As a student, parent, educator, volunteer, or staff member, you likely have your fair share of experience when it comes to fundraising ideas for schools. You might be pumped to get started with your school’s next campaign. But you also might be burnt out by the task. Either way, choosing the right school fundraising ideas can make a world of difference in terms of engagement and revenue.
At SchoolMoney, we’re all about helping you raise more money for your school. That’s why we put together this list of our favorite ideas—broken down into these six categories:
- Corporate Giving Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Event Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Sales Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Online Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Educational Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Other Fantastic Fundraising Ideas for Schools
- Keep your school—and its students, families, staff, and other supporters—in mind as you browse this resource and find your next brilliant fundraising idea. Let’s jump right in!
Corporate Giving School Fundraising Ideas
We love corporate giving in particular because it allows institutions like yours to make the most of the resources in your network and begin crafting relationships with charitable-minded businesses in your community. Plus, many of these fundraising ideas don’t require a direct financial ask of parents and family members, which can be a welcome surprise for many. fundraiser companies for schools
Consider some of these easy and profitable ways to get involved with corporate fundraising:
1. Matching Gifts
Thousands of companies will match donations made by their employees to qualifying nonprofits and schools. Utilize these types of corporate matching gift programs for your school by informing donors of the opportunity and encouraging them to look into their own eligibility. If your donors are eligible to participate, be sure to guide them through the process by providing company-specific matching gift guidelines and instructions. Then, you’ll end up with two donations for the cost of soliciting one.
And even better, you can easily automate this fundraising idea—especially if you utilize a fundraising platform with integrated matching gift software! These types of tools will enable your school to easily promote matching gifts to every donor.
This is especially critical when you realize that, despite 26 million people working for companies with matching gift programs, more than 78% of the group has never been made aware of the opportunity. And when people are knowledgeable about matching gifts, research shows that they’re significantly more likely to donate and to donate in larger quantities.
2. Volunteer Grants
Similar to matching gifts, tons of philanthropic companies will offer volunteer grants as well. Instead of providing funds in response to employee donations, companies contributing volunteer grants offer funds based on hours their employees volunteer with nonprofit causes. This is an excellent way to collect increased corporate revenue while simultaneously engaging your school’s volunteers in new and unique ways.
3. Sponsored Event
Planning on hosting a school fundraising event (like the ones described below)? Reach out to local or national businesses to consider developing strategic corporate sponsorships. In these mutually beneficial nonprofit-business partnerships, participating companies offer support to your school, typically in the form of funding, in-kind contributions, or media efforts. In return, you provide unique value propositions—such as co-marketing opportunities or booth space at the event.
Plus, keep in mind that some of the best opportunities for corporate-sponsored fundraising events can come from existing relationships. For example, if a good deal of your donors work for a particular business, that can be an excellent prospective sponsor to reach out to.
Top tip! Make sure to keep track of the companies that your donors (such as students’ parents, alumni, and more) work for. When you have access to key employment data such as this, you can better target corporate fundraising opportunities such as sponsored events, workplace giving, and more.
4. Checkout Donation Jars
Checkout donation jars are one of the simplest ways to partner with businesses in your community. With a fundraiser like this, all you have to do is set up an area where the businesses’ customers can easily contribute to your school fundraiser. While the customers are paying the businesses for the goods and services they receive, they’re able to make the decision to contribute to a local school fundraiser. You might be surprised at how many people choose to give a few dollars here and there—and those amounts can add up quickly!
5. Restaurant Percentage Night
Restaurant percentage nights are a favorite fundraising idea for schools and nonprofits everywhere. A school partners with a local restaurant in its community, which agrees to donate a portion of its sales or profits for a night. The school then encourages its students, families, and overall community to have a meal at the restaurant in question. Individuals are able to support their school while also receiving a delicious meal, restaurants see significantly increased sales, and organizations end up with substantial revenue from the partnership—all in a single day!
6. Employee Stipends
Another form of employee giving program that can significantly benefit schools like yours is that of employee grant stipends. Companies that offer this type of corporate philanthropy provide their employees with set amounts of corporate funding that they can donate to a school or other nonprofit cause of their choice. In order to leverage this kind of giving program for your institution, be sure to look into the employing companies of your current students’ parents and alumni.