Being part of a dance team is a valuable way for kids to practice discipline, teamwork, and creativity while staying active. However, the costs of classes, costumes, and travel fees can quickly add up. The last thing any dance instructor wants is to see a kid who loves dance be denied the opportunity to practice.
That’s why many dance teams turn to fundraising to fill in budget gaps. These events do more than just enable your team to reach its full potential; they also can become an opportunity for your members to bond with each other and your larger community.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best fundraising ideas for dance teams to help you make sure your campaign is a success, including:
- The Best Fundraising Idea for Dance Teams
- Community-Focused Fundraising Ideas
- Easy Fundraising Ideas for Dance Teams
- Hybrid or Virtual-Friendly Fundraising Ideas
- Tips to Make Your Fundraiser Go Viral
The Best Fundraising Idea for Dance Teams
1. Dance-a-thon
Our favorite fundraising idea for dance teams is the Dance-a-thon. These events are ideal for teams seeking a fun and easy event that generates a high profit. Peer-to-peer events are a great way to engage the wider community and encourage collaboration among your team members, and the Dance-a-thon is no exception. Here’s how it works:
- Step 1: Participants gather pledged donations from friends, family, and community members for each minute they spend dancing, or they receive a lump sum donation for their participation. Use a free online fundraising software to manage pledges and create shareable fundraising pages for participants.
- Step 2: Your team completes the Dance-a-thon, tracking the minutes spent dancing consecutively or the number of songs they dance to.
- Step 3: Donors fulfill their pledges based on your dance team’s performance.
- Step 4: You receive the funds! All funding from pledges goes directly to your team after the event.
To make the event your own, create a theme for your Dance-a-thon—like ’80s music or hip hop dances—that will keep your dancers on the floor. Some Dance-a-thons can last up to 24 hours, but adjust your expectations according to what works best for your organization. Remember to provide plenty of water to the dancers, and livestream the event or invite friends and family to keep energy high!
Community-Focused Fundraising Ideas
If you want to supercharge your fundraising efforts, you need to expand your reach beyond just the friends and family of your dance team. This increases the fundraising potential of your campaign and builds goodwill among your community, which can translate into more support down the line.
2. Fun run
If you want to host a popular event that will entice anyone to get involved, a fun run is a great option. These events are always exciting and highly adaptable to your community’s interests and needs.
First, you’ll need to secure a time and location for your run and obtain the proper permits. Unless you’re hosting the event on private property (like at your school’s race track), you’ll likely have to contact your local government’s parks and recreation department with a solid event plan, race route, and safety plan to get the permissions you need. Make sure you know how much the application fees and permit fees will cost.
What makes fun runs so fun are the themes organizers choose; some of the most popular choices include bubble runs, costume runs, and glow runs. These unique events can garner attention and inspire community members to get involved.
Start promoting your event online at least a month in advance to give people ample time to sign up. Like other peer-to-peer events, participants receive pledges from family and friends for their participation, but you can also charge a registration fee.
3. Dance classes
Dance classes are a great way to use your team’s skills to provide something of value to your community. For this fundraising idea, you’ll sell tickets to a dance class taught by your dancers. These events are particularly exciting for younger kids who idolize the older dancers. However, if your team wants to provide a higher-level class, you can also direct it toward adult audiences.
Usually, the best time for these events is a weekend morning. Done right, these events can become a cherished tradition year after year.
4. Dares for donations
“Dare” fundraisers are perfect for teams looking to generate excitement for their event while creating bonds among team members. In these events, dancers will pledge to complete different dares if certain fundraising totals are reached. Your team can agree on teamwide dares, or each individual dancer can come up with dares that match their comfort level. These dares escalate as the fundraising total rises. For example, one participant might create a pledge like this:
- If the team raises $500, I’ll do the chicken dance in the middle of the cafeteria.
- At $750, I’ll take a pie to the face and post it on my Instagram.
- At $1,500, I’ll wear a banana costume to school for a full day.
- At $2,000, I’ll dye my hair blue.
Instead of assigning dares to the general fundraising totals, you can also assign smaller dares to individual donations. For example, anyone who donates $20 might get to throw a water balloon at a dancer. Remember to share the challenges on social media to garner more attention.
5. Trivia night
Hosting a trivia night can be a lively fundraiser that attracts a diverse group of people. Simply charge a participation fee and designate a host for the evening to read out trivia questions; attendees can form groups and collaborate on their answers. At the end of the evening, the top 1-3 teams should receive a prize. To save money, you might offer a prize of leftover dance team merch or seek in-kind donations from generous supporters.
