60 easy fundraising ideas for schools

Rebellious kids (and a lot of the teachers most likely) will LOVE this great fundraising idea.

Pay 50p (or whatever amount the school decides) to break (pre-approved!) rules such as wearing football kit instead of uniform, allowing nail varnish, coloured hair spray, transfer tattoos, sneaky chocolate in lunchboxes, odd socks... the possibilities are endless!

Who doesn't love Smarties? Kids are given tubes of Smarties, and once eaten, are required to do small jobs for 20p or £1, with the coins being put in the empty tube.

There ARE things to bear in mind though: Kids with dairy allergies or vegans won't be able to eat Smarties. Not EVERYONE will be in a position to fill their tube with 20p pieces (which is the usual) let alone pound coins, so have some alternatives up your sleeve: plenty of empty tubes and suitable treats for the kids who can't scoff the choc, and make it clear any coins can be put in.

And don't do the count up in front of the class. No one needs know who filled with £1 coins, and who could only use fives.

Buy a load of cheap frames from Ikea or the pound shop, have the kids do a self portrait or a family portrait, and hold an art exhibition where parents can buy the work.

This great fundraising idea translates well online too, as you can post the artwork on social media for everyone to enjoy or even purchase from afar. No one can resist their budding Picasso's artistry when they see it online...

Another easy-peasy one - ask pupils and parents to bring in any spare coins/loose change they have, then organise a coin trail around the school on a chosen date - see how far the coins will stretch around the school, then bag up and bank!

If you're struggling to raise funds because no one carries cash these days, consider investing in a card reader. This way, no one has an excuse not to chip in!

Most of us are guilty of failing to meet our 10,000 daily exercise targets, let alone walk our kids to school. Transform the school run into a charity event by asking friends and family to sponsor your daily steps. And if you hit your target? You'll raise extra funds AND get fitter too, so it's a win-win. Plus it ties in nicely with Walk to School Week held every May.

A great fundraising idea for reluctant readers and bookworms alike - get sponsored for each book read over a set period, or each chapter - the options are endless, and it can be done during Book Week or the school holidays to encourage reading AND raise money!

For a super easy way to raise money, movie night is always popular with families. Choose a familiar film for maximum inclusivity and the entrance fee can include the film and snacks. Theme it to the seasons, too - Christmas film night, or Halloween scary movie night.

In the summer, consider an outdoor event (with a projector and deckchairs) for a 'drive-in' type experience. Check your licensing rules and regs first thought - the Film Bank Media MPLC websites are good places to start.

The easiest way to raise cash in the run up to Christmas is to set a fancy dress theme! Charge everyone £1 to wear a Christmas sweater. And for extra cash suggest adding on another pound per additional Christmas accessory such as a jazzy tie or reindeer headband.

Don't forget to ask your friends and family to tag your charity or include your hashtag when they post the obligatory Christmas jumper pics online!

Everyone has at least one bag of stuff at home that's destined for the charity shop. But as they say, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure! So wrap up your unwanted bits and pieces and create a lucky dip to generate some cash and get rid of old stuff in one hit, win-win! Keep prices low (50p or £1) and check all items thoroughly for cleanliness and safety before wrapping.

A jumble trail is a cross between a car boot sale and a treasure trail, but without having to leave your street! Team up with your neighbours and get everyone to hold table top sales in their own front gardens for charity. To make it extra fun, print off a map featuring all the houses participating in the trail, and you can sell this too.

Hands up who struggles to get your kids dressed in the morning? Suggest that all the students (and brave staff!) at the school pay to wear their jim-jams all day long. Parents will appreciate this fundraising idea as it will make for a very quick morning routine and the little ones will love wearing their PJs at school.

Many parents don't know that just by linking Amazon to their school, they can donate money as they shop. It's easy to sign up for via the smile.amazon.com link! Simply email the instructions out to the whole school and voila, watch the pounds mount up for your school to spend without you doing anything but stock up on Amazon stuff!

Bingo is always a popular game for the whole family to play, and can be adapted with seasonal prizes, making it ideal for Easter and Christmas fundraising!

You only need to invest in buckets, sponges, car shampoo, and have access to a tap to set up a charity car wash, so it's a brilliantly low outlay event that can be hosted on the school grounds, perhaps as part of another event such as the summer fair.

This fundraising idea is better suited to older primary school kids for health and safety, and also done with parent/teacher supervision, but it's a great way to raise funds!

Sponsored spell or Spelling Bees are great for developing literacy skills AND raising money! Kids can compete as individuals or in teams to spell the most words.

Kids design a tea towel either individually or as a class, and the finished items are then sold to parents. There are loads of companies who offer school tea towel printing, or you might find a local printer who will do it for you even cheaper to keep costs down and profits high!

Decide on a good price for a cup of tea or coffee and a slice of cake, and set up a stall in a quiet part of the school for parents/carers to pop in to at school drop off - you could also provide takeaway options for those who need to dash away.

