Updated: January 2025
Every week we bring hands-on fundraising advice meant to help K-12 school groups smash their fundraising goals. Join our 10,000+ member community!
Making a fundraiser too complicated can make it harder to set up and run—which can mean raising less money for your school group at the end of the day. But there are lots of quick and easy fundraisers that you can organize in practically no time at all!
Below, you’ll find fast options for fundraisers that raise money for important school causes without months of planning. FutureFund is packed with features that streamline your fundraising campaigns, and we’ve got plenty of ideas for potential projects as well. Find your favorite idea on this list, then get started with us to put it in motion.
FutureFund’s free platform comes packed with features that help K-12 school groups fundraise. These tools can help you take your best ideas to the next level so you can rock your goals and create a brighter future for kids.
Don’t let limited resources or strapped budgets hold you back! With FutureFund, even the smallest schools can reach for the stars when they fundraise.
FutureFund simplifies ticket sales for school events like bowling, movie, or karaoke nights. Sell tickets online, then use our free Turnstile app to check people in at the door!
Strike up some fun with a bowling night fundraiser! Partner with a local alley and sell tickets to a family-friendly evening event in support of your school. Ask the venue to donate the proceeds or split them so everyone wins.
Ask about cosmic bowling to really amp up the fun. Not all alleys offer this feature, but if they do, it can really take your bowling night to the next level.
Bring your community together for a fun-filled Movie Night at your school! This classic fundraiser requires almost no effort and is a great way to engage families while raising funds. All you need to get started is a projector and an open space or seating area!
To turn this into a truly special event, consider partnering with a local theatre that can host your movie night. Most already have programs aimed at supporting schools and other charities.
Hit a high note this year by hosting a fun-filled karaoke night in the school gym! This in-person event is simple to organize and brings everyone together in support of your school.
Kids can sing whatever they want, whether it’s good, silly, or even just plain awful—it’s all entertainment to them. Still, it’s best to make the rules clear (like no explicit lyrics).
Bring your community together for a day of fun and raise money with an old-fashioned community yard sale. To make it a fundraiser, use FutureFund’s tools to sell tickets that cover table rentals or entry fees at the door.
To get even better results, ask vendors to donate a small portion of their proceeds after the event wraps up. Or, collect items to sell at a table that specifically supports your school.
How-to workshops can be a great way for school groups to bring in cash, but they can also be a lot of work to organize. To get faster results, focus on engaging but straightforward topics that don’t require any special expertise, but are still fun for attendees.
Virtual workshops can help you raise funds long-term, too. To keep the momentum going, use our pre-built volunteer management template to keep track of host pitches year-round.
Fundraiser campaigns help schools reach out to the local community and ask for donations to support their most important causes and needs. Our platform is packed with powerful tools that help you reach these goals more efficiently without paying a dime.
Remember the ice bucket challenge? Bring the excitement back and raise money for your school with your own viral video challenge! Get participants to record themselves completing a fun and silly task, then have them challenge others to do the same.
For best results, choose a challenge that’s entertaining and easy for anyone to do, but just a little outside of everyone’s comfort zone. There’s a reason the ice bucket challenge worked so well!
We’ve all had days where we just want to stay in our PJs all day. Canceling school might be out of the question, but you can use the opportunity to raise money for important school causes. Let students and staff donate to stay in their PJs.
Kids love having the opportunity to relax in their PJs, and schools get access to the funds they need to meet their goals. Don’t sleep on this one!
Need donations for specific supplies or items fast? Run a wishlist campaign! Let your school or individual classrooms create a wishlist full of the items they need most. Then, ask your local community to chip in by covering the cost of at least one item when they donate.
In general, you want to keep the asks reasonable for the average person, but don’t be afraid to include a few fun wants—you just might get them!
Need to raise money for your school’s lunch program? Join forces with a local grocery store by asking them to host a one-day or weekend event where a portion of all sales go directly to your cause. Even just 5% can really add up!
Run this one as a fundraiser on your FutureFund account to set a specific monetary goal for each partnership. Don’t forget to thank your donors personally when you wrap up!
This fundraiser is completely free to launch—all you’ll need to get started is a little time and our free fundraising tools! Build community connections with a letter-writing campaign and ask local businesses to sponsor your school with a donation, corporate matching, or services in kind.
Remember: it’s the personal touch that matters, here. Encourage kids to decorate their letters or include special drawings—it will make donors feel like they’re more than just another dollar sign.
Short on time, volunteers, and other resources? Direct donation drives can help your K-12 group bring in money quickly and effectively with very little effort. Pick a goal or project, then set up your campaign to crowdsource donations from supporters who want to help you make it happen.
Use our built-in donation thermometer to help drive more excitement by sharing screenshots of your progress on social media.
Purchase campaigns let people buy items to show support for your school and community. Sell snacks, spirit wear, delicious meals, cookie dough, and just about any other product. Schools keep 100% of the funds, every time.
Net big smiles and generous returns by selling frozen cookie dough back to the community! Otis Spunkmayer, Classic Cookie, and Mrs. Fields will make the dough for you, and then ship it out to you at a reduced cost. Another option is to have volunteers make and freeze the dough so you can keep even more of the money your campaign brings in.
