Soapbox Engage Blog

Fundraising for schools can feel overwhelming. People are busy and it can be difficult to come up with creative fundraising ideas that don’t involve selling donuts, discount cards, or wrapping paper. Plus, let’s be honest, your neighbor’s parents probably just purchased the minimum number just to be done with the whole thing.

School fundraisers don’t have to be boring, complicated, or “been there, done that.” They can also be great community building activities if done right. We’re here to help streamline the process and put the “fun” back into fundraising for school.

Here are 9 school fundraising ideas that are sure to spice things up and get people excited to participate.

1. Cook-off fundraiser
2. Canoe battleship
3. Sell swag
4. Silent auctions
5. Tournaments
6. Used book sale
7. Sip and paint night
8. Car smash
9. Run or walk-a-thon

1) Host a cook-off fundraiser

Who doesn’t love a little healthy competition paired with tasty food? And it doesn’t have to be a chili cookoff fundraiser! There are dozens of creative culinary competition ideas for school fundraisers.

Cook-offs are fun, easy to organize, and have low overhead costs because the majority of the food is provided by competitors. There are plenty of “up-sell” options, too. For example, if you host a chili cook-off, consider having cornbread or baked potatoes for sale as well. These are very inexpensive food items that pair well with the competitors’ chili.

There are plenty of delicious foods other than chili that make great cook-off events:

• “Soup”er Bowl
• Cookie Bake-off
• Crock Pot Challenge
• Barbecue Showdown
• Griddle Challenge (everything must be cooked on a griddle)
• “Iron Chef” contest or family cook-off

Here are some tips to take your cook-off to the next level:

• Have a local business donate a desirable prize package for the winning team.
• Advertise all over town to get more people through the door. Offer incentives to the teams who bring the most “fans” to vote for their recipe.
• Offer bragging rights like a trophy and the opportunity to have the winning recipe used in the cafeteria throughout the year.
• Bring in chefs from popular local restaurants, city leaders, or local “celebrities” to judge

Soapbox Engage Feature to Make Your Life Easier: Sell fundraising tickets to your cook-off event using our Events app. This takes the drama out of ticket-sales and reduces the administrative time required to manage your event. You can create an unlimited number of events and offer free or fee tickets. Easily set ticket sales start and end dates and even offer promo codes or discounts!

2) Canoe battleship for fundraising

Do you have a school or community pool? Raise funds for your school with a rousing game of Canoe Battleship! You’ll need a few canoes, some life jackets, and the battleship teams. The rules are quite simple and you can alter them as you see fit. Each team must sink the other canoes using buckets, super soakers, splashing, or whatever other resources they have, while protecting their own canoe.

There are many creative ways to get people to open their wallets throughout the event. Start by selling tickets or collecting donations at the door. Allow the audience to “buy” their battleship team extra resources and advantages as the game goes on. For example, someone might donate $10 to give their team an oar or a super soaker. Let your creativity and imagination run wild with this fundraiser!

This school fundraiser works as an in-house event or you can invite other schools and organizations to enter Battleship teams and participate in the event. The local Scouts troop might be a great partnering organization if you need to borrow canoes. You may have to split the proceeds, but everyone benefits because you will expand your audience.

Soapbox Engage Feature to Make Your Life Easier: Not everyone carries cash these days. Allow supporters to make donations (or buy their Battleship team some resources) online with just a few easy clicks on their phone. Donors can customize their own gift amount and even use their PayPal account!

3) Sell swag for fundraising

Promote school spirit and fundraise for your school at the same time! Sell school swag like t-shirts, sweatshirts, banners, or hats for a year-round fundraiser. You might be surprised how much money you can raise if you offer high-quality items that students and parents will love.

T-shirts and hoodies are always crowd-pleasers. Consider partnering with a local screen-printing store to offer custom add-ons. Parents and athletes are always proud to sport their last name or jersey number on the back of a shirt.

Think outside the box for creative swag ideas. If you have a soda or juice fountain in the cafeteria concessions stand, sell custom “free refill” cups at the beginning of the year that students or parents can use all year for free or discounted drinks.

