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35+ Simple and Effective Fundraising Ideas for Kids

35+ Simple and Effective Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Simple and Effective Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Schools, clubs, and sports teams often have high programming costs that standard school funding or participant fees alone cannot cover. That’s why these groups often turn to fundraising to ensure they can continue serving the kids in their communities. Involving kids in your fundraising efforts not only helps you raise more but also provides a valuable opportunity for community engagement.

At 99Pledges, we specialize in fundraising support for kids’ groups. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best fundraising ideas for kids, sure to help you reach your fundraising goals and bring your community together. We’ve split these ideas into four categories so you can find the right campaign for your needs:

  • Our Favorite Fundraising Idea for Kids
  • Easy Fundraising Ideas for Kids
  • Creative Fundraising Ideas for Kids
  • Fundraising Ideas for Kids and Parents

Let’s dive in!

Our Favorite Fundraising Idea for Kids

1. 99Pledges Fundraiser

99Pledges specializes in peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns for kids. These fundraisers invite kids to collect pledges and donations from friends, family members, and neighbors to complete a specific challenge or project. Walk-a-thons, Fun Runs, and Read-a-thons are all popular examples of peer-to-peer fundraisers. 

99Pledges campaigns are a favorite among schools, teams, and other groups because they:

Benefits of 99Pledges fundraisers, listed below.
  • Encourage healthy competition: When participants gather pledges on their personal donation pages, they’re more likely to push themselves to succeed so they can stack up to their friends’ results. This increases engagement with your event and drives revenue.
  • Fun for all ages: Peer-to-peer events are a great opportunity to host an event that unites your whole community. Participants connect with each other throughout the campaign, and your capstone event can become a beloved annual tradition.
  • Customizable for your group: 99Pledges supports any “a-thon” event you can imagine, meaning you can run a fundraiser that reflects your community’s interests and goals. For example, a baseball team might run a Hit-a-thon while an elementary school could host a Read-a-thon.
  • Drive revenue growth: You can raise more with pledge-based fundraising. In fact, pledge-based campaigns can raise over 20% more than flat donation fundraisers! Supporters will be excited to give generously when their gift is tied to participants’ performance.
  • Expand your reach: With 99Pledges’ online fundraising platform, you can accept donations from supporters worldwide. Kids’ extended families and family friends can donate, no matter where they live.

Hosting your own peer-to-peer event with 99Pledges is simple. Just follow these easy steps:

The five steps in the pledge fundraising process, detailed in the text below.
  • Step 1: Create a pledge fundraising campaign in minutes. With 99Pledges, you’ll automatically receive campaign-wide and individual donation pages for each participant, eliminating time-consuming manual setup. 
  • Step 2: Share your donation page links across email, text, and social media.
  • Step 3: Collect activity-based pledges and flat donations from participants’ families and friends. Pledged donations correspond to their participation in your event, such as “$0.10 for every minute spent on the dance floor” in a Dance-a-thon.
  • Step 4: Track your campaign’s progress. 99Pledges offers online reporting dashboards where you can see whether you’re on track to meet your fundraising goals and course-correct if you fall behind. You can also use these dashboards to inspire competition between students to earn the most pledges.
  • Step 5: Host your event and track each child’s performance. From there, you’ll collect your activity-based donations and tally up your earnings!

Easy Fundraising Ideas for Kids

2. Matching Gift Programs

Matching gift programs are a powerful way to increase donations made to your organization without requiring any extra effort (or funds) from your supporters. These programs typically only apply to organizations that qualify as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, so check your status before launching a matching gift drive.

Through matching gift programs, businesses pledge to match employee donations to approved nonprofit organizations. That means you get two gifts for the price of soliciting one! 

Get started in five simple steps:

  • Step 1: Encourage donors to make a gift to your organization as usual (for example, through a fundraiser).
  • Step 2: The donor submits a matching gift request to their employer.
  • Step 3: The company reviews the request.
  • Step 4: Your nonprofit verifies the original donation.
  • Step 5: If eligible, your organization receives a second check from the company.

Chances are, quite a few of the parents, family members, and other supporters giving to your organization work for companies with these programs. The biggest obstacle to receiving a match is simply educating these donors about the opportunity. Spread awareness of matching gifts by promoting resources to supporters and helping them determine whether their employer offers matching gifts.

