Updated November 2025
Table of Contents
Easy to Implement Fundraisers
Moderate to Implement Fundraisers
- Field Day
- Cowboy Breakfast
- Pajama Party
- Dive In Movie
- Put On A Sports Clinic
- Breakfast With Santa
- Turkey Trot
Challenging to Implement Fundraisers
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Field Day
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: multi-station outdoor event setup |
| Time to Implement | 6–8 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (games, prizes, food, decorations) |
| Volunteers Needed | 15–25 (booth staff, setup, supervision) |
| Ideal For | End-of-year or spring family celebrations |
Pull several smaller events together for a field day! Have booths for food items and games that win great prizes. This is also a great opportunity to include a silent auction and/or a petting zoo.
For an entry fee, the patrons get access to all of these fun activities plus additional opportunities to give in the form of just a plain donation or purchasing separate tickets to enjoy special events that aren’t included in the entry fee.
See Also: 30 Cool Fundraising Ideas For Schools
Learn more about how to sell and redeem tickets online for free here.
Cowboy Breakfast
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: food prep + morning coordination |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (food, seating, signage) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–15 (cooks, servers, setup crew) |
| Ideal For | Weekend fundraisers, local traditions |
Spend a Saturday hosting a special breakfast event to raise money for the school! Feature a spread of your community’s most popular breakfast items and include smaller events, like a silent auction, to really bring in the cash. Charge an admission fee per person to enjoy the breakfast and include smaller games for the price of admission or charge separately to play.
Renaissance Fair
| Ease of Implementation | Challenging: themed vendors + live entertainment |
| Time to Implement | 8–12 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$$ (performers, rentals, décor) |
| Volunteers Needed | 15–25 (setup, ticketing, coordination) |
| Ideal For | Large school or district events |
Hire a renaissance team to come and host an old timey fair for your school. For an admission fee, patrons get to explore the fair and get an idea of what life was like at the turn of the century.
Host A Bowling Night
| Ease of Implementation | Easy: business partnership + promotion |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (tickets or deposit only) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–4 (promotion, ticket sales) |
| Ideal For | Family nights, small group fundraisers |
Partner with a local bowling alley and host a night where families can come and bowl. When partnering with businesses, they’re usually willing to share a portion of the proceeds with the school for hosting their event there. If not, check to see if you can purchase tickets before the event and resell them to your patrons for the fundraising portion of the event.
Family Game Night
| Ease of Implementation | Easy: board games + food setup |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $–$$ (food, prizes, decorations) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (setup, servers, organizers) |
| Ideal For | Winter events, indoor gatherings |
Host a night where families can come and play board games! For the price of admission, provide a simple dinner, like all you can eat spaghetti or pizza, and access to any board game they can think of!
Family Movie Night
| Ease of Implementation | Easy: movie license + dinner setup |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (movie license, food, projector) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (setup, concessions, cleanup) |
| Ideal For | Family weekends, gym or outdoor screenings |
Provide dinner and play a movie for the whole family to enjoy! Make sure to collect an admission fee and have smaller ways that families can give throughout the event, like an envelope wall, if time allows.
Carnival
| Ease of Implementation | Challenging: requires vendors + space management |
| Time to Implement | 8–12 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$$ (games, rentals, permits) |
| Volunteers Needed | 20–30 (setup, ticketing, security) |
| Ideal For | End-of-year or fall fundraisers |
Hire a carnival crew to come set up their games and rides on school property if space allows and charge an admission fee for your patrons to come and enjoy the games and rides.
Pro tip: make sure to put signs up a week or so ahead of time to drum up lots of excitement and make the most of your event!
Pajama Party
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: childcare + entertainment |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (snacks, games, movie rights) |
| Volunteers Needed | 8–12 (chaperones, setup, cleanup) |
| Ideal For | Elementary or early middle school students |
Host an event where the kids get to lounge around in their PJ’s with their friends. Have them register beforehand so the PTO/PTA can get a headcount and provide dinner and a movie before their parents come to pick them up.
Dive In Movie
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: pool partnership + licensing |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (screen rental, food trucks, lifeguards) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (setup, safety, concessions) |
| Ideal For | Summer events, community pools |
Collect an admission feel and talk to your local pool about bringing in an inflatable screen and projector to show a movie after a long day of fun in the sun. With the addition of a few tables and chairs and a few calls to some local food trucks, you’ll be able to provide the opportunity for meals for the day and possibly be able to split the proceeds with the trucks.
March Madness Week
| Ease of Implementation | Easy: weeklong theme + small contests |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (decorations, prizes) |
| Volunteers Needed | 4–6 (planning, daily activities) |
| Ideal For | Spring semesters, sports-themed events |
For the price of a donation, host an event for the week, like one of the weeks of March Madness, to allow the kids to show support for their favorite teams! Include a few pay-to-play games and other opportunities to win some prizes to truly make the event a memorable one.
Roller Rink
| Ease of Implementation | Easy: venue partnership + ticket promotion |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (tickets or rental) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–4 (promotion, ticket sales) |
| Ideal For | All ages, weekend community events |
Host an event at your local roller rink. The local event places will usually share the proceeds of the event with the school without the PTO/PTA having to do much of the work.
You can also make extra money from this one by turning it into a “Roll-A-Thon” fundraiser where student participants sign up to collect pledges from family and friends!
Learn more about how to run an A-Thon for free.
Put On A Sports Clinic
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: coach coordination + registration |
| Time to Implement | 6–8 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (equipment, prizes, signage) |
| Volunteers Needed | 8–12 (coaches, setup, check-in) |
| Ideal For | Summer or pre-season fundraisers |
Sports events are always a big hit! See if you can persuade some of your top local athletes to come train young athletes in a popular sport and collect a registration fee when the athletes sign up!
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Breakfast With Santa
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: holiday decor + breakfast setup |
| Time to Implement | 6–8 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (food, decorations, photographer) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–15 (servers, photographers, setup) |
| Ideal For | December fundraisers, family events |
Know any Santa’s? Ask one to donate his time and come to a breakfast party! Charge an admission fee for families to come and dine with The Man himself, and even provide an opportunity for families to get nice pictures taken with him for Christmas Cards for an additional fee.
Turkey Trot
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate: course + timing logistics |
| Time to Implement | 8–10 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (permits, timing, shirts, refreshments) |
| Volunteers Needed | 15–20 (registration, setup, safety) |
| Ideal For | Fall/holiday athletic fundraisers |
Set up a Turkey Trot 5k (or any other distance/featuring any other holiday) for your community athletes. For the registration fee, allow them to do the run and provide some goodies after the race has been finished.
Fall Festival
| Ease of Implementation | Challenging: multi-booth seasonal event |
| Time to Implement | 8–10 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$$ (games, food, decor, entertainment) |
| Volunteers Needed | 20–30 (setup, booth staff, security) |
| Ideal For | October–November community events |
Grab a few hay bales and a few apple bobbing stations and set up a fall festival for your community! The PTO/PTA can decide if they want to have the theme feature thanksgiving, halloween, or a mixture of the two. Either way, make sure to collect an entry fee and make sure to have other opportunities for the patrons to donate to the school set up throughout the event!