Soapbox Feature to Make Your Life Easier: Offer an unlimited number of products from different online fundraising stores with our Shop app. We made online sales a breeze for schools and nonprofits to sell swag. Create as many products and online stores as you need.

4) Silent auctions for fundraising

There’s a reason silent auctions are popular fundraising events for schools. They are versatile, fun, and potentially very lucrative if you offer the right items.

Whether you invite parents and teachers to create themed fundraising baskets or ask local businesses for donations of goods and services, it is important to auction high-quality items.

Guests love bidding on activities, experiences, and local services. Experiential items usually outperform material goods in silent auctions because the perceived value is higher and experiential items create memories.

Here are a few ideas to get your list started:

• Tickets to a local museum
• Outdoor activities a family can do together, like a high ropes course experience or kayaking trip
• Theme park tickets
• Local brewery or winery tours and tastings
• Spa packages
• Signed memorabilia from professional athletic teams in your region
• Gym memberships or classes from the local CrossFit gym or Orange Theory studio
• Concert tickets or backstage passes
• Restaurant gift certificates or cooking classes
• Bed and Breakfast packages

Increase your profits by turning your silent auction into a dinner event. Partner with a local restaurant to offer a nice meal and invite the students to be servers and hosts for the evening.

Soapbox Engage Feature to Make Your Life Easier: With Soapbox Engage you can choose from a number of non-profit supporting payment processors. Either allow guests to pay for their tickets using their PayPal account or let people register and pay later by cash or check later. Collect funds for tickets and payments for silent auction bids in one simple location.

5) Tournaments for fundraising

Ready to go beyond the typical golf tournament? When was the last time you got invited to a charity paintball tournament? Think of creative tournament activities that everyone can participate in to raise funds for your school. This is a very adaptable fundraiser because you can make it as simple or elaborate as you like.

Up the ante by letting the winning class or team take on favorite teachers, principals, coaches or parents. Sweeten the pot by offering privileges to the victors like a pizza party at lunch or not having to wear school uniforms for a day.

If paintball isn’t your jam, here are a few other creative school fundraiser tournament ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Fishing
• Bowling
• Laser tag
• Wii or video game tournament
• Volleyball
• Cornhole
• H.O.R.S.E. (basketball or soccer)
• Board games or card games
• Kickball

Soapbox Feature to Make Your Life Easier: Use the events registration feature in our Events app to either allow teams or individuals to register for your next school fundraising tournament. The events app is very flexible and will streamline your tournament planning process so you can enjoy the event and watch the money flow in!

6) Used book sale or community yard sale

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure! Help people declutter or find their next treasure while you raise the funds you need.

7) “Sip And Paint” night

Wine and Design doesn’t have to keep all the fun. Have your art department volunteer to lead the painting instructions and participants can bring their beverage of choice.

8) Car or Computer Smash

Have a local junk yard or computer repair store donate a car or computer to the cause. It’s always better when the glass and body are still intact.

9) Organize a 5k, walk-a-thon, or bicycle event

Don’t be afraid to get creative! Donut dashes and slurpee shuffles are memorable and a fun twist to the run of the mill 5k.

Often, the most effective fundraisers for schools are the ones that become part of the school culture or an annual tradition. This allows the event to gain momentum and popularity year after year. Over time, alumni will return to participate in the traditions and invest in their alma mater. Soapbox Engage will be there from start to finish to help take the stress out of fundraising for your school.

Want to take all these great ideas for school fundraising to the next level? Here are some resources to help you move from idea mode to action mode!

• 5 Irresistible Online Fundraising Ideas That Actually Convert In 2019: In addition to fundraising events and activities, schedule an online fundraising event for your school so that people who can’t attend your events will still be able to contribute.
• Salesforce Event Registration Apps: 10 Key Considerations: Most effective school fundraising events require some kind of sign-up or registration process. Learn more about how the Salesforce Event Registration App can make your event registration easier and less stressful.
• Boost Your Revenue with These Matching Gift Tips and Tricks: Don’t leave money on the table! Consider offering matching gift opportunities at your fundraisers to get more bang for your buck.