walk a thon but with shorter legs. Same rules apply: find sponsors to donate to your little one as they walk as far as they can. Feel free to get pledges based on steps walked instead of the traditional miles or laps. 

Auction Babysitting Services

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires recruiting reputable babysitters and running an auction
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (promotion, auction setup)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (auction coordination, verifying sitters, promotions)
Ideal For	Parent-focused events, auction nights, self-care themed fundraisers

Nothing says self care quite like giving parents a few hours to themselves. During the event, have a silent auction where the winner gets free babysitting services from a reputable babysitting in the community! 

Baby/Big Kid Spell a Thon

Ease of Implementation	Easy - modeled after spelling bee
Time to Implement	A-thons require 8-12 weeks planning
Expenses Required	$ (word lists, small awards)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 to judge and run event
Ideal For	Language arts focus, literacy campaigns

Just like a spell a thon but with small, easy words!

Babies Day In

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires childcare space, supervision, and activity planning
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (snacks, toys, crafts, cleaning supplies)
Volunteers Needed	6-10 (childcare supervisors, check-in, activity helpers)
Ideal For	Families with young children, weekend fundraisers, parent-support events

Host a weekend day for your little ones to be supervised so mom and dad can run some errands or just have some time just to themselves. Have the families register the kids and pay their registration fees so your club knows how many littles to plan for.

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

This event is mostly for the club/parents/families. Ask the parents to pledge a certain amount in donations and then ask them to ask their relatives and friends to match the donations. The club can also reach out to local businesses asking them to match a pledge and include pictures that the kids drew or painted in their requests.

T Shirt Sales

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires design selection and order coordination
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (shirt printing costs; typically recouped through presales)
Volunteers Needed	3-5 (design coordination, order management, sales booth staffing)
Ideal For	Spirit weeks, sports events, back-to-school nights, year-round merchandise sales

Nothing says "we're a group!" like matching t shirts. Have some made with the school emblem on them and sell them to the parents before field trips and casual Fridays for the kids to wear and show their school spirit!

Pictures with Santa

Ease of Implementation	Easy - needs Santa setup and photographer
Time to Implement	2-3 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (backdrop, photographer, costumes)
Volunteers Needed	3-4 for check-in and photo assistance
Ideal For	Family keepsakes, PTA revenue boosting, preschools

Feel free to include this with your Breakfast with Santa event or as a separate event altogether! Allow the parents to preselect packages of pictures and then have the littles pose for them when Santa comes to town!

Auction Music Lessons

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with a music teacher and auction setup
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (promotion, auction materials)
Volunteers Needed	2-3 (auction coordination, promotion, communication with instructor)
Ideal For	Silent auctions, arts-focused schools, family nights

Meet with a kid music teacher and see if they can donate a few lessons to your club. At your next event, auction off the kid music lessons in a silent auction.

Pick An Egg

Ease of Implementation	Easy - requires eggs and small prizes
Time to Implement	1-2 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (plastic eggs, prize slips, small prize items)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (setup, supervising picks, prize fulfillment)
Ideal For	Spring events, Easter events, carnivals, indoor game stations

This one is pretty simple: invest in a few easter egg shells and fill each one with a slip of paper with a prize written on it. For a fee, like $1 per egg, allow the kids to pick an egg and they get the prize thats inside!

Meditation Night

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires yoga/meditation instructor and quiet space
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$$ (instructor fee unless donated, mats if provided, light refreshments)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (check-in, setup, cleanup)
Ideal For	Parent-focused wellness events, adult evenings, self-care fundraisers

Have your parents register for a yoga and guided meditation night!

Grow a Beard

Ease of Implementation	Easy - low-cost, pledge-based participation
Time to Implement	4-5 weeks (especially during November)
Expenses Required	$ (promotion, signage)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (promotion, pledge tracking)
Ideal For	No-Shave November, dad-centered events, humorous schoolwide drives

This event is perfect to go along with No Shave November if you have any parents that regularly participate. For this event, ask your dads to skip the morning shave if at all possible for the month and then donate the money they would normally spend on their shaving supplies and upkeep.

Auction Gift Baskets

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - basket assembly and auction setup
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (basket materials, donations)
Volunteers Needed	4-6 (assembly, auction coordination)
Ideal For	Add-on to dances, cookouts, community events, or galas

Put together a few primo gift baskets and auction them off at an event! They can be things for mom, dad, or little in particular, like self care/toy baskets, or be gifts for the whole family to enjoy together, like a cooking or movie night in basket.

Petting Zoo

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordination with animal providers
Time to Implement	4-6 weeks
Expenses Required	$$$ (petting zoo rental, insurance, supplies)
Volunteers Needed	8-12 (admissions, supervision, setup)
Ideal For	Families with younger children, spring festivals

Kids love baby animals! Hire a petting zoo to come to an outdoor event, like the cowboy breakfast, and sell tickets for the kids to get in and feed/interact with the animals!

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

This event is pretty open to suggestion. The only essential in this event is the breakfast portion! Make sure to have lots of yummy options for your guests and pick a theme that's sure to be lots of fun! If you need a head count of how many guests you're expecting, sell tickets. If not, collect donations at the door!

Happy Hour

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordinating with a restaurant and promoting the event
Time to Implement	3-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (marketing materials)
Volunteers Needed	2-3 (liaison, promotion)
Ideal For	Adult-only community networking events

Leave the littles with the babysitter for this happy hour outing! Not only is happy hour a great way to socialize and get to know your school parents, but if the club picks a location thats willing to share the proceeds from the event for having the event there, its also an amazing opportunity to make some extra cash for the club with minimal effort.

Date Auction

Ease of Implementation	Moderate - requires coordinating donors, venue/date options, and auction setup
Time to Implement	3-5 weeks
Expenses Required	$-$$ (promotion, signage; date packages usually donated)
Volunteers Needed	2-4 (auction coordination, promotion, winner communication)
Ideal For	Parent-focused events, silent auctions, adult-only nights, community fundraisers

Give your parents the perfect location for their next date night! At an event (or over the course of the regular school week, its entire up to you!) auction off a romantic date night at a restaurant or at a beautiful park with the food and other services gifted by a generous donor.

Auction Lawn Care Service

Ease of Implementation	Easy to Moderate - requires business outreach and auction setup
Time to Implement	2-4 weeks
Expenses Required	$ (promotion; services are donated)
Volunteers Needed	1-3 (coordination with company, auction setup, winner follow-up)
Ideal For	Family-centered events, silent auctions, spring fundraisers

Talk to a reputable lawn care company in your area and see if they would be willing to donate some services to your school/club. Then, hold an event and auction the lawn services off to the highest bidder!

Baby/Big Kid Bounce a Thon

Ease of Implementation	Easy - simple pledge-based A-thon with minimal setup
Time to Implement	A-thons require 8-12 weeks planning
Expenses Required	$ (snacks, signage, optional small prizes)
Volunteers Needed	4-6 (lap/bounce tracking, supervision, check-in, safety monitoring)
Ideal For	All age groups, family events, PE-themed fundraisers, A-thon-style drives

The best thing about this event is that its customizable for pretty much all ages. Have your parents reach out to their friends and families to pledge donations at per bounce or per minute bouncing rate. Then, grab your bounciest babies/big kids and their favorite instrument of bouncing and let them go to town!