Celebrate birthdays for students while raising money for causes that benefit them! A birthday board fundraiser is easy to create and can bring in lots of money for your school group. Here’s how FutureFund can help you run yours from start to finish.
Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to remind your community of how necessary and impactful their donations are for your school, group, or club. Here are 20 Giving Tuesday fundraising ideas to invigorate your school fundraising efforts, foster community involvement, and promote philanthropic spirit.
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Donation Campaigns
These campaigns encourage parents and volunteers to donate directly to your school group. FutureFund makes it easy to collect money online during the campaign, but you can also include an in-person event with a specific theme if you want to make your fundraiser more meaningful.
Learn how to run a donation campaign with FutureFund here.
Tip: Use FutureFund’s messaging system to announce the fundraiser and include a link to the online campaign so that people can still donate even if they can’t attend the event.
Donation Instead of Gifts Campaign
Instead of specific donations or gifts, go for the direct route. Anyone wanting to support can send their contributions to your FutureFund campaign, and then you can access them for any of your planned needs.
Matching Gift Campaign Direct Donation Drives
This is a great way to organize a fundraiser that doesn’t require a lot of volunteers or an event location. All you need to do is secure a sponsor to match any donations given on Giving Tuesday and promote your Donation Campaign.
Be sure to explain precisely what the money will go towards for the school—new gym equipment, lab needs in the science room, or even new speakers for the theater group. Donors send their contributions directly to your FutureFund campaign and your sponsor matches them.
Social Media Challenge
Host a social media challenge or a “Go Viral” campaign for your school’s fundraising goals. This unique challenge should have a clever hashtag attached to it which will help spread awareness.
Students, teachers, and family members then upload videos based on the specific idea to spread awareness and generate donations. Provide prizes for videos or pictures that go “more viral.”
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Get StartedThemed Photo Contest
Similar to the social media challenge idea above, host a photo contest with specific ideas or themes in mind. All community members can get involved with donors using their dollars as “votes” for their favorite photo entries through your FutureFund campaign store.
Crowdfunding Campaigns
Another great way to get the community involved is to create crowdfunding campaigns for specific projects or causes, this can even be for Giving Tuesday itself. Refer people to your online donation page and get as many donations as possible from as many as possible.
Gratitude Wall
Create a gratitude wall where donors can leave messages or names in exchange for donations. This can be created online or somewhere on a school campus if you have the space and proper permission. It could become the ultimate photo-op spot in the future if executed well!
Community Service Day
Another great way to get the community involved in the students’ education is to offer community services in return for donations. Once the job is complete, refer people to your online donation page.
Tip: If you’re looking to raise a lot check out these 15 Fundraising Ideas That Make the Most Money.
Purchase Campaigns
Any kind of fundraiser where you sell physical items or event tickets is a Purchase campaign. Add each item type to your school group’s online store in FutureFund by creating a specific Purchase campaign for it.
Learn how to run a purchase campaign here.
Tip: Always run Purchase campaigns alongside physical events like school spirit wear sales, since this allows you to make sales 24/7 and lets people make purchases even if they can’t attend the event.
Giving Tuesday Gala
Organize a ticketed gala event, possibly virtual, with entertainment and speakers. Charge each participant for entry by selling tickets ahead of the date of the event. This becomes the main source of revenue that will help to meet your fundraising goals.
You can also have add-ons like snacks and drinks, which increase the fundraising potential of the event.
See Also: 15 Halloween Fundraising Ideas for Schools
Educational Workshop or Webinar
Another purchase campaign that could be rather helpful would be to hold an educational workshop or webinar. Using community involvement and connection, utilize “who you know” to create events that sell tickets. The proceeds go to the school and the attendees get something beneficial in return too.
The learning opportunities could even be educationally focused: a night reviewing the college application process or FAFSA informational meetings, for example.
Talent Show or Concert
A school-wide Talent Contest (in-person or virtual) is a great opportunity for students to show off their skills and abilities while improving parent engagement! Have volunteers sign-up online within our platform to help the event run smoothly and sell tickets beforehand as well. Make sure to promote the event early through social media and use our shareable links to get the most attendance!
Cook-Offs or Baking Contests
Food-based fundraisers are a classic option—and they definitely bring in the dough (of both kinds)? Organize a cook-off or baking contest that includes entry fees for both participants and ticket sales for those who want to watch and maybe taste test a little too. Make sure there’s an option for online voting and prizes for the winners as well.
