Updated October 2025
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| Ease of Implementation | Easy – just order & resell |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks (order & distribute) |
| Expenses Required | $$ (bulk glasses order) |
| Volunteers Needed | 3–4 (sales & distribution) |
| Ideal For | Science tie-in, April eclipse season |
The next solar eclipse is supposed to cross North America on April 30th 2022! Because looking directly at it is dangerous, this is the perfect time to make sure everyone can safely observe this science marvel by selling solar eclipse glasses!
Look up manufacturers in your area and see about getting some shipped out in bulk, then sell them for a dollar or two each. This is an amazing learning opportunity for your students and a great way to put a little cash in the Booster Club’s cash box. Its a win-win!
See also: 20 Fundraising Ideas for Spring
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – sourcing required |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$–$$$ (bulk plants, soil, mulch bags) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (sorting & sales) |
| Ideal For | Spring planting season, Earth Day |
Remember that big Christmas Tree Mulch-A-Thon from back in January? Well now its time for phase 2! Have the mulch that wasn’t used or donated bagged to sell along with flowers, seeds, and other bulbs. If the Booster Club didn’t grow their own, go around to the different flower shops and ask for donations to either sell or auction off.
| Ease of Implementation | Easy – donation bins only |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks |
| Expenses Required | None |
| Volunteers Needed | 3–5 (promotion & collection) |
| Ideal For | Families spring cleaning, prep for yard sale |
Spring cleaning anyone? Now is the perfect time to go through those closets and pull out all of the old things to donate them to a good cause! Make an announcement and set up collection bins around your school to take gently used and clean things that your community’s families no longer want. Once you’ve collected them, you can either donate them to shelters or hold on to them for…
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – event setup needed |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (signage, tables) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–12 (setup, sales, cleanup) |
| Ideal For | Large community gatherings, weekend events |
You can pull this together either this month or within the next few months, whichever makes the most sense for your timeline. Pull together all of those donations for a big event on a weekend. If you want more activities, feel free to pair several of these events together for a carnival style party.
PRO TIP: Put up signs leading to the yard sale a few days before the event to let people know when/where its happening and get people excited to shop!
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – coordination needed |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | None |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (student groups, adult supervisors) |
| Ideal For | Farming towns, sports teams, community service |
Ask for some volunteers among your students and see if they would be willing to give up a Saturday to help community members with some chores. For safety reasons, students should be assigned in groups of 3 or more, but have fun with it!
This event should be especially popular in farming communities, and sports teams can use this opportunity to drum up excitement and support within the community!
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – event coordination |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (trophies, prizes) |
| Volunteers Needed | 8–10 (judges, setup, admissions) |
| Ideal For | Families with pets, community contests |
Put out the word for a doggy talent show or costume contest. Charge admission to view the show and/or charge a registration fee for pet parents to enter their pups. Ask distinguished community/school members to judge and the winner gets a trophy, gift card, or other prize.
| Ease of Implementation | Easy – minimal setup |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (signs for winners) |
| Volunteers Needed | 3–4 (judging & promotion) |
| Ideal For | Homeowners, neighborhood engagement |
Have people enter their front or back yards in a lawn contest. Categories can include prettiest flowers, best lawn, best landscaping, and overall winner.
Contestants sign up with a registration fee and you can get the community involved by asking local lawn experts to judge the contest. Winner gets a sign to put in their yard and of course bragging rights to last the rest of the year!
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – stuffing & hiding |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (plastic eggs, candy) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (stuffing, delivery) |
| Ideal For | Easter tie-in, families with kids |
Sell the opportunity for residents to have a certain number of plastic Easter eggs stuffed and hidden around their yards! All the patrons have to do is drop off the plastic egg shells and pay their donation and the eggs will appear Easter morning with a note from the Easter Bunny.
The Booster Club can set the pricing however they see fit but as a guide, I’ve seen 30 eggs hidden for $25, 50 eggs hidden for $45, and 70 eggs hidden for $65.
