17 Best School Fundraising Ideas to Raise Money

If your school, preschool or child care centre is looking for fundraising ideas, you’ve come to the right place. From sausage sizzles to chocolate drives, there are many ways you can host a successful and profitable school fundraiser.

We know how important it is to raise money for school improvements, school playground, excursions, library books, sports equipment and just general school funds so we’ve put together a list of school fundraising ideas.

As well as including fundraising companies across Australia, we’re also showcasing local small businesses in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter who provide fundraisers for schools, sports clubs and other community organisations.

Local Fundraising Ideas

Decorate Bikes & Scooters with Beep

Work with local Newcastle company Beep and offer parents a healthy and deliciously fun fundraising option perfect for any kid on a bike, trike or scooter! Aimed at ages 3-7,  the Beep Fundraising Bundles aim to inspire kids to get outside, be active and step away from the screens. Parents can choose from different bundles which feature a Beep Bell, Streamer Set and / or a Beep Kids Wicker Basket. Kids love Beep’s fun while parents love the practicality! Contact Beep at hello@beepbells.com for further information. Happy Riding!

Do a Cookie Pizza Drive

For a delicious fundraising idea, choose a Cookie Pizza fundraiser. This local company based in Lake Macquarie offers cookie pizzas as a school and sporting club fundraiser. Parents or community members can jump onto the website and order their Cookie Pizzas. Choose from a variety of cookie pizzas including Rainbow, Rocky Road, Caramello Gaytime, Mars Bar, Cookies and Cream and more. Cookie Pizza is currently on leave but schools and sporting clubs can get in touch to organise fundraisers for Term 3 & 4.

Cheese for a Cause with Pork Ewe Deli

Looking to fundraise for your school, sporting group or local community? How about doing a Foodie ‘Fun’-raiser, ‘Cheese for a Cause’ with Pork Ewe Deli! The concept is simple, raise money by selling delicious gourmet deli goods. They have created a range of special packs for your community to purchase including The Cheese Lovers Sampler, Happy Hour Pack, Gourmet Lunch Box and a Family Picnic or Grazing Dinner. To help plan your Fundraiser, contact the Pork Ewe team at foodie@porkewe.com.au or 02 4906 8774

Organise a Thompson’s Pie or Lamington Drive Fundraiser

A popular local fundraiser is through Thompson’s, a local wholesale bakery based in Lake Macquarie. They sell pies, pastries, Pro-Rol Bread, cakes & slices to shops, cafes, schools, sporting clubs and the public. You can offer a limited fundraiser such as a pie drive fundraiser or a lamington drive or offer more products for sale. Thompson’s service the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Hunter and Central Coast area.

Australia-Wide

Run a Bunnings BBQ

If your school wants to raise money, consider a sausage sizzle at your local Bunnings. It’s a great way to earn money from your local community and who doesn’t love a Bunnings sandwich?

You can now earn more money than before with the official sausage sizzle price increasing in July 2022 from $2.50 to $3.50 for a sausage in bread, with or without onions. The price of drinks remained at $1.50. All funds raised continue to go directly to the community group running the BBQ.

Requests for sausage sizzles and fundraising opportunities must be made in writing on your community or charitable organisation’s letterhead, and addressed to your nearest Bunnings store, mark it to the attention of the Activities Organiser.

Host a Trivia Night

Get the school community together and host a trivia night. As well as raising money, it’s a great opportunity for the parents to socialise. You can hold it in your school hall or find an external location to host the trivia night. Get inventive and choose a specific theme for your trivia night, such as pop culture, sports, history, or geography. Alternatively, you can have a general knowledge trivia night that covers a variety of topics. Either come up with the questions yourself or use pre-made trivia question sets.

Organise a Movie Night

Host a movie night where families can enjoy a film and purchase snacks. If you have a school hall, you can hire an inflatable screen and charge admission. You can also organise a snack bar complete with popcorn, candy and even ice creams.

