Booster club fundraisers are a great way to raise money for schools across the country. They boost the school's capital and get the students and parents excited for events. There are so many booster club ideas to raise money, from creating your own and selling your own t-shirts and a bingo night, to a fun carnival day and car wash. There really is no limit to the booster club fundraising ideas you and your team can come up with to raise money for the school. But, if you’ve had so many events and are running low on ideas, below we’ve listed several fun booster club ideas you can use!
1. Create and Sell T-shirts
One of the simplest booster club ideas to pursue is creating custom merchandise like t-shirts to sell to students and their families. The merchandise can have the school name, the year the students are graduating, the school mascot or other relevant things on it to make it personal.
Students enjoy having items to wear for spirit days, sporting events and other outings. Parents also love having clothes to wear to represent their child's school and show their support.
Aside from t-shirts, you can create other school spirit items like:
- Pompoms
- Sweatshirts
- Jackets
- Baseball caps
- Stickers
- Water bottles
- Mugs
Dropping limited-edition merchandise at booster club fundraisers and making it clear where the proceeds will go makes things more likely to sell well. Be sure to make announcements ahead of time and get people excited! Taking advantage of the school’s or athletic team’s social media accounts to show off these items is a great way to get pre-orders.
You can use an online payment system to collect money for orders ahead of time.
2. Sell Coupon Books
Coupon books are one of the classic high school athletic booster fundraising ideas that people rely on.
A fundraiser like this takes more effort than other options might because you'll need to reach out to local businesses for support. Try starting by contacting popular restaurants, ice cream places, locally-owned shops and service providers like hairdressers and nail salons.
This fundraiser benefits the students as much as it helps the community! Students enjoy more opportunities as clubs and athletic departments receive more funding, and businesses see more customers as people take advantage of the coupons available to them.
Depending on the total value of the coupons available in the book, this fundraiser can lead to significant profits for selling such a small item. Try polling people before setting a price to see what people would be willing to pay so you can sell as many as possible!
3. Host a Fun Restaurant Night
Fundraising for booster clubs can get overwhelming if you make things too complicated. Hosting a restaurant night is a simple way to raise money without too much effort.
You'll need to find a local restaurant or food chain willing to work with you for this booster. Many fast food places have programs put in place already, which makes it incredibly easy to get this event set up.
Once you find a place and establish a day, the most work you need to do is getting the word out!
People will have one day (or weekend, week, etc.) to visit a local eatery and purchase items. A certain percentage of total purchases during this time will go right back to the students!
Again, this is another case where both a business and your booster club benefit from a fundraiser.
4. Have a Coin Drive
Most people have coins lying around they don't plan on doing anything specific with. Some kids even have piggy banks they might have forgotten about that are collecting dust.
A coin drive gives people an opportunity to donate and give back without too much hassle. All they need to do is deliver their coins to the designated area.
A coin drive is fun because you never know exactly how much was donated until you roll the coins or take them to a coin processing machine. It can be satisfying for booster clubs to see the money accumulating over time.
You can even run a contest where people who donate get a chance to guess what the total amount will be. The prize can be simple, but it's one more thing to incentivize people to bring their spare change!
5. Bingo Night
Hosting a bingo night is a great way to get the community excited about something. You can arrange to set up tables and chairs in the gym and have a beloved coach or teacher be the bingo officiator.
People can gain the right to play by making a donation, and you can collaborate with local businesses for prizes. Most companies will consider donating a gift basket, item or gift card for the publicity it will bring them.
If you want to have something other than bingo available for people, this might be a good time to host a silent auction. You'll likely have extra space to set it up in the gym, and it won't disturb the bingo.
6. A School Carnival Day
Of all booster club ideas, this one typically requires the most advanced planning.
Whether you choose to keep things simple or go all out, a school carnival is an entertaining event to host. Here are a few things you might want to include in your carnival:
- Popcorn booths
- Inflatables
- An ice cream stand
- A cotton candy stall
- Sack racing
- Games like balloon pop
- A haunted house (or hallway)
As long as you have food and games, people will show up for some fun. How exactly you choose to run this fundraiser is up to you. You can have a general entrance fee, have people purchase tickets to redeem at each stall or have each booth collect cash.
7. A Car Wash
A car wash is one of the more simple, yet timeless, booster club fundraisers. Students put in most of the work for this one by washing cars.
You could set a price like $5 and try to set it up in a popular area, so people drive by and see it even if they didn't hear about it ahead of time.
Aside from purchasing soap and rags and having a water source, all you need are willing volunteers and a few signs to direct people to wherever you set up.
8. Sell Cookie Dough or Candy
Countless companies work with schools specifically to develop fundraisers. Most of them revolve around popular food items like cookie dough, candy and other snacks.
