Don’t settle for the same old school fundraiser to bring in money for your Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) or Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
If done right, school fundraising can be fun and creative while drawing participation from the students and families themselves, plus teachers, school staff and the surrounding community too.
It all comes down to choosing a good fundraising concept, whether a product, event or experience and then executing with smart fundraising strategies.
We’ve rounded up a mega PTA/PTO fundraiser list right here for you with over 165 school fundraising ideas to choose from!
Spirit Wear
Add your school logo to any of these products for custom spirit wear items. Sell within your own school, as well as other schools in your district:
- Boom sticks
- Pom poms
- Spirit sleeves
- Enamel Pins
- Stadium seat
- Mascot stuffed animal
- Car magnets
- License plate frames
- Custom printed logo balloons
- Driveway logos
There are several other categories of items under the spirit weather category that may be hot sellers for your school, including apparel, accessories, decor, home products and office and school supplies.
Clothing and Apparel
- PJ bottoms
- Ponchos
- Socks
- T-shirts
- Hoodies
- Crewneck sweatshirts
- Tank tops
- Shorts
- Beanies
- Baseball hats
- Pompom hats
- Visors
- Scarves
Accessories
- Bows
- Keychains
- Bandanas
- Sunglasses
- Temporary tattoos
- Croc charms
- Earrings
- Belt bags
- Hair Clips
- Scrunchies
- Headbands
- Bracelets
- Necklaces
- Shoe laces
Decor and Home Products
- House Flags
- Car flags
- Garden Flags
- Stickers
- Yard signs
- Blankets
- Beach Towels
- Tumblers
- Tote bags
- Coasters
- Car coasters (for beverage holders)
- Ornaments
- Car window stickers
- Luggage Tags
- Coffee Mugs
- Travel mugs
- Water bottles
- Umbrellas
- Candles
School/Office Supplies
- Pens
- Pencils
- Notebooks
- Stickers
- Notepads
- Lanyards
- Backpacks
- Drawstring cinch bags
- Insulated lunch bags
- Chromebook protectors
Tips for Spirit Wear Fundraising Success
Remember to offer the items to teachers and staff members too since they’ll want to get into the fun on designated school spirit days.
Members of the local community may also wish to purchase the items as well, so be sure to post ordering instructions online on social media and platforms like Nextdoor.
Offer a small selection at home games for athletic events. Boost the available selection of items on hand for big events like Homecoming, Alumni Night or Senior Night to take advantage of larger crowds and more potential customers.
Designate the first and third Fridays of the month as spirit days and encourage students, teachers and staff to don their most spirited looks!
Giving all a time and place to wear items with a school logo will help boost sales of your PTO’s spirit wear items.
You can dial the number of spirit days up or down to match your school community’s preference.
I recommend hosting spirit days at least once a month.
Event and Experience School Fundraising Ideas
Offering unique events and experiences can be an effective way to raise money for your school parent group.
Each of these school event ideas are not easy to replicate on a smaller scale, so families will want to participate and support the school fundraiser.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a big draw here!
- Carnival- One of my favorite events to do double duty as a fun-raiser and fundraiser. Get all the details for a profitable school carnival here.
- Fall Festival– The same idea as a carnival only set in autumn.
- Magician- hire a local magician for an unforgettable family-friendly show. Offer both free and paid snacks to boost the bottom line.
- Talent Show – this post has all the details about running a school talent show you’ll need for an awesome event!
- Bingo Night – A tried and true favorite, you can make bingo night a free-to-attend event and offer both free and paid snacks.
- Movie Night – This post the details you’ll need to run a successful school movie night.
- Parent’s Night Out – Provide childcare one evening so parents have a chance to have a night away from their kids.
- Tat Your Teacher – Allow students to purchase temporary tattoos and designate a day for teachers to get tatted up!
- Principal for a Day – Use as a stand alone fundraiser or as an incentive for the top seller of the school fundraiser. Works best for elementary aged students.
