Fundraising has come a long way in the last decade. The days of having a school bake sale or a car wash to raise money for your school still exists – but it has been surpassed by innovative new methods of fundraising. Don’t get me wrong, I still think puffed wheat cake and butter tarts still have their place in schools, but if you are looking to raise large amounts of money for your school you will want to check out our recommended fundraising methods below. 

Here are the 4 best ways for schools to fundraise:

1. Create an Online Donation Form

2. Sell School Merchandise

3. Have A Raffle

4. Use A Team App

Create an Online Donation Form

Having an online form to donate to is the most easily accessible way to send and collect funds. So, whether you are in town or 1,000 kilometers away they can help contribute to the cause.

If you already have a website, you can collect donations online through a plugin with a payment addon that is integrated with companies like PayPal or Stripe. If not, you can use a third-party online fundraising system like GoFundMe. Before you set up a form, make sure you are agreeing to one with no fees or low fees to make sure you are keeping the largest amounts of funds raised as possible.

Sell School Merchandise

Raise money and build school spirit by selling school merchandise. This can range from t-shirts and hats to custom water bottles and lanyards. Sports teams in schools can also create sell promotional items highlighting their individual teams. Many of the school’s football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, hockey and soccer teams have their own unique team names and logos, so customizing merchandise based on sport and team can be a great way to make school merchandise more appealing and personal. 

Contact a local sporting goods store or screen-printing company and see if they can offer a discount. Many local businesses are eager to work with schools to build good will, give back to their community and drive more business into their store.

Have A Raffle

This fundraising method involves a lottery license (which is relatively easy to apply for) and can offer huge results. Reach out to local businesses and let them know you are having a school raffle fundraiser and see what type of prizes they would be willing to donate. Usually, like mentioned before, these local businesses are eager to work with schools. Having an assortment of prizes for children and adults from different businesses is a great way to motivate students to sell tickets. Also – even if companies don’t directly sell goods to consumers (ex. oil and gas, agriculture, mining, etc.) there is a good chance they will still be interested in donating a cash prize, a gift card or an item from another local business.

Use A Team App

Team based apps are now offering ways to raise money. With high engagement and number of users, team management apps are a great way raise money for teams. Whether it is a sports team or an entire school, apps like FlipGive, TeamLinkt and TeamSnap offer ways for teams to fundraise in their app.