Score Big with these 22 High School Fundraising Ideas

High school is a time for making memories, building friendships, and learning skills that carry students throughout life. Between academics, extracurriculars, and more, it’s no surprise that funding this part of life is expensive. That’s where the right fundraising campaign can help.

If you’re looking for a high school fundraising idea that’s as fun as it is effective, you’ll want to explore the following events.

Keep Reading:

• Back-to-School Fundraising Ideas
• 18 Middle School Fundraising Events
• 18 Elementary School Fundraisers
• Fundraising Tools for Nonprofits

It doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher, administrator, or student council member—the following fundraising ideas are perfect for high school students.

A fun event like a school dance is a great way to get the high school community together. Pick a time, designate chaperones, and let students take the initiative when it comes to decorating the location—you may be surprised at how creative your students are! Go the extra mile and let students pick a theme for the event to get them even more involved.

Having high schoolers sell 50/50 raffle tickets not only raises funds, but also nurtures students’ independence. It’s a low-effort, high-reward campaign. Talk about a win-win!

Another great low-cost event that your high schoolers can manage is a car wash. Simply give them the cleaning materials, designate a parking lot for the event, and select a time and date. Other students, staff members, and even local community members will love the chance to support a good cause while getting their vehicles sparkly clean.

Foster friendly competition among your students by holding a cook-off. Students bring their own dish and participate for a small donation, and a vote decides the winner. Students who don’t cook can also participate by taste-tasting dishes for a fee as well.

Eliminate the competition portion of the cook-off and make your fundraiser a bake sale instead. Have students and staff bring in baked goods to sell back to the school community. It’s easier to manage and can take place passively throughout the day, rather than at a single dedicated time like with a cook-off.

A Read-a-Thon gives students an incentive to read and raise money for your school at the same time. Have sponsors pledge a certain amount of money for every book a student reads. It’s that easy!

A school sleepover is a great in-person fundraising opportunity for high schoolers. It lets students get together in a safe environment while also helping your school get the money it needs for all its services, academic programs, and extracurricular activities.

Raise some school spirit with a talent show! Students of all ages can participate, and family members, other students, and local community members alike will gladly pay the admission fee to see top talent compete.

A game night is an effective fundraising event that’s easy to pull off. Simply dedicate a time and place, then ask for small donations from participants. You can attract a wider range of participants by having both board games and multiplayer video games available to play.

A movie night is another low-cost, high-reward event that offers a safe space for students to engage with their peers outside of the classroom. Besides charging an admission fee, you can enhance your fundraising efforts by selling snacks and refreshments at a concession stand.

High school students (and staff members!) will jump at the opportunity to lounge in their comfiest sleepwear when you host a pajama day. Simply ask for a small fee to let anyone in the school community come decked out on a designated day in their coziest pajamas.

A silent auction is a great way to engage not just your school, but the surrounding community as well. Local businesses can donate items, like a gift card to a local restaurant that’s beloved by students. Simply set up a date, put your items up for sale on a table in an area by the school’s front office, and let people bid on items throughout the day. You can announce winners over end-day announcements and let winners grab their prizes on their way out the door.

Who doesn’t love a stack of pancakes? Students and staff will gladly pay a small fee for a delicious pancake breakfast cooked the way they want. All you need are volunteers, some electric griddles, pancake mix, and toppings like chocolate chips and syrup.

Get students up and active with a walk-a-thon. The premise is simple: you have staff or community members pledge sponsorships for the event. In other words, for every unit of distance (like a quarter mile) that a student walks, the donor will pledge some money (like $5) to your school.

You can drum up further interest in your event by having students host a contest to design event t-shirts. Sell them before and at the event, with proceeds all going toward your good cause.

A battle of the bands is a fun way to break fundraising goals. Have your musically inclined pupils battle it out on a designated evening, with participants voting for their favorite act. Ticket sales and concessions can all go towards funding your school and its music program.

A cookie dough fundraiser is a delicious way to raise money for your school. Simply have students take order forms for cookie dough to the local community and, once the forms are submitted and the orders arrive, deliver these orders to their customers. It’s a great way to help students learn more about entrepreneurship and organizational skills.

A fun run is a great school event that can be open to the surrounding community. Simply charge an entry fee to raise money; the only costs for this event will be the trophies or medals you give to winners.

If you want to go the extra mile—literally—you can host an event like a “color run,” where runners are splashed with colorful powder at various intervals in the race. (Note that if you host one of these events, you cannot call it a “color run” unless it’s officially through The Color Run™.)

Get donations outside the school year by establishing a donation page on your school’s website. Simply select a secure online fundraising platform to host the donation portal and let it stay on your site as a permanent fixture.

Let students have the chance to play outside in fun team or solo events like scavenger hunts and obstacle courses.

You can raise money for field day in a few ways, including:

• Having students pay entry to the field day itself
• Concessions and event t-shirt sales
• Selling tickets that students can use for individual events

A spelling bee is another great event that fosters friendly competition and academic spirit. Charge entry fees to parents and other students who want to cheer on participants.

Host a trivia night with fun themes to get students excited about your event. Invite students to form their own teams or put them into groups yourself. No matter what you choose, your students can have a blast.

If you’re looking for a successful fundraiser that will stand the test of time, there is nothing better than a brick fundraiser.

This is how it all works:

• Donors sponsor a brick or tile
• Donors choose what words or clipart go on their tiles and bricks
• Our team uses a high-quality laser-engraving process to create each brick to each donor’s specifications
• You display bricks and tiles at an installation at your school, such as a walkway

When you partner with Fundraising Brick, you will get access to all our resources: fundraising toolkits, help setting up your online fundraising page, whiteboard video templates to share on social media, and oh-so-much more.

Let’s make your next high school fundraiser one for the books. Get in touch with our team today!