You’ll need a little help with logistics for this one, so we recommend appointing someone to lead the fundraiser and organizing a small committee. See our step-by-step cookie fundraiser guide for a closer peek at how these campaigns work.
Selling spirit gear and other school swag can be a great way to bring in funds for important school causes. Create a listing for items like t-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, and tote bags, and let people buy them right from your school’s online store.
This is one of the best options for schools with sports teams that compete in local or national tournaments. Keep it going year-round for a steady flow of cash when you need it most.
A sports competition fundraiser is a great way to raise money for sports-related expenses! To make it work, ask people to support teams by paying a small fee to predict the winner of each bracket in advance. Use our free battle template on Canva as a starting point.
For even better results, run multiple brackets for each sport or team your school is involved in. Or, make it a regular part of March Madness celebrations each year.
Raise money for important school causes and give teachers, students, and parents a chance to unwind by selling self-care kits. Have volunteers fill baskets or bags with soothing items like candles, bath salts, mugs, hot cocoa, and face masks, then sell them for a flat rate through your online store.
You can also ask parents and other local community members to donate products—just be sure they’re new and the safety seal is still in place on any food or toiletries.
Food brings communities together, which is why cookbook fundraisers are such a great option for schools. Ask students to bring in recipes, pictures, and anecdotes, then compile everything into a printed booklet you can sell to raise money.
Shutterfly’s printing service makes it easy to design and order cookbooks that look and feel professional, but they can be costly. If that’s out of your budget, you can print the pages out at school and have volunteers bind them—there’s a good tutorial here.
Raise money for field trips and other special needs on short notice by putting together snack packs your school can sell in school or at special events. Take payments in person or let people order online right on your campaign page.
FutureFund’s purchase campaigns make it easy to sell products like snack packs or spirit wear in whatever way best fits your school. Best of all, you always keep 100% of the funds!
Pledge-A-Thons are peer-to-peer style fundraisers that get everyone motivated to compete and collect donations in support of your school. Extend your reach to local businesses, family, and friends and track your progress in real time with our tools.
Paint-A-Thons are a great way to foster creativity and get kids involved in fundraising. Students commit to painting for a specific number of hours and collect donations from their friends and family when they meet their goals.
Encourage students to display their art in school or take pictures of it for your school’s social media account. For younger kids, use our free customizable Paint-A-Thon participation award to boost their confidence and make them feel valued for taking part.
Dance-A-Thons aren’t just tons of fun; they’re great fundraisers too. Like most other A-Thons, participants commit to dancing for a certain amount of time and collect donation pledges in support of their efforts.
Want to foster a little friendly but competitive spirit throughout the sale? Activate our built-in leaderboard when you start your campaign. See how they work here.
External campaigns help schools coordinate and share third-party and in-house fundraising efforts from the same central hub. Raise awareness about partnerships with outside businesses by seamlessly linking to any URL right from your online store.
See why FutureFund is the best fundraising platform for schools.
Raise money for your school quickly while helping the environment by hosting a bottle drive in your local community. Have students collect refundable bottles and cans, then turn them into cash at your local recycling depot.
This eco-friendly fundraiser is easy to organize and requires almost no upfront costs, which makes it perfect for school groups on a tight budget. For even better results, get kids excited about recycling by incorporating educational elements about recycling during class.
A community car wash is a fantastic way to raise money on the spot in less than a day. Partner with a local car wash or host your own on school grounds during warmer weather months. Either way, all you really need is a hose, car soap, and a few volunteers with sponges!
Charging just $5 or $10 per wash as people arrive can result in really positive results. Or, you can let people order a wash in advance by listing it as an item in your store.
Giving back is another way of being glamorous! Companies like Kendra Scott and Park Lane happily support fundraising efforts for 501(c)(3) organizations every year—including schools!
In most cases, companies like these will donate jewelry to sell at auction or provide a code that directs a portion of any sales back to your school. Just be sure to read the fine print!
This fundraiser is perfect for the festive season. Set up a gift-wrapping service and let people in your local community come in to have presents wrapped in pretty paper for a small fee.
To take this fundraiser to the next level, run it during your yearly winter festival. Get volunteers to dress up like elves and have Santa make a surprise appearance!
Restaurant fundraisers work especially well for schools that don’t have the space or capital for a large-scale in-house event. Ask one or more local restaurants to donate a portion of their proceeds on a designated day—then promote it widely to help bring them more business.
For even better results, expand your options to include food trucks, cafes, candy stores, and other unique local spots. You scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours!
When your fundraisers are quick and easy to set up, you can start collecting donations and hitting your targets faster. FutureFund is specifically built to support the work of K-12 school groups at the national, state, district, and local levels. In fact, our platform is so easy to use and intuitive, that most new users are able to launch their first campaign in less than five minutes.
Learn more about where to start when you book a demo of our platform—we’ll match you up with a fundraising expert who can walk you through the process step-by-step. From zero to hero, we always have your back!
See what other parents and schools are saying about us!
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Rise to meet challenges so your PTA can fundraise more effectively. This article for new volunteers focuses on conflict resolution—how to resolve disputes, mediate issues between other members, and more.
Stronger relationships with school admins, teachers, and coaches mean more support for your PTA’s fundraisers and better outcomes for your students. Here’s FutureFund’s guide on how to deal with each of these groups, plus steps for making sure your planned projects are aligned with what schools need.