- Pancakes and PJs – Host a Saturday morning breakfast event or turn it on its head by offering breakfast for dinner and inviting attendees to wear their pajamas and stick around for a movie or other entertainment.
- Waterpark night – If you have a waterpark a hour or less of your Schoo, parter with them on a school fundraising night where you advertise to students and families and get a percentage of ticket sales.
- Clam Bake – This unique dinner opportunity is sure to pique the interest for an adults only evening.
- Skating parties – Book a night at your local roller skating or ice rink and receive a portion of the door admission tickets back as a donation from the venue.
- Dress Down / No Uniform Day – Give students and staff the chance to wear an outfit of their choice for a day when they make a donation to your school parent group.
- Pie auction before Thanksgiving – Save your customers from some of their holiday prep by offering a chance to take home a pie or two.
- Spaghetti Dinner – Partner with a local caterer or restaurant to provide an on-site spaghetti dinner meal for the crowd.
- Paint ’n Sip – Book a local paint studio and sell seats to attend.
- Ceramic Paint Night – Partner with a local shop to provide paint kits to do as a group at school or at home with to go kits.
- Wine & Chocolate (or Cheese) – Host this event off school grounds, and limit involvement to only participants of age to consume wine.
- Bonfire- Give away free snacks like popcorn and cider, charge people for premium snacks like candy, chips and soda, and sell spirit wear for a unique fundraiser that doesn’t really feel like a fundraiser.
- Purse Bingo – Get designer bags and sell tickets to play to win a new handbag.
- Popcorn and Pickle Fridays – Parents can sign up to deliver a salty treat to their students.
- Garage Sale – Collect new and gently used items and host a tag sale to raise money. Or pick a date and offer table space for community members to sell their wares.
- A-thon – Students collect pledges (or a flat donation amount) for every lap, mile, hour, page or problem completed.
- Jog-a-thon
- Walk-a-thon
- Run-a-thon
- Math-a-thon
- Read-a-thon
- Dance-a-thon
- Flock Your Yard- Purchase a small flock of pink flamingo lawn ornaments and give community members the chance to host them in their yard overnight.
- Birthday Signs – Purchase a set of traveling signs and recruit an installation team to spread birthday greetings around town. Customers get the signs displayed in their yard for 24 hours.
- Graduation Yard Signs – Parents are excited to purchase signs celebrating their students’ milestone achievement at 8th and 12th grade.
- Gala – A fancy party night is a great excuse fro parents and community supporters to get dressed up for a fancy party.
- Silent Auction – Collect donations of new items and auction them off to the highest bidder. Pair with another event, such as a carnival or gala for a double dip fundraiser.
- Night at the Races – A local company can make this event come to life easily. A cash bar, raffle baskets, and race ticket sales help boost profits.
- Casino Night – Hire game tables and dealers for a fun adults-only Casino Night event.
- Coin War – Update a Penny War to challenge classes to bring in their change to best the others with the most raised. Supercharge the fundraiser by having bills
- Local sporting events – Professional sport teams often offer discounted tickets that you can resell to school families and community members who wish to support your PTO by attending the game.
- Themed events based on national days and events (think Talk Like a Pirate Day, National Ice Cream Day, a Super Bowl party, WNBA game watch party, Olympics closing ceremony party, etc.).
- Raffle baskets– Ask parents, local businesses and community members for raffle basket donations and then combine them into themed raffle baskets. Sell tickets for a tricky tray drawing or offer as a silent auction.
- Lottery raffle- Use your state lottery commission’s daily drawing as an opportunity to fundraise with your own lottery giveaway.
- Calendar raffle- Collect donations of items to offer as prizes for each day of the month. Sell tickets for each day or have tickets be good for all days and pull a daily winner.
- Barre 3 / Yoga group work out – Book the studio for a group class followed by mocktails or cocktails for an extra special event.
- Senior Shout outs- Use the scoreboard to feature senior shout outs during senior night for each sport.
- Student shouts outs- use your school’s internal screens or bulletin boards to feature school appropriate messages from family and friends.
Seasonal & Holiday
Taking advantage of the numerous opportunities the holidays present for fundraising is a smart strategy.
