Soapbox Engage Blog

Many schools rely on fundraising to support clubs, sports teams, field trips, and other fun activities. But since these activities persist year after year, certain fundraising ideas can become boring after being repeatedly used.

But school fundraisers don’t have to be boring or “been there, done that.” When done right, they can be great community building activities.

Here are 10 unique fundraising ideas for K-12 schools:

1. Sell K-12 school merchandise
2. Host a cook-off fundraiser
3. Host a silent auction
4. Organize a 5k, walk-a-thon, or bicycle event
5. Tournaments for K-12 fundraising
6. Canoe battleship for fundraising
7. Used book sale
8. Hold a restaurant night
9. “Specific Date, Specific Amount” fundraiser
10. Car or computer smash

1. Sell school merchandise

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. If you offer high-quality items that both students and parents will love, you can raise quite a bit!

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.

You can offer an unlimited number of products with the Soapbox Engage 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.

2. Host a cook-off fundraiser

Who doesn’t love a little healthy competition paired with tasty food? A popular and fun idea is the classic chili cookoff fundraiser, but you can think outside the box! 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.

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

3. Host a silent auction

Silent auctions are popular fundraising events for a reason. 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. Here are some ideas of what you could offer in a silent auction:

• 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

4. 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.

5. Tournaments for fundraising

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.

If paintball isn’t your jam, here are some other 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

You can use the Soapbox Engage Events app to 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. 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!

Not everyone carries cash, but you can use the Soapbox Engage Donations App to allow supporters to make donations from their mobile device.

7. Used book sale

A used book sale is a great fundraiser that gives people an incentive to declutter while also raising money for your school. Two birds, one stone! Ask parents to donate books they no longer want or need and have the school librarian donate books the school library can’t use anymore. Book sales are popular events so be sure to invite the whole community!

8. Hold a restaurant night

Restaurant nights are popular fundraisers because it allows parents to forget cooking for the night, while also giving back to their child’s school. Many chain restaurants allow you to set up a fundraising night for your school or club where you’ll receive a certain percentage of the sales from people associated with your organization. You can find a list of restaurants with fundraising nights by doing a quick search or try calling local restaurants to see if they have fundraising options.

9. “Specific date, specific amount” fundraiser

This is one of the easiest fundraisers to do, and it can be very effective. The idea is that a date is chosen for parents to donate a specific amount of money. You can make it something easy to remember like $10 on the 10th. Just make sure you remind parents early and often so they don’t forget!

10. 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. “Rage Rooms” are very popular right now, and you’d be surprised at what people are willing to pay in order to smash something!

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When doing any of these events, you’ll want to make it easy to advertise, collect information, collect donations, etc. That’s why you should be using Salesforce for K-12 schools, if you’re not already. 89% of Salesforce customers have said it improved their ability to achieve their mission, so it’s sure to make a difference for you! And with Salesforce, you can integrate with the suite of Soapbox Engage apps with ease, which is sure to streamline your fundraising.

And there you have it, ten unique fundraiser ideas for K-12 schools. Happy fundraising! Here are more resources that will help you with your fundraising journey:

• 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 Gifts Tips and Tricks: A matching gift can be a major difference between a successful or unsuccessful fundraising campaign. Not sure how it works? Check out this blog post with tips and tricks for matching gifts.
• 3 Tips to Level Up Your Nonprofit Event Marketing With Data: If you’re going to be hosting more events for your school, you’ll need the marketing to make sure you meet your goals. This blog post has three tips to help you use data to improve your event marketing.