4 School Fundraising Ideas for High School Students

Fundraising is an important part of schools’ operations, from funding students’ scholarships to providing them with important academic resources. While many schools have their Parent Teacher Associations lead fundraisers, empowering your students to take charge can have a bigger impact. Through fundraising, high school students learn important skills like teamwork, creativity, and goal setting. Plus, students have plenty of motivation to raise money since all of their hard work will go back to improving their school, leading to a better student experience. In this article, we’ll walk through four popular fundraising ideas to engage your high school students in the fundraising process: 

1. Organize a fun run.
2. Host a band concert.
3. Sell school merchandise.
4. Hold a shoe drive fundraiser.

With the right fundraiser, you can boost your students’ school pride and earn more revenue for your school. Let’s begin.

1. Organize a fun run.

If you’re looking for an active fundraiser that will get students excited, a fun run is the perfect choice. These lively fundraisers are easy to plan and can take place anywhere, from your school’s running track to your local park. Set up your fun run using these simple steps:

1. Plan the event’s theme and logistical details. To make your fun run as engaging as possible, incorporate a theme that will encourage students to get involved. For example, you can plan a fun run around Halloween and have students dress up in creative costumes. Make sure to communicate the basic details of your event to your students through emails, flyers, and the morning announcements. 
2. Allow students to create their own fundraising pages. Empower students to fundraise on your behalf by enabling them to create unique fundraising pages. These pages can be shared with their family members, friends, and other members of their social networks to maximize support. Make sure to invest in peer-to-peer software to streamline this process. 
3. Have students request pledges. Students should request pledges from those in their personal networks to raise as much money as possible. These pledges can correspond to how many laps they run or the number of challenges they complete during the fun run. Decide on a pledge structure beforehand so your students can communicate this information to friends and family members. 

Encourage students to fundraise by offering prizes. For example, you can partner with a local restaurant to provide a free meal to the student who raises the most money. 

2. Host a band concert.

Your high school’s band is full of talented students, so why not channel this talent into an engaging fundraiser? You can execute a band concert at little to no cost, and these events can help bring the whole school together to support your cause. 

To attract as many supporters as possible, host your band fundraiser after school hours so students’ friends and family members can attend. The concert can take place in your school’s auditorium, football field, or any location with adequate seating that can support necessary technical equipment like speakers. 

You can plan multiple band fundraisers throughout the year and even theme them around holidays. For example, consider hosting a winter concert with classic holiday music. You can even sell holiday-themed food and beverages at the event to bring in more revenue.

3. Sell school merchandise.

Boost school pride in the community with this fun and rewarding product fundraiser! A product fundraiser is bound to attract support because donors will receive a quality item in exchange for their donation. It’s a win-win! 

Have your students sell branded school merchandise to their friends and family members. Create merchandise order forms that students can pass around their personal networks. Consider selling the following branded items:

• T-shirts
• Baseball caps
• Sweatshirts
• Mugs
• Keychains

You can also have student athletes sell merchandise branded to your school’s sports teams, such as the football team. According to 99Pledges, this is a great football fundraising idea because you can tap into your teams’ loyal fans to contribute. Plus, parents will be eager to support their students on these sports teams and will wear the merchandise with pride. 

4. Hold a shoe drive fundraiser.

A shoe drive fundraiser is a great way to engage your students and raise money. Instead of throwing out their gently used shoes, students can donate them to this great cause and help your school in the process. This fundraiser can be done quickly and cost-free! Funds2Orgs breaks down how to lead an effective shoe drive into five steps: 

1. Find a shoe drive fundraising partner that will collect the shoes after your fundraiser and give back funds in return. These shoes are sent to international businesses that will re-purpose and resell them in developing economies, helping to stimulate growth and give back in a meaningful way. 
2. Create a timeline for your event that gives students ample time to donate shoes. For example, you could choose to host this event over one week or even over the course of a few months. While a shorter time period will get your school the funds faster, you might be able to collect even more shoes by offering students more time.
3. Market your event to students and ask for gently worn, used, and new shoes. You can even get community and family members involved in the fundraiser by emailing or mailing promotional materials to them. 
4. Organize student volunteers to collect shoes before school, during lunch periods, or after school hours. You can also set up a collection bin in front of the school so students (or family members) can conveniently drop off shoes at any time. 
5. Organize a time for your shoe drive fundraising partner to pick up the shoes and receive a check in the mail. 

Your school can easily earn thousands of dollars based on how many shoes you collect, so motivate your students with fun incentives! For example, you can hold events throughout your shoe drive fundraiser, such as a game night after school. Instead of having to pay a fee, students can gain entry by donating a pair of shoes. 

Empower your students to fundraise on behalf of your school with any one of these creative ideas! Your students will appreciate the chance to give back to their school and have fun with their peers while doing so. Motivate your students to fundraise with fun prizes and incentives. Good luck!