Consider making your event a themed trivia night; for example, you might host a dance-themed trivia or a seasonal event. This can help attract attendees and build excitement for your event.
Easy Fundraising Ideas for Dance Teams
Your dance team works hard. Your fundraising campaign should empower your team, not exhaust their energy. If you need an easy fundraising idea that still delivers major earnings for your team, try one of these dance fundraisers:
6. Walk-a-thon
The Walk-a-thon is a tried-and-true fundraising idea. Like the Dance-a-thon or the fun run, this peer-to-peer fundraising event relies on pledges for donations. Participants will ask for donations based on the number of laps they complete or the number of minutes spent walking.
After your participants secure their pledges, this event couldn’t be easier. Especially in nice weather, your dancers will love leisurely strolling while chatting with friends to raise money for their team.
Participation also isn’t limited to only your team members; people of all ages love these events, and you can take your Walk-a-thon to the next level by playing music and providing snacks to make it feel like a party.
7. Selling concessions
Selling concessions is a great add-on for any fundraising event you choose, or it can be a campaign in and of itself. Simply purchase (or make) plenty of snacks like popcorn, candy, sodas, or baked goods and decide on a fair price for each. Then, sell your goods at events like your dance show, your “a-thon” fundraiser, or a school football game.
Because this fundraiser requires some upfront investment, you’ll need to be realistic about how many concessions you think you can sell at a given event. How much of your budget can you allocate to fundraising costs? How many people do you expect to come to your event? Answering these questions will help you maximize your earnings while minimizing your risk. Additionally, ensure you can accept online payments through platforms like Venmo to increase your earnings.
8. Game tournament
Hosting a game tournament is fun, low-effort, and centered on community-building. These events are also convenient because they can be held at any time of the year, regardless of the weather.
All you have to do is gather a bunch of popular board games. Your team members likely have their own favorites they would be willing to lend you for the event, but if not, your local public library is a great place to look for rentable board games.
Then, create a cozy atmosphere indoors with blankets, pillows, and good snacks. Charge attendees a few dollars for entry, then spend the evening playing board games! You’ll be surprised by how successful this simple event can be.
9. Shoe drive fundraiser
Shoe drive fundraisers allow you to raise money for your organization while also making a global impact. All you have to do is ask friends, family, and neighbors for their unwanted shoes. Instead of trying to sell your supporters something they don’t need, you’re relieving them of items they no longer want!
Once you have the shoes, you’ll package them up and wait for your shoe drive fundraising partner to collect them. From there, they’ll offer the shoes to people in need or micro-businesses, which keeps the shoes out of the landfill. The partner will generally pay your dance team a set rate based on the pounds of shoes donated. Your supporters get to easily clean out their closets, you receive funds, and people living abroad receive much-needed goods. Talk about a win-win-win!
Hybrid or Virtual-Friendly Fundraising Ideas
Oftentimes, supporters want to get involved in your dance team’s fundraiser, but constraints on time and geographic barriers can prevent them from being a part of your campaign. To expand your fundraiser’s reach, try hosting a hybrid or virtual-friendly fundraiser:
10. Read-a-thon
The Read-a-thon is our top virtual-friendly event. For dance teams, these events allow you to raise money while encouraging your members to deepen their interest in reading. Read-a-thons even allow participants to raise money while completing their homework!
We suggest taking pledges for your Read-a-thon based on minutes rather than pages to reward the effort of every participant, regardless of their reading level. Use a reading tracker to allow participants to log their minutes.
Be sure to promote your event widely; donations can add up quickly, as donors are more likely to be more generous knowing that their money both supports a good cause and encourages reading.
11. Fundraising bingo
This may not be the bingo you’re thinking of with the wire cage of numbered balls and the stamps, but it is a stellar fundraising campaign for groups too overwhelmed to host an all-out event. For these fundraisers, you’ll create a sort of “bingo card” for each participant. Each square on the card will have a different number that equates to a suggested donation amount:
Participants will post their bingo cards on social media and encourage their friends and family to make donations of various suggested amounts. Be sure to provide a range of donation amounts to encourage participation and to put the larger numbers in key spots near the middle to inspire generosity.
12. Online raffle
Online raffles allow supporters to get involved quickly, regardless of their geographical location. For these campaigns, you’ll offer desirable prizes with the promise that one lucky winner will receive the reward.