Buy catering size cakes wholesale (Costco is a great source!) or home bake to increase profits.

Set up a gift-wrapping stall at the Christmas fair, or as a stand alone event, and charge parents and visitors a fee to have their presents wrapped. You could have a sliding scale of charges, and sell gift bags and paper alongside, too.

Much like the tea towel fundraising idea, this could be done on an individual child, class, or year group basis - there are lots of companies that print the cards once you have orders from parents, and it's a great money-spinner!

Have children bring in their favourite teddy and a packed lunch for a lovely picnic on the school field. Charge per teddy. Cakes and other treats could be sold to raise further funds.

This fundraising idea might not equal much sleep, but it's guaranteed to cause excitement and keenness to participate from the kids! Set a charge for staying, then have further fundraisers with snacks and hot chocolate sales throughout the evening, and a breakfast buffet the next day!

Have parents donate their unwanted adults and kids books, and host a sale with a flat rate per book (or one rate for kids books, one for adult titles) - the cheaper the better to keep stock moving.

A great 'regular event' fundraiser which parents will be keen to support to clear their bookshelf clutter!

Recruit suitably qualified parents to donate their services and host a pamper evening - massages, manicures, pedicures, henna tattoos and hair braiding always go down well!

Strike a deal with a local fish and chip shop, and mark up, offering as a sit-in event or takeaway – just make sure you have a vegetarian option available, too!

Set up an after-school stall selling tasty treats from around the world. Have parents donate their home-baked delicacies or ready-to-heat ready made meals or hot snacks.

Scour the world food aisle in the supermarket, or small ethnic stores for products to sell on, too.

Sell single roses for kids to buy for mum or dad (or their little sweetheart!). If you have a parent with access to a flower wholesaler you'll really maximise your profits!

Host a talent night for children and teachers. Charge a fee to enter, and give prizes for winners in different categories. Sell tickets to the event, have a bar (check local licensing rules) and snack stand for parents and guests to buy from. The funnier the grown-up 'talents' are, the better!

It could be fun to add the best (and worst) acts on TikTok too, but do check with the parents before you publish videos of their kids online.

Ask parents to fill a bin bag per family with unwanted clothes for the PTA to sell on to clothes recyclers. This fundraising idea won't make a fortune (around 50-90p per kilo), but it's an easy way to raise money, and families are always keen to have a clear out!

Bulk buy or bake plain cupcakes and let the children (and staff!) add their choice of frosting and sprinkles for their own bespoke cake. Great for an end-of-school-day playground-based sale so the ensuing sticky messes go home rather than in to the classroom...

Recruit a parent or teacher who is a dab hand at mending punctures, replacing brake cables, or putting stabilisers on, and have a bike surgery as part of a larger event, or as a regular monthly drop in.

Bulk buy repair kits, and charge a flat rate per repair. Almost everyone has a bike in their shed they keep MEANING to sort out to sell on or give away!

Ask local estate agents if they would be interested in working together to promote THEIR biz and YOUR school event – locals then display one of their boards outside their house (usually for a minimum number of weeks) and the estate agents pay the school for the advertising - often around £20 a board.

Ask a local boutique if they would like to sell their clothes via a catwalk show with a cut of the profits going to the PTA. Get mums to model for a fun ladies-only event!

This fundraising idea could be held in conjunction with a pamper evening for a girl's' night out vibe and would be super fun to post the fashion looks on Instagram too. As always, ask permission before you post kids' pics online and don't forget to tag your charity.

There are 2 ways to do this: Find an ice cream seller prepared to visit the school every Friday afternoon during the summer and sell their wares for a donation to the PTA. OR set up your own ice cream stand with shop-bought ices to sell on. Either way, it is sure to rake in the cash, because no one can resist ice cream...

Most of us have at least one old mobile phone lurking in a drawer at home. But did you know that old phones can be recycled in exchange for cash? Set up a mobile phone initiative at school to encourage all the parents to donate their old tech and the pounds will quickly start rolling in.

Quiz nights are great for families and groups of all ages as long as you vary the questions and include something for everyone.

Get that pub vibe going by ordering beer from a local brewery, and selling 'bar snacks' too - a guaranteed money maker! Do check your local licensing rules first though.

Some guaranteed quiet time is always the teaching staffs' favourite fundraiser, and parents' too if you organise for it to take place over a weekend. This fundraising idea is super easy to arrange, and a lot of fun for children!

Pay £1 and wear your silliest or oddest socks for charity! What could be easier?

Invite local artisans to hire a table to sell their handmade items in the school hall. You could also ask for a profit split, too. Advertise widely to ensure lots of footfall that's not just from parents.

Hire a machine, or a DJ package that includes karaoke, and hold a fun family song night - charge an entrance fee and have food and drink stalls, too. But do invite some confident singers to kick things off!

Seek out green-fingered parents who are willing to donate a plant or some home-grown produce, or ask your local allotment group or horticultural society if they would like to sell at a school event.

