Quick and Easy Fundraiser | The Fundraising Directory

Quick and easy fundraisers

August 6, 2022 in

If you’re looking for a ‘Quick and Easy Fundraiser’, we’ve put together a list that you can get underway without too much fuss while you’re gearing up for the ‘big guns’. You’re welcome! 😉

5 cent Challenge – Very easy to set up with very little outlay and a nice easy way to kick off the year. For the who, what, when, where and how, click here.
Guessing games – Games like ‘how many lollies in the jar’ (variations on the lollies could be legos, marbles, chocolate eggs for Easter) or ‘guess the weight’. Charge $1 per guess and the winner takes home the jar and contents.
Photo competition – Ask students to submit a photograph that they have taken themselves and maybe have a guest judge (a local photographer perhaps) choose winners for different categories. Charge per entry and winner could receive something as simple as a voucher or certificate or a photography lesson with a professional.
Free dress day – charge each student who comes in free dress. You won’t make a fortune, but every little bit helps! To add some fun to this idea, theme your free dress day. Pj’s day, dress like a pirate day, heroes and villains. You get the idea, and try and get the staff involved too. Kids love it when they see teachers and principals getting in on the fun.
Gift wrapping service – Some people are awesome at wrapping gifts and it’s an easy fundraiser. I’m a bit hit and miss myself but this could be a great idea especially in the lead up to big events like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas. Ask for donations of gift wrapping items or see if you can secure sponsorship from the local newsagent or other shops. If your school is a high traffic area, set up your wrapping stall on the school grounds and charge per gift wrapped. Talk to your local shopping centre about setting up a stall where you’ll get even more traffic. Make sure you’re well signed with information about what you’re raising money for and get the kids involved too!
Pet parade – It’s like a fashion parade but with pets instead. Enlist a panel of judges to award things like best-dressed pet, cutest pet, most unusual pet, furriest pet, friendliest pet etc … If you are not able or allowed to have animals at your venue, set up a wall or noticeboard where people can submit a photo of their pet into different categories and have a voting booth to allocate the awards. You might even be able to replicate this online by setting up an album on your groups Facebook page for people who can’t attend to still be able to vote and you could create a calendar of the winnings pets and sell it. Charge an entry fee or a fee per vote.
50/50 raffle – These are very easy to do. All you need are some raffle tickets. Sell your nominated number of tickets and the winner takes half the money. For example, if you sell 100 tickets at $1 each, the winner gets $50. Sell 100 tickets for $2 each and the winner gets $100. Another way of running this is ‘lucky squares’. Draw up a grid of 100 squares on a large piece of cardboard and set aside a $50 note in an envelope. Sell each square for $1 and the square that matches the last two digits on the $50 note wins it. You can do for a $100 note as well and sell the squares for $2 each or run both together and give people more chances to win.
Baby photo contest – Get some teachers, other staff or students at the school to submit their favourite baby photo of themselves. Set these up on a noticeboard where they will be easily seen and have numbered sealed containers under each photo. Anyone can vote for the cutest baby by putting money in the corresponding container and the photo with the most votes is declared the winner and has bragging rights of being the cutest baby. Award them a certificate or voucher you then you can embarrass them on social media and in your school newsletter 😉
Best seat in the house raffle – Purchase a couple of tickets to a popular concert, sporting event, or musical and raffle them. Popular events could net you a sweet profit, especially if you can find a sponsor to donate the tickets.
Envelope fundraiser – Easy fundraiser and small outlay for potentially large returns. Click here to get all the info on this one.

Regina Underwood
Fundraising Whisperer Freelance Writer
Regina is a mother of three and a P&C President. She knows firsthand the ups and downs of volunteering!

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Originally published 25 January, 2018