Updated November 2025
Table of Contents
Easy to Implement Fundraisers
Moderate to Implement Fundraisers
- Summer Fun
- Our Teachers, Our Treat!
- Your Help is so SWEET
- Teacher Survival Kit
- Supply the Suppliers
- Jungle Week
- Colors of the Rainbow
- Sports Days
- Candygrams
Challenging to Implement Fundraisers
Host Jungle Week, send candygrams, and more with this list of teacher appreciation ideas from the FutureFund team. We’ll give you plenty of ideas for events and campaigns you can run, plus tips on how to fund the fun for your teachers!
Teachers are essential for the entire school system and sometimes we can take them for granted. Here are some fun ways you can say thanks for their hard work and seamless way to gather the funds to make it all happen.
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See also:
Get the Word Out About Teacher Appreciation Week with FutureFund
Our platform comes with powerful tools that can help you communicate with volunteers and parents as well as fundraise when needed. These include:
- Ready-to-go campaign templates so you can sell tickets or items for different events, such as for Teacher Appreciation Week.
- A built-in messaging system you can use to announce your events, fundraisers, and provide details.
- Powerful financial reporting tools to help you track your earnings, stay compliant, and plan future fundraisers more effectively.
Donation Campaigns
These campaigns encourage parents and volunteers to donate directly to your school group. FutureFund makes it easy to collect money online during the campaign which will help fund your teacher gifts or anything else you need to raise money for in hopes of showing appreciation to the ones that make the school day go round.
Learn how to run a donation campaign with FutureFund here.
Tip: Remember to use FutureFund’s messaging system to announce the fundraiser and include a link to the online campaign.
Summer Fun
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (catering, decor, venue supplies) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (event planning, setup, cleanup) |
| Ideal For | End-of-year teacher celebrations or summer-themed cookouts |
Coordinate your gifts to a summer fun theme! Take donations to cater a beachside or beach-themed cookout for your teachers. The donation can be set up through your FutureFund account and community members, families, and students can donate to the cause.
You could go even bigger by aiming to raise enough funds to send your teachers out on a boat for an afternoon on the lake!
Our Teachers, Our Treat!
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (catering from local restaurants) |
| Volunteers Needed | 8–12 (food setup and serving) |
| Ideal For | Lunchtime events during Teacher Appreciation Week |
Have lunch from a popular local spot catered to the breakroom for the teachers! Create a donation campaign and ask for families and community members to donate in the efforts of celebrating and showing appreciation to your teachers.
See also: Teacher Appreciation Week Resources
You may even want to create an online sign-up list asking for volunteers to help serve the teachers.
Use HelpOut.us to show your appreciation
HelpOut.us makes it easy to crowdsource awesome gifts for teachers, staff, and volunteers—so you can show them how much the whole school community appreciates their efforts!
It’s easy to use, and 100% free (just like FutureFund). Simply collect contributions on behalf of specific community members, who can then redeem the proceeds for gift cards of their choice.
The Truth is in the CARD
| Ease of Implementation | Easy |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (gift cards) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–3 (collection and distribution) |
| Ideal For | Simple gift-based thank-you campaigns |
Give the teachers a gift card for their favorite self-care service, activity facility or place to shop! Not only is this an easy donation campaign to run, but it also gives the teachers an opportunity for a personal treat, which is preached but never truly practiced by the majority of teachers.
Your Help is so SWEET
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (candy, snacks, decor for sweets bar) |
| Volunteers Needed | 5–7 (setup and stocking) |
| Ideal For | Lounge treat stations or after-school events |
Host a sweets bar in the teacher’s lounge one day after school. Make sure to have their favorites included in the spread. Have everyone donate funds to support the vision. And then the PTA can fill up those candy jars for the teachers to enjoy!
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Teacher Survival Kit
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (small gifts and packaging supplies) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (assembly and distribution) |
| Ideal For | Creative and personalized teacher gifts |
Put together a goody bag of treats and other items with a card “explaining” what each item can be used for i.e. “animal crackers, for when the classroom feels like a zoo” or “a rubber band, to remind you to stay flexible”. Create a donation campaign so those who’d like to contribute can donate funds to each teacher’s survival kit.
VIP Room Service
| Ease of Implementation | Ambitious |
| Time to Implement | 4–6 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (beverages, snacks, cart setup) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–15 (servers and delivery crew) |
| Ideal For | Mid-week surprise events during Teacher Appreciation Week |
Deliver a “room service” card to all teachers to take their “order.” Then tally up what’s needed and come around with a “room service cart” to make deliveries. Options could include sodas, iced coffees, water, and tea, as well as cookies, trail mix, chips, and other similar snacks.
PTA members, students, and even admin can get involved in the deliveries to make them more memorable. All you have to do is make your donation campaign in honor of the goods to stock your menu.
Supply the Suppliers
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–5 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (classroom supplies and storage bins) |
| Volunteers Needed | 5–8 (inventory and delivery) |
| Ideal For | Back-to-school or mid-year supply refill drives |
Bring extra supplies that the teachers are low on for their classrooms. The PTA can take a special inventory of what each teacher needs and deliver their preferences or they can just buy a bunch of supplies and make sure each teacher gets an equal share. Again, everyone can make donations to the goal and then PTA can ensure the right supplies are bought and delivered.
