10 Exciting Back to School Fundraiser Ideas

Updated July 2025

Summary

• The back-to-school season is the perfect chance to raise money. These 10 ideas will help you fundraise and have a little fun at the same time.  
• Sell tickets to a carnival, breakfast, fashion show, locker contest, or alumni event. These fun activities bring families together while raising funds.
• Set up purchase or donation campaigns like school supply drives, or use them to fund teacher wish lists, sponsor classrooms, or sell school merchandise instead.
• Host a walk-a-thon and collect pledges from community members to give students a reason to stay fit and raise money for school causes at the same time.

The back-to-school season is filled with fresh energy, hope, and a sense of community. As students return to the classroom, it’s a golden opportunity for schools and PTAs to build momentum for the academic year ahead. 

Fundraising at this time of year will help you raise money for school activities—but it’s also the perfect catalyst for parent and community engagement, too. Use these 10 exciting back-to-school fundraiser examples to help kick the year off right and get results!

1. Welcome back carnival

Host a family-friendly carnival with game booths, food stands, and prizes. Use FutureFund to sell tickets to the event, and to keep track of waivers or permission slips by uploading them to the campaign.

Best practices:

• Involve students in creating and managing booths to maximize participation and help them start the year with a sense of pride.
• Use FutureFund to create a campaign that lets you sell tickets to the event in advance.
• Reach out to local businesses for sponsorship opportunities-they can provide prizes for carnival games, or items you can sell during the event and in your school’s online store.

For even better effect, pair this one with one of the 10 ways to celebrate the start of the school year from our team!

2. First day of school breakfast

Organize a special breakfast for parents and students on the first day of school! This is a great way to bring the school community together and make sure everyone starts off the year on a good note. It’s also an opportunity to sell school merchandise and tickets for future planned events.

Best practices:

• Offer a variety of foods, keeping in mind dietary restrictions.
• Use the opportunity to introduce any new PTA members and outline the year’s goals.
• Charge a small entry fee and set up an online store with FutureFund to sell tickets ahead of time.

Parents can pay for their purchase online via Google Pay, Apple Pay, Cash App, or credit card. Our platform will automatically send them a receipt and their ticket.

3. Fall fashion show

Students love showing off their back-to-school outfits, so why not turn it into a fundraising opportunity? Create an event and sell tickets with FutureFund—you can also use our platform to sell school merch ahead of time and hold a contest to see who works it into their outfit in the most creative way.

Best practices:

• Invite local retailers to sponsor or participate.
• Include a mix of student and parent models.
• Sell tickets and make school merchandise available via FutureFund in the weeks leading up to the event.

Use our free thank you letter for business donors to express your gratitude to any local retailers after the show wraps up.

4. Locker decoration contest

Students pay a small fee to participate in a locker decoration contest. This gives students a reason to keep their lockers clean and tidy at the start of the year, but also encourages self-expression and creativity.

Best practices:

• Create a FutureFund campaign to sell tickets for the event, and include a space on the campaign page to upload photos of the winning lockers.
• Offer small prizes like gift cards or school merchandise.
• Make sure there are guidelines for appropriate decorations.

Taking pictures of the best lockers and sharing them on social media will help drive engagement. Ask followers to donate money for arts & crafts supplies at the same time to help fund more events like this one.

5. Alumni engagement event

This one is perfect for high schools. Invite alumni to participate in a special event at the school, like a special networking day for graduating students or TedTalk-style talks. Sell tickets to charge a small fee for entrance in support of school causes.

Best practices:

• Use FutureFund to make selling tickets to your event effortless.
• Create a custom audience of school alumni with our messaging tools. Use it to reach out to alumni and promote the event—or ask them to participate. 
• Launch an alumni donation drive and set up contributions through FutureFund to fund any related fees or expenses.

Sites like Facebook and Instagram can help you spread the word about your event and draw more attention. Find out how to engage alumni through social media.

6. Back-to-school supply drive

Invite parents to donate essential school supplies that can be bundled into kits for students in need. Then, create a campaign in FutureFund to sell the kits online and make them available for purchase 24/7.

