Who remembers selling wrapping paper or candy bars in school? How about collecting proofs of purchase from cereal boxes? Education fundraising is part of the school experience for most of us. But even as fundraising elsewhere has evolved and moved online over the years, schools tend to return to the same education fundraising ideas year after year. But are these methods effective? We’re not so sure at Mightycause.
Education fundraising has been a mainstay on Mightycause since our inception. These education fundraising ideas are culled from over a decade of successful fundraisers we’ve seen on our platform.
About Education Fundraising on Mightycause
Education fundraising is one of the most popular uses of the Mightycause platform. And that’s because whether you’re fundraising as a public school, a PTO, a sports team, or a private school, you can use Mightycause. We disburse the funds directly to your school, send tax receipts to donors, offer flexible pricing to suit your education fundraising needs, and provide comprehensive donation reports. Mightycause provides an array of education fundraising tools that will help your school or organization reach its goals.
LEARN MORE ABOUT EDUCATION FUNDRAISING ON MIGHTYCAUSE
Elementary School Fundraising Ideas
Education fundraising at the elementary school level can be tricky. Teachers and parents usually end up doing most of the heavy lifting. So, fundraisers need to be relatively easy to run. And you want to ensure that the fundraiser is easy for the participating students to understand, as well as being fun and engaging. These fundraising ideas are proven successful on Mightycause … and they’re perfect for elementary school students!
Due to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), children under 13 are not allowed to set up their own pages on Mightycause. So, students will need their parents to help them set up online fundraising pages.
1. Read-a-Thon
Read-a-Thons are great education fundraisers for elementary school students. And we’ve seen them be successful time and time again on our platform. The premise is simple: Start a team on Mightycause, have parents set up a page on Mightycause, create a reading list, and have them ask family to sponsor them! Unlike sales-focused fundraisers, a Read-a-Thon connects to their education. It gets kids reading … and can help spark a lifelong love of the written word!
2. Pajama Day
The key to a good education fundraiser is getting students to work for something they want. And the chance to come to school in comfy pajamas is usually great motivation! This type of fundraiser can work a few different ways. But for elementary school age children, it’s easiest to set up a fundraiser page on Mightycause where parents can make a donation to the school in exchange for a pajama day for their child. And if you hit your fundraising goal, why not grant the privilege to the entire student population?
3. Dance-a-Thon
Dance-a-Thons are a popular education fundraising idea for elementary school-aged children. We’ve seen schools host them successfully every year! They’re fun, they’re active, and easy to coordinate. They operate a lot like Read-a-Thons. You start a team on Mightycause, which you can set up to be a competition between classes or even individual kids in a class, and start fundraising!
4. Playground Upgrade
Is your elementary school’s playground looking a little sad? Have your teachers watched class after class play on the same tired equipment for years? Then it’s time for an upgrade! This is a cause sure to motivate your students. Start a fundraiser on Mightycause to give your school’s playground a redesign!
5. Crowdfunding Out-of-Pocket Expenses
It’s no secret that teachers often spend money out of their own pockets for classroom supplies and equipment. The average teacher spends nearly $500 per year, while some spend as much as $5,000. Often, teachers bite the bullet and spend their own money because the supplies they need are just not in the school’s budget. Other times, it’s because they know they have some students who can’t afford everything on the supply list. On Mightycause, you can create fundraisers for personal causes (with no platform fees). Crowdfunding some of these costs can help teachers ease the burden of paying for supplies out of their own paychecks. This education fundraising idea is more for the teachers, but the ultimate beneficiaries are the students who will get to enjoy the use of the supplies and equipment.
Middle School Fundraising Ideas
Middle school is often when we see students getting more actively involved in fundraising efforts. Traditionally, we often send them out to sell wrapping paper or pizza kits. But while that’s all good fun, we recommend focusing on tactics that spark passion for your school in your students. These education fundraising ideas are proven successful on Mightycause. And, as a bonus, they’re cost-effective and easy to run!
6. Middle School Showdown
One thing we’ve seen over and over again on Mightycause is that bragging right is a huge motivator for students. Especially when they have the chance to best another grade! This is an easy team fundraiser — just start a team, and create a page for each grade. (You can split them up into classes if you want a more complex campaign.) Grades compete on a leaderboard for the top spot by sending family and friends to their grade’s page to make a donation.
Check out how Forest Ridge Academy used their students’ healthy competitive spirit to drive their annual fundraiser!
Forest Ridge Academy builds their donor base through online fundraising
7. Write-a-Thon
A Write-a-Thon nurtures creativity in your students … while raising money for your school! All you need to do is set up a team page on Mightycause, have the future novelists in your school sign and create their page, and then ask family members to sponsor them. You can host the Write-a-Thon in your school’s computer lab, and provide snacks to keep your writers fueled. At the end of the day, you’ll have some great writing from your students, and support for your school.
8. Fun Run
Fun runs are a mainstay of education fundraising … and that’s because they work! They also help encourage activity in your students and get them united behind your school. Fun runs are a great use of Mightycause’s team fundraising tools, and you can inspire healthy competition by having grades compete against each other!
9. Art-a-Thon
An Art-a-Thon can be a great project for an art class! Like a Write-a-Thon, team fundraising is perfect for it. Students join your Art-a-Thon team and ask people to sponsor them. Host it in your art classroom, and have your artistic students get creative to benefit your school!
10. Sports Team Fundraising
Middle school is around the time when organized sports become more competitive … and expensive. Getting the school and parents to rally around sports teams for travel games, new uniforms and new equipment is a great way to utilize the Mightycause platform!
Sports Fundraising Ideas: Mightycause’s Top 25 Sports Fundraising Ideas
High School Fundraising Ideas
High school students are in a much better position to get involved in school fundraising activities than younger students. So, you can really get creative with education fundraising for high schools! Here are a few ideas to get you started.
11. Charity Fundraising Contest
Civic responsibility is one of the most important lessons schools try to teach. That’s why service learning hours are required of students to graduate high school in so many places. And while canned food drives are great, what charities need most is money. For instance, food banks will happily welcome canned food donations. But they can make a dollar go even further to feed the hungry. So get your high school students involved in a charitable fundraising team as a project! On Mightycause, you can fundraise for multiple causes within a team, which allows students or classes to pick whatever charity speaks loudest to them.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CHARITABLE FUNDRAISING
12. Embarrass the Teacher
All high school students have a little bit of a rebellious streak. Take advantage of it by agreeing to let them prank a (willing) authority figure as a reward for reaching their fundraising goal for the school! Whether it’s a pie in the face, a dunk tank, a teacher shaving their head, or wearing a ridiculous outfit to school, this can be a fun way to motivate students to fundraise for the school.
13. Polar Bear Plunge
The Polar Bear Plunge is a perennial fundraising favorite! Get your high school students involved in philanthropy by organizing a plunge, or participating in an existing plunge. You can use Mightycause to fundraise for any charity (including your school) and incredible feats (like wading into cold water in the winter months) are always a great way to get sponsors interested.
14. School Club Fundraising
School clubs are an important part of the high school experience for so many of us. Whether you’re in the yearbook club, glee club, chess club, anime club … it’s a place to make friends, grow your interests, and find your community. Fundraising can help high school students keep these clubs going and pay for any expenses. Clubs can also set up a Mightycause page where members can pay membership fees (if there are any) and fund trips, nights out and buy needed supplies.
15. Yearbook Fundraiser
What student doesn’t want to buy a copy of their yearbook?! You can use an online fundraiser to allow students to pay for their yearbooks online, or even fundraise to make them free for students.