Either charge for a table, or take a percentage of profits.

Get parents to volunteer an hour or two of their professionals time to be auctioned off for the benefit of the school - think plumbers, handy people, cleaners, chefs, taxi drivers and even child-minders!

Everyone loves a curry night, and whether you get talented parents to whip up dishes in the school kitchen, ask a local restaurant to donate meals, or offer a hefty discount so you can cover costs and make a profit, it's sure to be a tasty success.

Send a letter home or post on Facebook asking if any parents have employers who offer a fund-matching scheme – some companies will match the amount raised from an event if their employee has volunteered their time.

Encourage outfits from their teenage years, and get the music requests in advance, so you can play something from everyone's heyday! Just watch out for snogging behind the bike sheds....

Keep this one off-line to avoid embarrassment. Or better yet, charge parents NOT to post photos of them looking silly on the community Facebook group.

Create a Christmas gift shop that children can buy little presents from for their parents - each pupil donates a new item, such as chocs or toiletries, anything low-value but that would make a suitable gift, which is then sold on in the school 'gift shop'.

Check out sites like easyfundraising which will make a small donation to your cause when you click through to certain retailers from their site. Make parents aware via the school newsletter or social media and include the link on all your online charity fundraising communications.

The old ideas are sometimes the easiest and the best: if you have a school pool, make the most of it! Or if your school has lessons via a local swimming club or leisure centre, ask about doing a joint fundraising event. It's sure to make a huge splash!

Ask all the parents in your kid's class to team up and run a race together for charity! Events such as Race for Life are excellent ways to fundraise and you don't need to be super fit to participate. Dress up, stick on that tutu and walk, run or even crawl your way round the course with the kids in tow for a fun-filled day out.

Send home a children's quiz sheet with a £1 entry fee; give a small prize (fun-size chocolate bar) for all completed sheets, and put all fully completed and correct sheets into a drawer for a bigger prize. Great for learning, fundraising AND fun-raising!

This fundraising idea is a bit like a treasure hunt, but with a specific theme, for example, a safari trail. Parents display a picture of their allocated safari animal in one window, and the school sells a map of the participating streets and what you are looking out for, with families walking the route to tick off everything listed on the map. Give a small prize for all completed entries!

Have children bring in a baby photo, and print out a quiz-style sheet featuring each pic so that their classmates can guess who the baby is. To raise funds, charge an entry fee, plus a small prize for the winners. If you can persuade them, you could also do a quiz sheet with the teachers' baby pics for parents to enter!

Kids bring in loose change and each class competes to build the highest tower from the coins on the last day of term. Little prize for the winning class. Money in PTA pot. Just don't jostle the table the tower is on...

Everyone loves playing boardgames and they're a great way to get the whole family involved. Ask your school if you can host a board game night, charge for entry and set up a bar or hotdog stand to make a few extra quid.

Hold a car boot sale at school for parents to sell off their unwanted junk (and buy more). Check out what other boot sales charge per pitch and price yours accordingly.

Sell adults and children's tickets, recruit a number of families to run the BBQs, and perhaps hire a bouncy castle or DJ, too. Buy meats and salads wholesale, and ask for dessert donations from local cafes and restaurants. Have stalls selling popcorn or candyfloss (invest in a machine - it will be a GREAT investment for fundraising events) and encourage parents to bring extended family to increase sales! Have games like rounders and cricket set up, and tell families to bring picnic blankets and deckchairs to make for a garden party atmosphere.

An oldie but a goodie, everyone loves getting stuck in on sports day. Ask if you can combine your kids' school sports day with a charity event and charge for entry or approach local businesses about sponsorship. Don't forget to share and tag the event online and include links so that parents who weren't able to attend can still donate.

Did you know that one tree can provide a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people? Approach your council or local nature reserve about hosting a charity tree planting day and you can all breathe easy! You could even ask your local tree nursery to donate saplings for the event. And don't forget to track your tree growth on social media.

Similar to board game night but with higher stakes, organise a casino night at your school hall and ask everyone to get dolled up James Bond style! Sell tickets on the door, hire a roulette table and encourage everyone to place big bets. Just remember: all proceeds go to charity!

Perhaps the easiest fundraising idea to organise but the hardest one to carry out, encourage kids or parents to give something up for a week and raise sponsorship funds. Parents who drink too much coffee or kids who are addicted to their mobile phones will find this one a real challenge, but the fundraising possibilities are endless.

Everyone's talking about the Wim Hoff Method and the benefits of ice baths right now. But how long could you stay under icy water? This one's for the summer months so no one gets hypothermia, but if you can persuade your school to get involved then all you need is a big tub and lots of ice cold water. Charge for entry and hot drinks, time the parents or teachers to submerge themselves and encourage everyone to donate. And don't forget to film this great fundraising idea on TikTok for maximum coverage! Brrrrrrilliant.