- Wreaths
- Garlands
- Poinsettias
- Gift wrapping service – Participants pay by the package to have their gifts wrapped by your crew of volunteer workers. This is a great opportunity to involve older students who may need volunteer hours for organizations like National Honor Society or Key Club. They provide the free labor in return for needed volunteer service hours (and some good life skills to boot). It’s a win-win for everyone involved!
- Sweetest Day – Observe this October holiday with a sweet treat or flower sale.
- Valentine’s Day- Run a carnation flower sale to surprise recipients.
- Easter candy or baked goods sale
- Easter egg my yard gives customers the chance to support the school by purchasing a “egging” service where easter eggs stuffed with treats are hidden in their yard for a ready made morning egg hunt.
- Mother’s Day bouquets
- Fall leaf raking
Candy Grams School Fundraising Ideas
Candy grams are terrific seasonal fundraising opportunities.
Give parents and students a chance to purchase their gram and then volunteers will deliver it to the recipient with a small treat right to the classroom.
- Candy Grams – Attach a lollipop to the candy gram message card.
- Boo Grams– Any kind of candy will be a perfect highlight to this Halloween themed fundraiser.
- Frosty Grams – Offer mini boxes of Frosted Flakes or seasonal lollipop for a winter themed candy gram variation.
- Love Grams – Offer cans of Crush soda for love themed crush grams.
- Lucky Grams– Take advantage of St. Patrick’s Day with a fun sized package of Skittles or roll of rainbow lifesavers.
- Bunny Grams – Offer peeps or other pastel colored candy or treat.
- Gratitude Grams – Offer fun sized packages of M&Ms during the month of November.
Restaurant Night School Fundraiser Ideas
Parter with a local or chair restaurant for a dine to donate fundraiser.
Here are some ideas of various eateries that may be open to helping your PTA/PTO fundraise for your school community:
- Pizza parlors
- Donut shops
- Bagel shops
- Panda Express
- McDonalds
- Chipotle
- Chuck E. Cheese
- Panera
- Sub, grinder, and sandwich shops
- Local restaurants
- Local catering companies
Everyday Items
Some of the smartest fundraisers feature products community members are already buying, so why not give them the opportunity to purchase the items from your PTO?
All of these items are used by everyone, not just school families, so be sure to offer them to your entire community to maximize the potential for the school fundraiser:
- Mattresses
- Reusable grocery bags
- Trash bags
- Candles
- Laundry detergent
- Gift wrap
- Fall mums
- Spring bulbs
- Spring flowers
Food
Selling food items at events and through catalog fundraisers is a smart way to raise money for your PTA/PTO.
- Athletic concessions- set up a concession stand to offer treats and eats to attendees and participants of your school’s athletic matches and games. You can run this on an on-going basis or a one-off if your school hosts a tournament.
- Candy
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Cookies – tie into seasonal events to make purchasing a no brainer for harried customers who are glad to pay for this convenience.
- Cookie dough
- Donuts – Single or by the dozen ordered in advance
- Gourmet hot chocolate
- Nuts
- Pies
- Soft pretzel kits
- Pickles – Offering pickles are sporting events is a way to replenish electrolytes and raise a bit of money at the same time. Perfect if you don’t have the volunteer base to support a larger concession stand.
- Popcorn
- Pizza kits
- Butter braids
- Novelty pasta
- Local business discount card – Your local restaurant will be very happy to partner with you to bring in consistent customers and give them a discount with the purchase of a pre-paid card.
- Wine flights – Arrange for off campus pick up with your local winery.
Over to You
I hope this massive list of school fundraising ideas has inspired you to have some fun with your PTA/PTO fundraising.
The bottom line is that just about anything can be an effective and profitable school fundraiser!
Once you choose a fundraising concept, run it past some PTA/PTO volunteers to get their initial take.
If they’re game, then you can bet that the rest of the school community will be excited to participate and support the fundraiser too.
Here’s to highly profitable PTA/PTO school fundraising!