3. eCard Campaign

Most kids love crafts like DIY birthday cards, which is why an eCard campaign is a top choice for kid-friendly fundraising.

eCards are digital greeting cards sent via email that can be customized with fun illustrations, animations, and messages. To fundraise using this creative messaging tool, offer parents, community members, and other supporters the opportunity to buy eCards and send them to family and friends.

Incorporate drawings or quotes from kids within your eCards to involve them in the fundraising process. Parents will be especially excited to purchase eCards with their children’s designs and show off the artwork to friends and family! Here is an example of what these cards could look like:

An example of an eCard to be sold in an eCard campaign, which is a top fundraising idea for kids.

To launch your eCard campaign, follow these three simple steps:

  1. Upload kids’ designs. Import kids’ drawings into your eCard building platform and start creating cards using their artwork as the design. You can also add text with quotes from the kids.
  2. Customize your eCards. Add your logo and brand colors to eCards so senders and recipients know exactly where the cards are coming from.
  3. Add the eCards to your website. Make it easy for parents and community members to find, purchase, and send eCards by adding them to your website. You can set up a dedicated page for these cards and link to it from your website’s most visited pages so users can find it easily.
 

For even more designing fun, turn this campaign into a competition and award the kid who draws the design for the most-sold eCard!

4. Google Ad Campaign

Through Google’s Ad Grant program, eligible nonprofit organizations can receive $10,000 in free ad credits each month, which can be used to promote their websites on the search engine. This makes it the perfect fundraising idea for school booster clubs or PTAs that are formally recognized as nonprofits!

To get started, your group must confirm its eligibility and apply for the grant. For guidance with the application process and grant management once you’re approved, consult a dedicated Google Grant agency, such as Getting Attention. These experts can help you allocate your grant funding and create effective ads that truly drive more traffic to your website.

As a result, your ads will appear on the search engine results page (SERP) and look something like this:

In the above example, the Ronald McDonald House’s website appears at the top of the SERP along with ad copy that reads, “Donate To Make A Difference — Ronald McDonald House® Helps Families Feel At Home Even When They Can’t Be.” This text can be customized to entice users to visit your website.

Additionally, you can get kids in on the fun by adding their artwork, images, and quotes to your website. When your ad leads to a landing page centered around the kids in your program, visitors will be more excited to donate and support your work.

5. Fundraising Flyers

In the same way that kids will be excited to see their designs on digital cards, they’ll be eager to design a fundraising flyer that promotes your cause! Host a design contest and have kids vote on their favorite design. Then, launch a fundraising flyer campaign using the winning design.

To raise more with these flyers, add scannable QR codes leading to your online donation page. This way, viewers can easily scan the flyer and submit their gift from their phones. This makes it easier to give and increases the likelihood that viewers will donate, since they can give immediately upon seeing your flyer!

To design compelling flyers that include kids’ designs and your organization’s branding, leverage a graphic design service like Kwala. Their reasonably priced services include unlimited designs for a flat, monthly fee and full ownership of anything created for your organization.

6. Walk-a-thon Fundraiser

Walk-a-thon fundraisers draw on the pledge fundraising model in a family-friendly, laid-back, physical-wellness-promoting fundraising event.

These fundraisers are so successful because they’re easy to host and they have high fundraising potential. All you need is:

You simply create a pledge fundraising page for the event overall and organize the Walk-a-thon. Encourage kids and their families and friends to create personal donation pages and collect pledges corresponding to their participation in the event.

At the event, these pledged donations should correspond to the distance participants walk (e.g., $5 for every mile walked). The farther participants walk, the more donations your organization receives! Because walking is a more accessible activity, the whole family can get involved.

7. Read-a-thon

While there is some evidence that reading could improve intelligence, the percentage of American children who read for fun has declined in recent years. Encourage young people in your program to read (and raise donations at the same time!).

Ask the kids to read as many books as they can for the duration of the Read-a-thon. You can even incorporate the pledge model into this fundraiser. During the challenge, participants can collect pledged donations corresponding to the number of minutes they spend reading. By measuring minutes instead of pages or books, you’ll encourage students of all reading levels to participate!

8. Product Fundraisers

A product fundraising campaign can be a great way to raise money for your cause while getting your kids involved in the selling process. Even better, supporters can get an item for themselves by contributing to your fundraiser, like cookie dough or candles!