You Help Us GROW
| Ease of Implementation | Easy |
| Time to Implement | 2–3 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $–$$ (flowers or small plants) |
| Volunteers Needed | 3–5 (ordering and distribution) |
| Ideal For | Floral gift deliveries paired with notes of thanks |
Buy your teachers their favorite flowers. Pre-purchase single flowers, small bouquets, or potted plants online through the school’s school with FutureFund ahead of the big week. PTA then coordinates the gift being delivered to teachers.
Purchase Campaigns
Any kind of fundraiser where you sell physical items or event tickets is a Purchase campaign. Add each item type to your online store in FutureFund by creating a specific Purchase campaign for it.
Not only will the ideas below celebrate the teachers, but the funds raised can be used to shower the teachers with more treats or supplies to make their day-to-day a bit easier.
Era Party
| Ease of Implementation | Ambitious |
| Time to Implement | 6–8 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$–$$$ (costumes, decor, music) |
| Volunteers Needed | 10–15 (event setup and ticket sales) |
| Ideal For | School-wide dress-up and theme fundraisers |
Pick a fun decade or theme in history and use it as a vehicle to celebrate your teachers during their recognition week. Go for a grunge theme from the 90s, flappers from the 20s, or hippies from the 70s, and you’re sure to have a memorable and fun week!
Every day that you dress up, you purchase a “ticket” to that party through your school’s online store with FutureFund.
Jungle Week
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (theming materials and prizes) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (activity coordination) |
| Ideal For | Spirit-week-style celebrations for staff and students |
Encourage lots of animal prints and maybe even include a fun dress-up day for the teachers and/or the students to show their support and gratitude. Don’t forget to change the activities to match the theme!
Each dress-up day or activity can be “pay to participate” and pre-purchased online through the FutureFund store. Pricing can be as little as a dollar!
Colors of the Rainbow
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (colored decor, treats, signage) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–10 (color assignments and event setup) |
| Ideal For | Multi-day color-themed events with student participation |
Include lots of color for this week! The PTA can assign a color to each day of the week and coordinate their activities with each color day. The PTA can even have a color war for the last day of teacher appreciation week.
The money raised from the tickets can then be given back in the form of gift cards or even some of their favorite sweet treats in a rainbow of colors.
Sports Days
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (equipment, prizes, decorations) |
| Volunteers Needed | 8–12 (referees, organizers) |
| Ideal For | Athletic-themed appreciation weeks or field days |
Have a different sport take the stage for each day of the appreciation week. Dress-up days and activities can coincide with a different sport!
You’re INSPIRATIONAL
| Ease of Implementation | Easy |
| Time to Implement | 2 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (cards, printing, photos) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–4 (collection and delivery) |
| Ideal For | Student-written thank-you notes or memory cards |
Have the students write handwritten notes on cards to their teachers explaining what they love about their class and how they’ve benefitted from their lessons. The students can add a drawing or the PTA can include a picture of the student for the teacher to remember them by.
Those participating can pre-purchase their cards online and snag them from the PTA on the big day of inspirational deliveries.
Candygrams
| Ease of Implementation | Moderate |
| Time to Implement | 3–4 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $$ (candy, delivery materials) |
| Volunteers Needed | 6–8 (order sorting and delivery) |
| Ideal For | Quick fundraisers and teacher recognition days |
Have students buy candygrams to send to the teachers. Have a few different options to choose from on the school’s FutureFund storefront and then once everyone has made their purchases you can have PTA or students themselves make the deliveries in person.
Dress Like a Teacher
| Ease of Implementation | Easy |
| Time to Implement | 2 weeks |
| Expenses Required | $ (signage and photo props) |
| Volunteers Needed | 2–3 (event promotion and photo management) |
| Ideal For | Spirit days and student-teacher bonding events |
Invite the students to dress like their favorite teacher and grab a selfie with them! Mockery is, of course, the sincerest form of flattery. Of course, they must “pay to dress.” This is a great way to raise funds in tandem with a day of outward participation. They can even purchase a chance for a photo-op online ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I use FutureFund’s messaging system to promote Teacher Appreciation Week?
FutureFund’s messaging system lets you:
- Send messages to every parent in your school community or filter your audience to reach specific groups.
- Create unique sender profiles to make sure the message is always coming from the appropriate party.
- Use customizable message templates to save time when broadcasting updates or announcements.
Should Teacher Appreciation Week utilize a Purchase or a Donation campaign?
Use Donation campaigns to collect money from community members in support of a specific goal or cause (like specific gifts for teachers).
Use Purchase campaigns to sell event tickets or physical items (like candy grams for teachers).
How can I use FutureFund to track my fundraiser’s success?
FutureFund gives you the ability to generate financial reports for your fundraising campaigns in just a few clicks. To do this, navigate to Store and click the Reports tab near the top of your screen. Then choose Campaign Summary from the drop-down menu and click Generate Report.