 If you don’t have a school hall, contact your local movie theatre to see what the costs are for organising a group session. You can then sell tickets to a private screening. Contact Event Cinemas, Hoyts or Reading Cinemas for more information on organising a fundraising event.

Selling Movie Vouchers

If you don’t want to organise a movie night, sell movie vouchers. You can deliver blockbuster results for your school or chosen charity by selling HOYTS Movie Vouchers! Your organisation saves up to 50% on top box office prices and with the recommended sale price, your supporters will be saving between $5.00 and $11.00 per voucher. You can earn $10 per profit per pack.

Selling Chocolate Packs

The Cadbury chocolate boxes are a popular fundraiser. Kids can participate by signing up to take a box of chocolates home to sell to their friends and family. There are different boxes that you choose to purchase with a selling price of either 50 cents or $1. Choose from Goody Box, Freddo & Friends Carry Box and The Natural Confectionary Co. Lolly Box.

Selling Socks

If you prefer a sugar-free fundraiser, how about socks? Jolly Soles sells boxes of socks as fundraisers for community, school and sporting clubs. They provide easy-to-carry boxes filled with funky, eye-catching socks for you to sell at a profit. Choose from one of the themed boxes with 14 pairs of fun, eye catching socks in a variety of sizes.

Selling Seeds

If you’re looking for a sustainable fundraiser, Australian eco business, Sow ‘n Sow, has launched its sustainable fundraiser, Sow ‘n Grow. A Sow ‘n Grow fundraiser gives individuals and organisations the opportunity to sell Sow ‘n Sow’s signature product, a Gift of Seeds, to raise funds for their cause or project.

A Gift of Seeds cleverly combines a greeting card with a packet of seeds to form a gift to grow. Each pack is made in Australia from 100 per cent recycled materials and includes a packet of seeds, a tearaway plant label for marking where seeds have been planted and an envelope for gifting or mailing purposes.

Create a School Cookbook

A wonderful and practical fundraising idea is the school cookbook. Get parents to submit their favourite family recipe.Check out the Published Authors website for more information. Families can submit recipes online and order cookbook copies for themselves and family members. You can also sell additional advertising in the cookbook for additional revenue.

Sell a Class Tea Towel or Apron

A popular fundraiser especially for child care centres and primary schools is creating tea towels or aprons printed with kids artwork or handprints. These are a popular fundraising choice as it’s a great practical present for Mother’s Day or Christmas gifts. It’s also a great memento of your child’s year. Check out Expressions Australia for more information.

Have a Kids Art Plate Fundraiser

Families get a personalised plate designed by their child and schools get a fun fundraising activity. Design a Plate offers a picture plate fundraising product to schools, kinders, and groups with children creating their own artwork as plate designs.

Sell Entertainment Books

Entertainment Books are a popular fundraiser for schools and community organizations due to the ease of purchase via the Entertainment Book website. The school community can purchase the local Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast edition or purchase a multi-city which is useful when travelling to different locations in Australia. The organisation receives 20% from every Membership sold once a minimum is reached. There are loads of local offers that makes it a useful membership to have.

Host a Scholastic Book Fair

Host a Scholastic Book Fair at your school for new books. Each Book Fair is designed to give kids access to more books they want to read, from relevant new-releases to classic award winners. It’s a great way to get books for your school library as every book sold at the Book Fair earns free books for your school.

You can also encourage parents to purchase books through the Scholastic Book Club as 15% of every purchase on Book Club goes back to your school in Scholastic Rewards to buy valuable educational resources that benefit your child.

Do Return and Earn

Encourage the school community to be eco-friendly and raise money for the school through NSW Return and Earn. Schools can earn 10 cents for each container that is returned and recycled. Set up collection stations at the school for students to return their empty drink containers. You can also organise regular drop-offs and encourage families to bring in eligible cans and bottles collected at home. Check the website to find out your nearest return point. We recommend going to an Automated Depot which is staffed and able to accept large amounts of containers.

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