To get started, all you need to do is:

  • Step 1: Partner with a product fundraising company.
  • Step 2: Gather a group of volunteers to sell your products (that’s where the kids and their parents come in).
  • Step 3: Equip your sellers with an online web store or order-taking flyers provided by your fundraising partner.
  • Step 4: Encourage participants to reach out to family and friends to support their fundraising efforts.

Once your order-taking period has ended, your fundraising partner will distribute the items and charge your organization wholesale prices. You’ll retain the profits for your group. Be sure to provide small prizes for your top sellers to motivate them throughout the selling process!

9. Raffle

Raffles are an easy yet profitable fundraising event your team can host independently or in conjunction with another event.

To hold a raffle, simply:

  • Choose an item to raffle. Choose something that ticket buyers want to win but doesn’t cause your group to lose money. Good examples are event tickets or themed experience baskets.
  • Sell tickets. Ensure ticket prices are inexpensive, but priced high enough to both cover costs and turn a profit for your organization. This way, you can cover the cost of the raffle item without breaking the supporter’s bank.
  • Choose a winner. Draw a winner and give them their prize! If you’re hosting the raffle in conjunction with an event, a raffle is usually the last activity.

Consider asking local sponsors to make an in-kind donation for you to raffle. Whether a youth basketball team donates tickets or a movie theater sets up the ultimate movie night experience, it will be a valuable contribution to your event! Then, all of the proceeds from raffle tickets go toward your organization rather than paying for the raffle items.

10. Penny Drive

Equip teams of your organization’s supporters with large jars and challenge each team to fill their jar with coins. Participants can bring in their own change or ask their families for additional support. The first team to fill their jar wins the penny drive!

For example, if you are a coach in a school setting, you’d give each team its own jar and challenge students to fill their team’s jar with spare change. The friendly competition between soccer and football teams, for example, fuels its success. Even though you may not raise major gifts through this campaign, it can still be a helpful effort for smaller fundraising pushes!

11. Teachers in Jail

While this is traditionally a school fundraiser, it can easily be amended to fit other organizations, such as sports teams or after-school clubs.

The fundraiser follows this structure:

  • Challenge teammates or club members to raise a certain amount of money for your organization.
  • Give them a day off from regular activities by putting their coach, teacher, or advisor “in jail!” For a baseball team, this could mean their coach has to spend practice in the dugout while they have a pizza party or another fun activity.

Set a fundraising goal that’s challenging yet realistic for participants to hit. They’ll be so motivated by the promise of a fun break from routine that your organization will hit its goal in no time.

12. Running Shoe Drive Fundraiser

A running shoe drive fundraiser is the perfect way to raise money with kids because you’re working with a population that’s outgrowing shoes fast.

A running shoe drive fundraiser goes like this:

  • Step 1: Encourage kids and their friends and families to search their closets for new and gently used athletic shoes that they’re no longer using.
  • Step 2: Collect the running shoes at your next fundraising event, and package them in pairs to send to a trusted running shoe drive fundraising coach.
  • Step 3: Send off the shoes. Once they’re received, your organization gets a check in return!

This effort is often most successful when paired with a larger fundraising event, such as a walk-a-thon, 5K, or another event where it would make sense to ask participants to donate their shoes.

13. Balloon Pop Party

Everyone who participates in a balloon pop party wins—whether it’s your organization by raising donations or the supporters purchasing balloons to pop!

This fundraiser is fairly straightforward, following this process:

  1. Your organization gathers a variety of small-to-medium-sized prizes, such as gift cards, toys, and even coupons.
  2. You blow up balloons, placing small pieces of paper corresponding to each prize within.
  3. Supporters purchase these balloons at the event.
  4. In unison, supporters pop their balloons, and their prize is revealed!

Choose prizes that interest your supporters while remaining inexpensive enough for your organization to profit through the process.

14. Principal Challenge

Set a fundraising goal for your group. As a prize for reaching that goal, have your program leader complete a silly challenge. For example, they may have a pie thrown in their face or spend an afternoon in a dunk tank.

Just as with the “Teacher’s in Jail” fundraiser, a principal challenge is often used as a school fundraising idea, but you can adapt the name to make it relevant for your organization. Also, you can theme the silly challenge to align with your activity. For example, a soccer coach might play as the goalie, allowing team members to attempt to throw water balloons into the goal.