Once you decide on a company, students go to family members and other people they know to sell to them. Then, a percentage of the purchase price goes back to the school.
A fundraiser like this works well if your goal is to have each student individually collect whatever their own profit is for a trip or special event, such as travel for an out-of-town championship game.
After the sale ends, you'll need some adult volunteers to sort through the orders when they arrive and ensure the students get them distributed to whoever purchased them.
9. Have a Raffle
A raffle is an excellent option because you can keep it as standard or as unique as you want. For example, you can raffle off a cash prize, donated prizes from local businesses, handmade items, etc.
It's best to have several options, so people have a better chance of winning something. Having a lower ticket price is also wise because more people can consider contributing, and people can always purchase more to better their chances.
Most raffles are $1 per ticket but adjusting the price for your specific area will help you sell as many as possible.
10 Host a Bake Sale
Bake sales are another tried and true school fundraising idea to take advantage of. Chances are many throughout the community, parents especially, are willing to make some delicious baked goods to help out their local school.
If you're looking for a unique spin to put on this event, you can have a bake sale where only students make the items. No matter how you choose to do it, you'll need to be somewhat involved to ensure there are enough participants and a variety of goods.
Having a sign-up sheet to monitor as you lead up to the sale is essential.
11. A Fun Run
If your booster is for an athletic club, having a fun run makes a lot of sense!
A fun run can be any length, but it's usually best to keep it short and sweet, so people don't feel too intimidated to participate. A 5k is a popular option, but it can even be as short as a mile.
Aside from the length, having a theme might make it more popular. For example, you can have themes centered around specific holidays, foods, decades, etc. Or you can add an interactive element by having a color run or an inflatable run.
The more unique you make it, the more likely people will want to participate, even if they don't have children in school.
12. Drive-In Movie Night
You might think drive-in movies are a thing of the past, but people still enjoy them. Plus, the nostalgia is enough to pique people's interest.
You can rent a projector and screen or purchase one to have on hand for future events. Using the school's parking lot often works, so you don't need to worry about too many logistics.
Aside from the movie, offering candy, snacks and drinks can help you raise even more money.
If an outdoor event isn't possible due to spacing issues or the time of year, you might be able to have an indoor movie night in an auditorium. People will show up if you choose a popular movie and have fun food available.
If you have limited space to work with for this event or any other, using a ticketing system to keep track of how many tickets you can still sell helps keep things orderly and prevent people from getting turned away.
13. An Art Sale
One thing most people have in common is a love for art. Even if they don't know much about it, most people want artwork to hang on their walls and decorate their homes.
That's why an art show is an excellent way to attract people and make some sales.
You might be able to have locally known artists donate a piece or two for sale. Alternatively, you can have the school's art teachers create a few pieces to showcase and sell.
Finally, you could have the students all create art for the event. It can double as a showcase for the students and a booster so people can purchase the art.
If you'd rather avoid selling the pieces themselves, having an entrance fee or food or other items available for purchase can help raise money. The students will have fun making the pieces, and it will be something they'll never forget.
14. A Dance Marathon
Hosting a dance marathon is a fantastic way to get people moving and having fun in a different way than usual. Most people love dancing but don't have an excuse to do it often enough and don't expect one of the many booster club fundraisers to be an option to do it.
An event like this gives people that opportunity. You can have prizes prepared for the people who dance the longest without stopping or have the best moves on the dance floor.
Having refreshments available and a DJ who can accept requests can take this event to the next level! You can also make it a themed night and have people dress up.
There are many different ways to make this event special. It's an excellent option for a yearly event because you can switch it up each time, so people keep coming every year.
15. A Book Sale
Many people have books lying around they either don't plan to read or have already read and won't end up reading again.
Putting out a call for books can lead you to more books than you might expect! The beauty of this sale is it gets books people no longer want out of their homes and allows them to look for books they want to read to replace them with.
Keeping the prices for the books low or offering bundle deals can help them sell quicker. In addition, any books you don't sell can get donated to the school library or community library, so people know their books won't be going to waste no matter what.
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Bonus Idea for Fundraising
School fundraising events can be lifesavers to athletic booster clubs and can ensure students receive enriching experiences. But school fundraisers can be hard to arrange and time-consuming. That’s why schools across the country have turned to event ticketing software to manage seating arrangements, sell tickets, handle admissions and sales. With tools that include custom seating charts, card readers and ticket scanning apps, athletic directors and booster club leaders save countless hours using this technology. There’s even school event ticketing software that won’t cost a thing for free events. This allows your staff to test it out before using it for your paid events and fundraisers.
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