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – partner with alley |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (venue fees, prizes) |
| Volunteers Needed | 5–7 (coordination, scorekeeping) |
| Ideal For | Towns with bowling alleys, family competition |
If bowling is big in your area, host a bowling tournament! Talk to a local alley about sharing a portion of the proceeds from entry fees and concessions for the night but also charge participants for entry. You can $15 for individual participants or $8 per person for a team and have several lanes going at the same time!
Talk to your local vendors beforehand about getting some prizes that will excite your group and you’ll have a pretty decent money earner!
| Ease of Implementation | Easy – minimal setup |
| Time to Implement | 1–2 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (bulk soda purchase) |
| Volunteers Needed | 4–6 (booth setup, distribution) |
| Ideal For | High school students, prom season |
Have the Booster Club set up a booth where students can buy and send a can of crush soda to someone that they may or may not have a crush on. Nothing says “prom” like a bright orange (or any of the colors) can of soda.
As always, make sure to get all of the orders in by a certain time so the crush distributors have time to hand out the drinks before the end of the school day.
| Ease of Implementation | Very Easy – no major supplies |
| Time to Implement | 1 week |
| Expenses Required | $ (printer paper, optional prizes) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–3 (setup & judging) |
| Ideal For | All ages, fun STEM activity |
Students can sign up to see who makes the best paper airplane. The entry fee gets them all the materials they’ll need: an 8.5×11 piece of printer paper. The PTO/PTA can use colored construction paper or just keep it classic with plain white. The students can compete in either 1 or both events: the distance event and the accuracy event. The winner in each event gets a prize!
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Get Started| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – food prep & venue |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$$ (food, drinks, utensils) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–15 (cooking, serving, cleanup) |
| Ideal For | Family nights, combined with other events |
A flat $10 or $15 gets patrons access to the all you can eat spaghetti dinner! The price includes the spaghetti, salad, and dessert bar plus breadsticks and 2 drink tickets.
You can also combine this event with another activity if you’re looking to give your patrons more things to do and more opportunities to donate.
| Ease of Implementation | Easy – customizable event |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (venue, prizes, refreshments) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (host, scoring, setup) |
| Ideal For | Parents & staff, themed evenings |
Everyone loves a trivia night! Feel free to make it themeded, and costumes are always encouraged. An admission fee at the door can get patrons additional food and drinks or just access to the contest.
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate – requires flamingos & coordination |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (plastic flamingos, signs, insurance cards) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (wranglers, delivery, coordination) |
| Ideal For | Neighborhood pranks, family fun |
Your students are GUARANTEED to have a lot of fun with this event! All you’ll need is 10-15 plastic flamingos, or whichever animal your school wants to use. You’ll need a “ransom” note and you can also collect a list of volunteers to get the ball rolling.
Once you have everything collected, you go to your first yard and set up the flamingos so that they’re clearly visible to the family. You then knock on the door and leave your ransom note. It should say something along the lines of:
“Congrats you’ve been FLOCKED! We can persuade the birds to move on for a $10 donation, but for a $15 donation you can tell the birds where to FLOCK to next! Our bird wranglers can be reached at 555-0123. Passing is an option as well! Just give us a call at that number and we’ll come shoo the birds for free.”
Participants can also buy Flamingo Insurance, which keeps the plastic birds from “flying” in and making a mess in their yard for a $10 donation.
The bird wranglers will even get into “sneaky flocking” where they deploy tactics and distraction techniques to flock a yard without being seen. Patrons can sign up for that separately at no additional charge.
The possibilities for this game are endless and everyone is guaranteed to have a lot of fun! Just make sure to warn the community that this event will be going on for a day or two over a weekend so they aren’t surprised by students smuggling bright pink birds from house to house.
Are you looking for more fundraising ideas? Check out our seasonal fundraising idea articles for ideas no matter the time of year!
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