15. Straw Draw Fundraiser

Similar to a balloon pop fundraiser, solicit small or medium prizes to give away via a straw draw. Each of these gifts is associated with a straw during the event. Supporters will pay to “draw a straw” and discover which gift they’ve won!

Because this fundraiser doesn’t have major gift-raising potential, it might be helpful to tie it to a larger fundraising event. It’s a great way to raise more at the event and provide additional value to supporters. And if you can get local companies to donate these items to reduce your costs, even better!

Creative Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Creative fundraising ideas for kids, listed below.

16. T-Shirt Fundraiser

T-shirt fundraisers are a fantastic fundraising idea for kids. It allows them to express their personal style while also spreading the word about your team and its fundraiser with each purchase.

Challenge kids in your organization to draw their ideal t-shirt design. Put the designs to the test, allowing all of the kids within your group to vote on their favorite. Use the winning design to create t-shirts for your fundraiser.

Sell these shirts to supporters such as families, friends, and other members of your community. When supporters wear the shirt, it will be like free advertising for your organization!

17. Scavenger Hunt

While a scavenger hunt may require more preparation, the kids involved will appreciate your effort.

Charge a small admission fee for kids to participate, and encourage the whole family to get involved. When planning your hunt, be sure to get creative! There are many fun ways to take your scavenger hunt to the next level, such as:

  • Tying the puzzles to your local community. Teach participating kids about your community’s history by incorporating local landmarks and historical sites.
  • Giving it a seasonal theme. Regardless of the time of year, there is always an upcoming holiday or season change you can connect the hunt to.
  • Jazzing it up with pop culture. Are there any books or movies that are particularly popular? Anything the kids just won’t stop talking about? Draw on those trends!

The more creative you are, the more successful the event will be. If your event looks interesting and fun, more people will want to sign up (and enjoy completing it!).

18. Talent Show

Provide a platform for the talented kids in your group to show off their greatest skills and raise money.

Plan an afterschool event and invite students to perform the talent that they’re most proud of. At the event, charge a small admission fee for family, friends, and community members to enjoy the show. Students will appreciate the chance to show off their talents to the crowd, and parents will enjoy the adorable photo opportunity.

While you can award a winner and make the event a competition, make sure that participants feel encouraged and supported when displaying their talents.

19. Color Run

To organize a color run, you’ll simply put a creative twist on the classic 5K run by adding a colorful element.

Plan a 5K run, which includes setting a date, choosing a location, and mapping a course. Then, charge a small fee for race admission and encourage runners to wear white clothing on the day of the run.

Give spectators colorful chalk powder at the race, encouraging them to throw it into the air as runners pass by. By the end of the race, participants will be covered with colorful chalk and ready for fun finish-line photo ops!

You can add a pledge fundraising element to this race by having participants solicit pledged donations that correspond to their completion of the race. At the end of the event, those pledges become gifts to your organization.

20. Viral Video Challenge

Viral video challenges are all the rage in the current social media climate, and your students will love having the opportunity to make their own!

The steps are easy:

  • Step 1: Create or choose a video challenge. The most successful challenges are often silly in nature, whether that means completing a fun dance routine or getting “pied” in the face.
  • Step 2: Post a video of a recognizable member of your community, like the school principal or team coach, completing the challenge on social media.
  • Step 3: Challenge others to post their own version of the original! Aim to host the challenge on a social network that many of your supporters use, whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, X, or TikTok.
  • Step 4: After the challenge is complete, participants can start making donations!

Each person who completes the challenge should tag the next person in line. After posting their video, participants make a donation to your organization via your online donation page.

21. Face Painting

Hire a professional face painter or ask a talented volunteer from your organization to help out with this fundraising idea for kids. Set up a table at another event, such as a community picnic or fall festival, with skin-safe paints and ask for a small donation for each face painting.

Create some sample designs that kids in your community will enjoy, whether tied to seasonal themes (e.g., flowers in the springtime) or pop culture moments (e.g., Disney or Pixar’s latest hit animation). This will help kids choose a design and make the process more efficient!

22. Flower Sale

Flowers are universally loved, and selling them is an easy fundraising idea for kids.

Increase the chance of success for this fundraiser by planning it in conjunction with a national holiday. For example, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are already associated with gifting flowers. Sell flower bouquets or bulbs tied to the season, whether at the after-school pick-up line or at the end of a club meeting, to parents who haven’t picked up gifts for their loved ones yet.