Consider asking supporters for in-kind donations that could act as prizes. Some examples include:
- A basket of baked goods
- Gift cards to popular stores
- Tickets to concerts, sports games, or festivals
- A weekend getaway
You can also conduct a classic 50/50 raffle, where the winner will receive half of the total funds raised from ticket sales, and the other half will go toward your team. Supporters will purchase raffle tickets in the days or weeks leading up to the drawing, with more ticket purchases increasing their chances of winning.
Before deciding to host a raffle, however, you need to check your state laws. Many states regard raffles as a form of gambling and have laws against them, so make sure you’re in line with the law where you live.
Tips to Make Your Fundraiser Go Viral
As you start researching fundraising for your dance team, you’ve likely seen how some campaigns really take off and garner significant attention and support, not just from participants’ families and friends, but also from members of the wider community and even complete strangers. When a campaign goes viral, it’s a complete game-changer, enabling that group to raise serious funds in the short term and secure long-term support down the line.
While your dance team may not aim to go megaviral (think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge of 2014 or the America’s Food Fund GoFundMe in 2020), you can use simple fundraising and marketing techniques to expand your reach and help ensure you meet your fundraising goals. Here are our top tips to make your dance team’s fundraiser go viral:
1. Tell your story
If you want your campaign to resonate with people and inspire them to share your cause with others, you need to be able to connect with them on an emotional level. People are at the heart of your fundraiser, so show the human side of your efforts.
For example, you might interview one of your dancers and ask them questions like, “When did you start dancing? When did you know you wanted to be a dancer? What does it feel like to be able to be on stage? What are your dreams for this dance season?” These questions can elicit responses that demonstrate the true value of your team, which will connect you with donors even if they don’t have a personal tie to your team.
2. Make it easy to share
Convoluted mission statements and messy graphics can make supporters mistrustful of your cause and discourage them from publicly associating with your fundraiser. Instead, ensure your content has clear messaging (particularly regarding the fundraiser’s purpose) and aesthetically pleasing visual elements. This helps you capture the attention of new supporters unfamiliar with your cause and get them excited about your cause quickly.
Choosing the right fundraising platform can also dramatically expand your fundraiser’s reach. 99Pledges’ tailored communication tools make it easy to spread the word using platforms like email, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter). Our platform is perfect for those hosting peer-to-peer fundraising events like “a-thon” fundraisers, because we offer easy setup, flexible payment processing options, simple donation tracking tools, and customizable donation pages that will capture supporters’ attention and help you achieve and exceed your fundraising goals.
Throughout your campaign, make sure to track and share your progress. Our platform offers admin progress reports that you can share internally to encourage friendly competition among your participants or share widely to inspire generosity and prompt supporters to continue sharing your fundraiser with their networks.
3. Make it interactive
If you really want to build out the audience for your fundraiser, you need to provide people with ways to get involved that don’t involve reaching into their wallets. Consider giving people an opportunity to feel like part of a community while taking steps to help your cause. Peer-to-peer events are our favorite way to do this because, like the Ice Bucket Challenge or other popular interactive fundraising ideas, they inspire community, reward action, and even spur a little healthy competition.
4. Use social media strategically
You likely already know the importance of social media if you’re trying to launch a viral fundraiser, but it’s important not just to use these platforms, but to understand them. The same approach won’t work across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For example, Facebook is better suited for longer text-based posts, whereas Instagram is a better fit for infographics. You should also check when the best times to post are for your chosen platforms, as posting at opportune times can increase engagement with your content.
Implementing these tips can help your fundraiser go viral, but remember to first focus on your existing supporters before pursuing potential new ones. Having a solid foundation of supporters who feel like they’re part of your mission is invaluable and will set you up for success in the long run.
Additional Resources
Finding the right fundraising idea for your dance team means understanding your goals, your team, and your community. Look for fundraising ideas that resonate with your needs, then tailor them to create meaningful memories with your team and increase your chances of success.
For even more fundraising ideas, check out these examples:
- 20+ Amazing PTA Fundraising Ideas for Every Occasion. This guide will help you find easy and profitable ideas for your school fundraiser.
- 55+ Genius School Fundraising Ideas: Shatter Your 2025 Goals. Find the right school fundraiser for any age, any time of year.
- 50+ Winning Sports Fundraising Ideas to Help You Raise More. Learn more about fundraising for sports teams and discover the most profitable events for your squad.
