6 Ways to Raise Funds for Your School

Whether you’re a teacher, school principal, or parent, you might be charged with finding ways to raise funds for your school. While selling candy and wrapping paper are time-honored traditions that go back decades, today we’re going to talk about some more innovative primary school fundraising ideas. Let’s get started!

Set Up a School Store

This idea happens to be one of our personal favorites because it’s an idea near-and-dear to our hearts! We think school stores are one of the best ways to raise funds for primary and middle schools because it’s a useful service for students and an excellent learning opportunity. Students learn important entrepreneurial skills, teamwork, responsibility, and math when they work together to set up a school store. To find out more, get our Geddes School Store Operating Manual and order a starter box of our bestselling products. Then, let your students do the rest!

Hold a Trivia Night for Parents

Trivia nights are popular activities in bars, pubs, and taverns across the country, but there’s no reason why schools can’t get in on the act! Have local businesses donate prizes and charge parents a fee to get in the door. Raise even more funds by selling drinks and snacks. Parents will love the night out (and a little bit of friendly competition!), and you’ll appreciate an easy fundraiser that doesn’t involve coordinating the delivery of hundreds of boxes of cookies or candy bars.

Organize a Student-Run Craft Fair

A fun idea that many schools used to raise funds is holding a school-wide craft fair. Each classroom can make their own project to sell, then parents and kids can shop the sale to raise funds for the school. We’ve seen classrooms make items as diverse as gingerbread house kits for the holidays, bars of soap, and scented candles.

Set Up a Gift Wrapping Station

Don’t skip this one—we promise we’re not suggesting selling wrapping paper! Instead, set up a gift wrapping station just before the holidays and have your gift wrapping ninja parents share their skills by wrapping presents for a fee that’s donated to the school. For even more foot traffic, set up shop at a local mall or shopping center. People will be glad to not have to deal with the hassle of wrapping gifts and they’ll be happy to know that their donation is going to a local school, too.

Sell Pre-Packaged Back-to-School Kits

At GEDDES, we offer schools the ability to sell complete back-to-school kits with all the supplies students need for the upcoming school year. These kits are popular with parents, kids, and schools, with the added bonus of helping you raise funds. You can go with our suggestions or choose what goes into the boxes yourself.

Put Together a Recipe Book

This one’s a bit of a throwback, but with more people taking up cooking and looking for easy, family-friendly meal ideas, it’s time for it to make a comeback! Ask families to share some of their favorite recipes, publish them in a book, and sell the book as a fundraiser. It’s fun to see the recipes other families make—and who knows, you might even find some new favorites to add to your regular meal rotation.

Learn More About Fundraising with GEDDES

At GEDDES, we make it easy to raise funds for schools. Get our guide to starting a school store or contact us to learn more.