23. Cookbook Sale

Cookbook sales are the perfect creative fundraising idea for kids because they challenge kids to flex their creative muscles.

Ask group members to create (and illustrate!) a recipe for their favorite food. Students might end up reciting a family-favorite recipe, or they might invent something entirely new. Regardless of what they submit, it will be fun to see “cooking” from your young participants’ perspectives.

Compile these recipes into a cookbook and sell copies to parents, extended family members, and even across your greater community. To save on printing costs, consider creating a digital cookbook. 

If you want to add a little more value to the cookbook, you can ask parents or other family members to submit “real” recipes for the book as well. The adorable submissions from your students will warm the hearts of your community and make for a highly successful fundraiser.

24. Art Auction

Task your students with creating a premier piece of art to auction to your community. Then, create an event outside of school hours where you’ll allow friends, family members, and members of your community to peruse the kids’ artwork.

Collect bids for the kids’ artwork, as well as other gifts from attendees who don’t win an item. Throughout the auction event, educate attendees about your organization and how the donations will positively impact your club or group.

25. Dog and Car Wash

Who can resist an event full of cute pets? Invite members of your community to bring their cars (and furry friends!) to a two-in-one dog and car wash in exchange for a small donation.

Obtain parents’ permission before getting students involved in this fundraiser. Make this process easy by adding waivers to your website to make sure every student who plans to participate has permission to do so.

26. Dance-a-thon

What if we told you that you can dance the night away while raising donations for your organization? Incorporate pledge fundraising methods in a fun, fitness-based event with high fundraising potential.

A Dance-a-thon, or dance marathon, is an event where participants dance for as long as they can (at times, for 24 hours straight!) to raise money for your cause. Here’s how you can host one:

  • Prior to the event, create a pledge fundraising page and allow participants to create their own personal pages in conjunction with it.
  • Then, plan the event itself, making sure to curate a fantastic playlist and have snacks and drinks available to keep participants dancing!
  • After the event, your donors will fulfill their activity-based donation pledges.
  • Your peer-to-peer fundraising platform will deliver the funds. 

After all the hard work is done, you can hold the event and challenge everyone to dance as long as they can.

27. Birthday Fundraisers

With a birthday fundraiser, kids can blow out their candles and make a difference in one fell swoop! Here is how it works:

  • Determine the specific project you want to raise funds for.
  • Select an eCard platform that has fundraising features to collect donations.
  • Personalize the eCards with your organization’s branding, the child’s name, and a clear call to action for donating.
  • On each child’s birthday, send out a batch of eCards, encouraging family and friends to donate in honor of the special occasion.

Remember to thank each child for their generosity, especially since they are using their own birthday to support your cause.

Fundraising Ideas for Kids and Parents

Fundraising ideas for kids and parents, listed below

28. Bowl-a-thon

Organize a bowling tournament for families in your community to compete in. Allow families to register independently or band together and register as teams.

Charge a small fee for admission, ensuring it’s enough to cover the cost of renting the bowling lanes and necessary materials. Then, incorporate the pledge fundraising model by having participating teams collect pledged donations corresponding to either their participation in the event or the number of pins their team successfully knocks over.

29. Gift Wrapping Services

During a holiday season such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or even Mother’s or Father’s Day, set up tables in a public place and offer to wrap gifts in exchange for a small donation. Advertise these services to your supporters and encourage them to spread the word as well.

To maximize your profits from this fundraiser, consider tying in another element like customizable holiday-themed eCards. Along with promoting your gift-wrapping services, ask supporters if they’d like to send a custom eCard to a friend or family member in exchange for a donation to your campaign.

30. Coupon Books

Search your community for local businesses (like restaurants and retailers) that are willing to participate in your coupon book fundraiser. These businesses agree to provide coupon discounts for the fundraising book, which is then sold to supporters for a small donation.

Participants who purchase the book receive a variety of coupons, making their local shopping experience more thrifty and impactful. Local businesses get advertising from being featured, energizing your community’s economy. Finally, your organization receives a donation for each book sold.

31. Parents’ Night Out

For a parents’ night out event, you can either plan a fun event for parents—such as a trivia night or a nice dinner—or provide childcare for a few hours one evening while parents plan their own night out.

Invite parents to bring their children to school or your program’s facility for a few hours at the end of the day and accept donations for the childcare services. Plan fun activities for students during the event, whether that’s movies, board games, or crafts. This makes it the perfect fundraising idea for kids and parents alike, since kids get to hang out with their friends and parents will appreciate the organized childcare with a provider they already trust!