Art Sale or Exhibit
Showcase local artists and students while selling artwork! The proceeds can go to the school’s fundraising goal and it can take place on Giving Tuesday.
This is super easy to hold virtually if you aren’t looking to get too many volunteers involved. Or, you can create an in-person experience and gain revenue from ticket sales as well.
Interactive Online Game or Quiz Night
Host a game night or quiz with entry fees. A game night is a great fundraiser to do virtually (although, it can be held in person too). Sell tickets in advance online, which will be the main source of revenue at the fundraiser.
You can also have add-ons like snacks, drinks, or even hold “tournaments” for popular games which increase the fundraising potential of the event.
Book Sale or Swap
A book sale and swap could be a great way to encourage reading, which is perfect when dealing with our schools, and also earn some funds for your educational causes. Organize this event using volunteers and the library at school to host the event!
Craft Workshop or DIY Kits
Offer a craft workshop or sell DIY kits with proceeds going directly to your fundraising goal. You can pre-sell entries online through your FutureFund page for different classes or workshops with local artists and teachers donating their time.
And then have the students make the kits to be sold through online links and at the workshops themselves. The more avenues for revenue you can create, the better.
Movie Night
Arrange an online or in-person movie screening with a ticketed entry. Pre-sales can happen online and, if you hold it in person, you can offer popcorn, soda, and candy to be sold for fundraising revenue as well.
Online Auctions
By using a site like FutureFund, you can organize an online auction for your school! Source donations from various businesses or private individuals and then use our messaging system to help communicate and coordinate the event.
Then, list items online and have people bid for the item! Participants love a chance to win something and your school will be the ultimate winner!
A-Thons (Pledge Campaigns)
An “A-Thon” fundraiser is a special kind of pledge campaign you can run in FutureFund. Once you create the campaign for the event, students who sign up to participate each get a link they can use to collect donations from family and friends.
Find step-by-step instructions for successful pledge campaigns here.
Tip: The link you’ll share when you create the campaign is what you’ll use to sign up student participants. When they register for the event, they’ll each get their own unique link that they can use to raise money from members of the school community.
Charity Walks/Runs
Give attendees an opportunity to work on their fitness while also creating an opportunity for giving to their local schools. Organize a charity walk or run for competitors. Host it like an a-thon where participants can register beforehand and receive donations for their work at the event!
Want more inspiration? Explore our whole list of A-Thon fundraisers.
Other Fundraising Ideas
Business Partnership
Partner with a local business to create an option for them to donate a portion of their sales on Giving Tuesday. This mutually beneficial option will drive traffic to their store while also benefiting your school. You can accept direct donations online as well by advertising to guests.
Local coffee shops, grocery stores, boutiques, restaurants, and more would be great options!
Personal Fundraising Pages
Encourage supporters to create their own fundraising pages using FutureFund. They can provide links to your school’s cause which may include a school-wide goal, group or club goals, as well as sports’ goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I use FutureFund’s messaging system to promote my Giving Tuesday fundraiser?
FutureFund’s messaging system lets you:
- Send messages to every parent in your school community or filter your audience to reach specific groups.
- Create unique sender profiles to make sure the message is always coming from the appropriate party.
- Use customizable message templates to save time when broadcasting updates or announcements.
Should my Giving Tuesday fundraiser be a Purchase or a Donation campaign?
Use Purchase campaigns to sell event tickets or physical items (like baked goods, merchandise, or arts and crafts).
Use Donation campaigns to collect money from community members in support of a specific goal or cause (like a food drive).
The great thing about a Giving Tuesday Fundraiser is you can leverage the spirit of the day to market the event or campaign with even more appeal to the community.
How do I sell sponsorships with FutureFund?
FutureFund displays sponsors on your school group’s online directory once they have agreed to make a contribution. You’ll be able to set the price for sponsorships on your own—but our team can provide guidance and support if you’re not sure what to charge.
How can I use FutureFund to track my fundraiser’s success?
FutureFund gives you the ability to generate financial reports for fundraising campaigns in just a few clicks. To do this, navigate to Store and click the Reports tab near the top of your screen. Then choose Campaign Summary from the drop-down menu and click Generate Report.
