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Fundraisers are fun, and they’re often necessary for affording school trips or educational materials. However, they can be quite the production to pull off, requiring lots of people, time, and start-up cash to put together. Since teachers often don’t have a lot of time or a lot of extra money to put towards a big event, here are 10 easy and affordable fundraisers that you can organize at the drop of a hat!
Future Fund has helped countless PTAs and PTOs set up successful fundraising events, so we’ve seen how easy it can be to organize these events with our own two eyes. Check out the list below and use it to inspire the next event you plan.
These raffles are among the simplest and most straightforward to pull off. You sell tickets to participate (which you can do by setting up a custom online store in Future Fund) and pull a winner at the end. Whoever wins gets half of the money collected during the event.
Collect donations from the students to participate in a special dress up day. Themes can include superhero day, pajama day, or a day where they don’t have to wear school issued uniforms.
If you want to get fancy with it, include a costume walk where the students can see each other’s costumes. You can also incorporate a costume contest where they can vote on their favorite outfit of the day.
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This is an easy fundraiser that can be tacked on to any larger event. Number 100 envelopes from $1-$100 and post them in clear view of the event. As the event progresses, people can donate by putting the corresponding dollar amount into the envelope that they select. If all of the envelopes are filled, you’ll raise an extra $5,050 for the club’s budget!
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To run this fundraiser, each class needs a fishbowl, vase, clear lock box, or clear container of some sort. Each class adds money to their box and whichever class has the most money in their box wins a prize at the end! Here are some fun and easy fundraiser prizes for your students!
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Get StartedFill a jar with marbles, jelly beans, or coins and collect a donation from students to let them guess how many items are in the jar. The student whose guess is closest to the mark gets to take the jar home at the end of the event! For more of a challenge, include items of the same type but different sizes.
Collecting box tops is an easy way for students to support schools that have registered with the Box Tops 4 Education program. All they need to do is make sure their parents purchase products from their local grocery stores that feature clippable box tops.
As they use the items, collect the box tops and turn them in to their teachers. The teachers can then exchange all of the box tops that they’ve collected through the program for items like books, computers, markers, and other supplies.
Partner with local restaurants and businesses and leave a tip jar by the register of their business. Feel free to include a hand-drawn picture or card from the kids explaining what the donation will be used for and thanking the patrons for their generosity.
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Ask your students to bring in their used cans and bottles for recycling. When they bring them in, the teachers can take the recyclables to the recycling center and exchange them for cash.
Teachers can also pair this fundraiser with a lesson on recycling and keeping the planet healthy to motivate students to do their part. This kind of fundraiser is especially effective around holidays, when there tend to be more containers because people are eating and drinking more!
Accept donations from families to put on a movie night. If you can secure the space, add a costume contest to fit in with the theme of the movie!
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The penny war is a classic game-turned-fundraiser. Each teacher leaves a big water jug outside of their classroom. The students then bring in change. The pennies count towards positive points for the class and the silver coins subtract the value of the coin from the class total.
For example, if the class has 87 pennies but two nickels in their jug, the total points for the class is 77. At the end of the war, whoever has the most points wins a prize!
Some of the fundraisers above can be organized with very few tools—but anytime you’re selling tickets or collecting donations, Future Fund can make the process even easier with built-in ecommerce features, payment processing tools, and financial reporting capabilities. Sign up for a free demo of our system and see how it can work for your school.
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Seeking alumni donations isn’t just about fundraising—it’s about connecting with former students. By tapping into emotional motivators like nostalgia, recognition, and shared impact, you can inspire former students to stay engaged and give back.
Your alumni newsletter can do more than update former students—it can also encourage them to donate to your fundraisers. Learn how to maximize the potential of every newsletter you send in this guide from the team at FutureFund.
Plan fundraisers around the dates that will bring in the most donations! FutureFund’s complete 2025 fundraising calendar for school groups includes the best times of year to run campaigns of all kinds, including key holidays, heritage months, and more.
Trinkets are common rewards for K-12 students who participate in fundraisers—but they aren’t the most memorable. Let the FutureFund team show you why using experiences as rewards can be more meaningful in the long run, and why it’s often more cost-effective as well.
Run a successful penny war for your K-12 school with FutureFund’s help! This guide contains a list of dates, steps, and tools you can use to make your fundraising event a success.