32. Bake Sale

Ask parents in your community to bond with their kids in a kitchen setting, making family-favorite baked goods to sell in your next fundraiser.

Recruit teachers or parents from your parent-teacher organization to host your bake sale table. Open for operations during student drop-off, after-school pickup, and even during lunch. Aim to sell a wide variety of goods in exchange for small donations to your organization.

Be mindful of food allergies, such as nut and gluten allergies. If baked goods contain common allergens, make sure to note that when you display them. Further, make sure to offer allergen-free snacks so everyone can enjoy!

33. Volunteer-a-thon

Bring kids and their family members together in a fundraiser that benefits both the greater community and your team.

There are two popular ways to hold a Volunteer-a-thon:

  • Option 1: Organize one mass volunteer day where participants band together to complete one large project in your community. One example of this would be a park clean-up or rejuvenation project.
  • Option 2: Create a volunteer challenge spanning a certain time period, such as a month. Challenge participating families to complete a set number of volunteer hours in your community over that time period.

The steps to holding a Volunteer-a-thon are simple. First, create a pledge fundraising campaign. Then, ask participants to collect pledges that relate to their future volunteer efforts. Finally, hold the volunteer event in your community.

Parents will appreciate the opportunity to instill strong service values in their children, and your community will benefit from the improvements your volunteers make. Your organization may even receive more donations from outside sources inspired by participants’ good deeds!

34. Best Seat in the House

Raffle off tickets to an interesting local event, giving the winner a VIP experience.

Your organization simply procures tickets to raffle, sells tickets, and chooses a winner. Popular events to raffle tickets from are:

  • Local sports team games
  • Plays or concerts coming through the area
  • Museums, the zoo, or other local cultural mainstays

Because the event tickets will probably be a pricier item, you can sell tickets for a higher price than you might in another raffle setting. Soliciting the ideal donation amount can be tricky, so be sure to carefully total your costs and set a price that will allow you to make a worthwhile profit.

35. Restaurant Percentage Night

During a restaurant percentage night, your team partners with a local restaurant to raise funds for your cause. The restaurant agrees to give a percentage of sales from a given date to your fundraiser in return for your organization promoting the event.

Parents will enjoy a night off from cooking and having their choice of restaurant pre-decided. These families can contribute to your cause with minimal extra effort and get a little extra family time as a bonus.

Because you’ll be promoting your fundraiser to your supporters, the restaurant will also see extra foot traffic during your event. This is a great selling point to recruit local restaurants to participate.

36. Trivia Night

Gather students and their families together to test their trivia knowledge. Accept donations for entry into the competition and reward a winner at the end of the night!

Engage participants, young and old, with diverse trivia topics. For example, parents and guardians might enjoy pop culture and history trivia, while your participants will love topics related to kids’ movies or subjects they’ve been learning about in school.

To amplify the fundraising potential of this event, consider incorporating a pledge-based fundraising element. Allow families to register as teams and collect pledged gifts corresponding to either their participation in the event or the number of trivia questions answered correctly.

37. Family Photo Day

It’s a common sentiment for many parents that kids just grow up too fast! Thankfully, photos help preserve memories from those cherished childhood years forever.

Hire a photographer for the day and set up in a picturesque location in your community. Invite families to have their portraits taken at a discounted rate.

Parents and guardians will appreciate that the entire family is included in the photo, rather than one essential member standing behind the camera. Plus, they’ll appreciate the discounted cost and convenience of having the logistics sorted out for them.

38. Chili Cook-Off

Bring your community together to enjoy home-cooked chili and bring in donations at the same time.

Challenge students and their families to cook their most-prized family chili recipe and bring enough to share. Organize an event for members of your organization to come together and sample the various chilis enrolled in the competition.

Raise funds by charging for admission into the competition for participants as well as admission into the event for taste-testers. Ask attendees to vote on their favorite recipe or consider bringing in an “expert” judging panel from your community to rate the submissions.

At the end of the event, crown a crowd favorite and a judge-chosen winner.

Additional Resources

With any of these school fundraising ideas for kids, you’re sure to plan an exciting calendar that will engage the whole family and raise the needed funds for your cause.

For more ideas and tips about fundraising technology, check out these other resources:

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