Best practices:

• Use FutureFund’s messaging tools to share a list of required supplies with parent volunteers and ask for contributions.
• Set up donation drop-off points at the school entrance or local businesses.
• Offer an option for monetary donations as well. 

FutureFund lets you set up fundraisers and purchase campaigns at the same time. That means anyone who doesn’t need to buy supplies can still support the campaign!

7. PTA membership drive

Encourage parents to join the PTA during the first month of school. Signing up new members and keeping track of dues is easy when you use FutureFund’s membership management tools.  

Best practices:

• Use FutureFund to offer member discounts and perks that incentivize new sign-ups.
• Automatically register new members and organize their contact information in FutureFund’s secure database.
• Send out reminders through FutureFund’s built-in messaging system to keep sign-ups going until the drive closes.

Use our PTSA membership template as a guide to set up your membership drive. You can edit the text, logo, and cost from your FutureFund account dashboard.

8. Teacher supply wish list

Making sure classrooms are prepared for the fall semester is a big job, so why not encourage the school community to pitch in? Teachers list classroom supplies they need, and parents can donate specific items. Alternatively, you can run a classroom fundraiser on FutureFund to collect money for school supplies before the start of the year.

Best practices:

• Make the list of required items easily accessible online (you can do this with FutureFund by uploading the list to your donation campaign or using our messaging tools to send it out to parents by email).
• Include supplies at a range of different price points so that the whole school community can participate. 
• Acknowledge contributions in a special school bulletin-you can use FutureFund’s messaging system to send this out to specific parent groups, or the whole community at once.

If you’re collecting money through FutureFund, you can customize your campaign to accept up to four suggested donation levels. This gives people plenty of options to choose from.

9. Classroom sponsorship program

Sponsorship programs are a great way to raise funds for a specific purpose. Parents and local businesses sponsor a class, then get a plaque or certificate afterward.

Best practices:

• Offer varying sponsorship levels—you can use FutureFund’s campaign management tools to include these as suggested donation amounts.
• Use funds raised specifically for classroom enhancements.
• Use our messaging tools to keep your sponsors updated on how their contributions are making an impact.

Show people how you’re using the money by sharing updates on social media or sending out emails as you reach important milestones.

10. Walk-a-thon

Organize a Walk-A-Thon where students gather pledges for each lap they complete. This will get them outdoors to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather and promote fitness before winter hits.

Best practices:

• Include shorter routes for younger participants.
• Provide water stations and healthy snacks.
• Use FutureFund’s “A-Thon” campaign templates for easy tracking and pledging.

Learn everything you need to know to make pledge-a-thons successful in this a-thon guide from our fundraising experts. 

Start the school year off right with FutureFund

By incorporating these exciting back-to-school fundraisers, you’ll not only generate valuable resources for your school but also foster a sense of community and shared purpose. After all, a well-supported school is a thriving school.

Get started with FutureFund now to learn more about how our platform can help you usher in another year of academic achievement and community building. Then, find answers to the most popular questions we get in the section below.

Frequently Asked Questions about Back-to-School Fundraising

How do I choose the right fundraiser for my school?

You’ll want to choose your fundraiser based on the interests of your school community and the amount of money you need to raise. Our team has lots of experience helping school groups raise money, so check out our full library of effective fundraising ideas here.

Can I run multiple fundraisers on FutureFund at once?

Yes! FutureFund makes it easy to run and manage many different fundraising campaigns at the same time. Go to the “Campaigns” screen on your dashboard to see a list of all fundraisers and filter them according to different criteria. This makes it easier to diversify your fundraising sources and meet your goals.

How can I use FutureFund to raise awareness about back-to-school fundraisers?

Here are two easy and effective ways to promote your campaigns with FutureFund:

• Use our built-in messaging system to create different audiences and customize email templates for targeted outreach. This is a great way to announce your fundraising campaigns and share important updates.
• Get shareable links for each campaign by clicking the View button next to your campaign, then clicking the Share tab. You’ll get a link you can copy and paste into emails, social media posts, and elsewhere to take people directly to the campaign.

Your school’s campaign page is like a central hub for messaging and fundraising. Visitors who click through to it can access all of your current initiatives in the same place.