Finding the right fundraiser for your school can be a challenge. You have to consider the age of your students, the participation level you can expect from parents, the time and resources your school and teachers have available to run the fundraiser. And as we discussed in a recent post, some popular school fundraising methods can prove to be more beneficial to the for-profit companies hosting them than schools running them. So you must carefully consider the return your school sees on your efforts. At Mightycause, we make school fundraising user-friendly fundraising platform … and 10 creative school fundraising ideas to get you started!
School Fundraising Ideas
1. Read-a-thon
Read-a-thons are a great way to get your students reading while drumming up support for the school! You can add a competitive aspect to your school read-a-thon by setting up a team fundraiser on Mightycause. Set up a team for your school, grade, or participating classes and ask students to join the team! (With a parent’s help, of course.) Each team member participating will get their own page where they can share their reading list, talk about what reading means to them and ask their family members to support them.
2. Family Fun Run
This is a tried-and-true classic school fundraising idea! A family fun run is a great way to get students, parents and teachers outside, active and involved in your school’s fundraising. All you’ll need is a place to host the run and a team fundraiser on Mightycause. Group participants by class, by grade, or have them compete individually. (You’ll want to keep the distance pretty short so students of all ages and parents of all abilities can join in!)
3. Battle of the Classes
Drum up some school spirit with a competitive edge by pitting classes against each other to raise money for the school! Team fundraising on Mightycause is the perfect avenue for this. Have classes compete for small prizes or just bragging rights, raising money for your school in the process! Learn how Forest Ridge Academy used this school fundraising idea to take their annual fundraiser to new heights.
Forest Ridge Academy builds their donor base through online fundraising
4. Punish the Principal
What kid wouldn’t relish the opportunity to see their principal get a pie in the face?! Use a crazy, slightly embarrassing stunt from your principal to motivate students (and teachers) to share your school’s fundraiser and hit your goal! The possibilities are endless: Pie in the face? Dunk tank? Head-shaving? Wearing a ridiculous outfit to the next school assembly? All of them are likely to keep kids fired up about this fundraiser!
5. Charity Fundraiser Challenge
Fundraising for your school is important, but an even more important lessons for kids? Fundraising for causes and their communities. Have each grade or class pick a cause. There are thousands of causes to choose from on Mightycause, from community-based causes to disaster relief to animal rescues, and raising money for them is as simple as a few clicks. Get students excited about philanthropy, and keep them motivated with a prize for the classes that raise the most money! Teaching the lesson of charitable giving to students will help shape the next generation of philanthropy superheroes!
6. Technology Upgrade
Do your students have access to better technology on their smart phones than in their classrooms? Crowdfund for better equipment! People tend to respond best to fundraisers with a specific need, so think of what you’d need to upgrade, and start a fundraiser on Mightycause! Whether it’s new computer, new calculators, new textbooks … parents, teachers and community members will be happy to help contribute.
7. Pajama Day
We all know the worst part of the day is changing out of your comfy pajamas and putting on real clothes. (Or, even worse, a uniform.) Set up a fundraiser where students (or parents, if your students are under 13) can make a small donation to your school in exchange for wearing pajamas to school for a day!
8. Battle Bots
Read-a-thons are popular and work … but where does that leave the kids who prefer science to stories? Get your students excited about STEM fields with a robot build-off! Have each science class compete in a fundraising team on Mightycause, competing to raise the most funds, and then have them show off their creations in an assembly!
9. Spelling Bee
You can update this oldie but goodie by adding an online fundraising component! Have spelling bee participants join a fundraising team on Mightycause and raise money for their school in preparation of the competition, and offer a special trophy to the participant who raises the most.
10. Field Day
Another classes that you can update by adding online fundraising to the games! Have all the classes, like the three-legged race, beanbag or egg toss, relay races, hula hoop competitions … but add an extra game to raise the most money for your school. Start a team fundraiser on Mightycause and have all field day participants start a page where they can ask their family and friends to donate to your school. Provide a special ribbon for the top fundraiser on Field Day!
About School Fundraising on Mightycause
Any public or private school can fundraise on Mightycause! Nonprofit parent-teacher associations can participate as well. And unlike fundraisers where students sell wrapping paper, candy, candles, or collect box tops or proofs of purchase, we can guarantee a good return for your school.
Low cost, high return
With school fundraising on Mightycause, you’ll see more of the money you raise come back to you. We have a pricing menu that will work for schools of all sizes and give you the flexibility to choose what’s brings the most funds back to your school. Our platform fee is 4% for schools and PTAs, which is retained from the funds disbursed to you. But you will rarely actually pay that 4%. Here are your options to offset platform fees:
- Donation booster: The donation booster allows your school to ask donors to cover the 4% platform fee, so your school won’t have to pay it.
- Free free with tips: With this pricing structure, you will never be charged platform fees. Your donors will be asked to leave an optional “tip” to support the platform, with a suggested amount and the ability to customize that amount.
- Mightycause Premium: If your school uses Mightycause heavily, you can purchase a subscription for Mightycause Premium. With a subscription, you will never be charged a platform fee to use Mightycause. Learn more about Mightycause Premium.
There is also a 2.9% fee for credit card processing, which Mightycause does not keep. With Mightycause, your fundraiser will pay very little in fees, and see more money go directly toward your school.
User-friendly
Many schools opt for traditional fundraisers like collecting box tops and selling products because creating an online fundraiser sounds like a lot of work. You might think you don’t have the time to learn how to use the platform, set everything up and run the fundraiser, and opt for something familiar. But here’s the great thing about Mightycause: anyone can use our platform. You don’t need any special training or knowledge. We’re designed for the average user. If you can post on Facebook, you can use Mightycause. And we make the back-office management of your fundraiser so much easier with easy reporting.