14 Ways to Fill Your Fundraising Calendar

Planning out your school fundraisers for the entire year is an excellent way to ensure you have the time and resources to realistically reach your fundraising goals. But it can sometimes feel like a daunting task to start building a fundraising calendar. 

One way to get started is to take a look at what is already going on! From holidays to changing seasons to end of year celebrations, there are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to plan a school fundraiser around a day or event that is already on everyone’s calendar. Read on for 14 fundraisers you’re going to want to add to your fundraising calendar ASAP!

In this blog you will learn: 

• How to plan a school fundraiser around different holidays. 
• What makes a great seasonal fundraiser.
• Best fundraisers to begin and end the school year. 

Festive School Fundraisers for the Holidays

From Halloween to Valentine’s Day, holidays are the perfect time to plan a school fundraiser around. Many involve gift giving so hosting a sale can be a great fit, while others are all about celebrating, so planning an event based fundraiser can add to the celebration! 

Check out these holiday ideas to fill in your fundraising calendar or brainstorm some of your own! 

• Halloween

Host a Trunk-or-Treat, a fun twist on trick-or-treating. Community members decorate the trunk of their car with a theme and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. You can charge a minimal fee per family to raise funds and additionally charge an entry fee for a trunk spot. Reach out to local businesses to participate as this is a great opportunity to advertise! 

• Winter Holiday Season

Tis’ the season for gift giving, which means it's the perfect time to host a product sale. From kitchen gadgets to wrapping paper and everything in between, Booster offers a huge variety of high quality products your donors will love. Plus, they will appreciate the opportunity to purchase the gifts they need while also supporting a great cause! 

• Valentine’s Day 

Put a twist on a traditional school dance to celebrate love day and host a dance-a-thon fundraiser instead! Booster’s DanceFit uses the popular game Just Dance to get students moving and grooving to today’s top hits. Not only will this fundraiser raise big funds for your school, but it’s an inclusive way to involve all of your students. 

• Mother’s Day & Father’s Day

What’s one thing every busy parent loves? A stylish tumbler to take their coffee, tea or water with them on the go! Why not help out all those families racking their brain on what to give their parents on their special day by creating and selling custom tumblers! 

• St. Patrick’s Day 

Turn your regular spirit wear green for a special custom gear sale. Put your school logo on a kelly green shirt or add a shamrock and some green font to your regular look. Plan your custom gear fundraiser with enough lead time so students can wear their lucky shirts on St. Patrick’s Day! Use Booster’s online shop option and they will only ship exactly what you sell so you won’t end up with leftover “green” inventory.

• National Holidays

And don’t forget, there’s some sort of national holiday almost every day of the year! Host a read-a-thon on National Read a Book Day or put together a bake sale for National Dessert day. Get creative!

Fundraisers to Fit the Four Seasons

Thoughtfully planning your school fundraising calendar to incorporate some season-specific sales and events will drive up sales and help you reach your goals. Make sure to take into account factors such as weather and the schedules your families might have when determining the right fit for each season. Check out these four examples to plug into your fundraising calendar now! 

• Fall Fundraiser

School is back in session and the summer heat has cooled, making it an ideal time for an outdoor festival. This is also a great way to bring families, new and old, together! 

Bob for apples, set up a face painting table or offer a fun fall craft, the options are endless! 

This is also a great opportunity to involve local businesses to increase your funds raised. Invite a food truck and ask them to donate a portion of their proceeds, reach out to a rental company to donate a bounce house or ask a company to sponsor your event to offset costs in exchange for the advertising opportunity. 

• Winter Fundraiser

Keeping students moving and active during the longer winter months can be a challenge, which is why hosting an indoor fitness fundraiser is an ideal option! 

Booster’s Glow Run transforms your school’s gym into a glowing, neon racetrack with rope lights, disco balls, tents, flags, cones and tunnels. Your student’s will love the high energy excitement and your school will love the funds you raise! 

• Spring Fundraiser 

Springtime is for picnics, bike rides and playground playdates. Host a cookie catalog sale to give your families the perfect treat to bring along for all that fun! 

From the classic chocolate chip to a decadent peanut butter cup cookie, this delicious fundraiser will practically sell itself. The hardest part will be limiting how many cookies you buy for yourself! 

• Summer Fundraiser

Just because school is out for the summer, doesn't mean you have to stop fundraising! However, you should take into account the amount of effort you are expecting from students and families considering they are on break. 

Partner up with a local restaurant and ask them to donate a portion of proceeds on a designated night. Then simply spread the word and ask families to dine-in or takeout for a good cause! 

School Fundraisers to Begin or End Your Year

Back to school and the end of the school year are both very busy times. But they can also be excellent opportunities to put an event or sale on your fundraising calendar! 

Read on for four fundraisers that take advantage of the energy and excitement that goes along with these times of year to raise funds and reach your goals. 

• Sell Discount Cards 

These cards feature places your families are already eating and shopping, so it's a win-win for everyone involved! While this fundraiser works any time of year, it can be a simple and easy way to kick off your fundraising calendar when families are getting back to the grind after summer break.

• Sell Custom Spirit Gear

There’s no better way to build up school spirit at the beginning of the year than having students, family and faculty rocking custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and more! You can host the same fundraiser again toward the end of year when your families are looking for some fresh summer gear! 

Booster has an in house design team that can design the perfect gear for you free of charge. Choose to order in bulk and put out a table at drop off/pick, end of year concerts and parent teacher conferences.

• Host a Fun Run 

This fitness fundraiser is a great option for either the beginning or end of the year to celebrate and bring families and the community together. Booster’s Fun Run will transform your field or parking lot into a high-energy racetrack for students to run, dance and skip around while listening to music and being cheered on! Turn it up another notch and create custom event tees! 

• Ask for Direct Donation 

The simplest way to raise funds is to simply ask for direct donations. This fundraiser is a good fit when you are raising funds for a specific project that you can share with donors. 

To maximize funds raised, use an online fundraising platform such as MyBooster so your students and families can quickly and easily share their personalized fundraising page  to anyone in the world! Plus MyBooster gives donors the ability to search its database to see if their company does corporate matching, instantly doubling their donation! 

Fill Your Fundraising Calendar with Booster

Planning out a fundraising calendar for the entire year will ensure that you can realistically achieve your school fundraising goals while aligning with various opportunities such as holidays, seasons and school milestones. Leveraging events and occasions that your families already have on their calendars will also help to drive up excitement, participation and of course—funds raised! 

Learn more about how all of Booster’s fundraising solutions can help fill your calendar this school year.