35 Free Fundraising Prize Ideas Start a fundraiser!

Books can be listed for $1 each and all proceeds can go to the school and their needs. If any books don’t sell at the event, you can donate them to a library, little free libraries in the neighborhood, or even a local prison library. There is a small one case minimum and shipping is always FREE.
From traditional sports competitions and trivia quizzes to talent shows and STEM competitions, the options are plenty. We’ve rounded up 13 fresh PTA fundraising ideas for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Take a look at our list of exciting virtual fundraising strategies. Traditional school fundraisers send kids door-to-door selling things like wrapping paper and chocolate bars to everyone they know. Not only is this inefficient, but also students and schools typically have to pay a good portion of the money to the supplier of the products sold.
A penny drive, also known as a penny war, is an easy-to-organize fundraising idea. Typically students bring spare change to school over some time and deposit them into containers. Raffles are an easy way to raise a lot of money for your schools. Make it a part of your school’s yearly fundraising program. Whether you’re a parent on the school’s fundraising committee or a student involved in a community service project, crowdfunding can help you reach your goals. Along with crowdfunding, many schools organize offline fundraising events, which can help boost awareness and encourage involvement.
Students and teachers can design shirts so anyone, from students and families to school staff and community members, can show their school spirit. A healthy and competitive fundraiser is a smoothie-making challenge. Invite fundraising schools and teachers to concoct their favorite smoothie recipes with healthy ingredients.
Ask students for a small donation in exchange for dressing down. Students will get to showcase their personal style, and you will raise funds. Organize a week in which the students would come to school on foot, not by car. Ask the students to donate all the money that was saved by not using cars to go to school.
Maybe members of your cheer team have friends and family with businesses who would be willing to donate items such as gift cards, dinners out, or other items. The good news is that with a virtual auction, your cheer team can share the link with friends and family regardless of where they live. Holidays are always ideal for fundraising – in fact, 31 percent of all annual donations are made in December alone. The following three ideas are perfect for holiday fundraising.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have the budget from previous years you can go off of. The more data you have, the more accurate you can make your budget for the upcoming season, and avoid mistakes of the past. Running a baseball team just takes a couple of bats, a baseball helmet, a spare glove or two, and a volunteer coach, right?
Sell refreshments and treats, and you should do very well with this exciting combination fundraiser. When it’s time to raise money, many nonprofits turn to the tried-and-true method of the fundraising letter. This is something that can be done on an annual, semi-annual, or more regular schedule to maximize supporter engagement and overall fundraising revenue. Spread your school spirit throughout student neighborhoods and celebrate your team members. Sell yard signs with fun slogans and recognition for your team members. “Proud Tiger”, “Super Senior”, “Class of 2021”, “Chess Master”, “Dancing Diva”, “Soccer Superstar” – you get the idea.
Social media platforms increasingly offer their own built-in donation processing tools, but always remember to weigh your options. Standalone donation pages are typically more flexible and can be incorporated into more of your online fundraising ideas without tying you to a single platform. Used book sales and rummage sales are some of the easiest fundraising ideas for groups of all sizes, particularly community groups and organizations. Most people love it, and food is a great way to bring everyone together.
Give each student their own fundraising page where donors can drop in funds and share encouraging comments, images, and GIFs. Don’t forget to provide participants with a reading log or another way to track their hours. A great way to encourage your community to get moving is to host a live stream of your PTA members running on the scheduled day or weekend.