14 Easy Fundraising Ideas for School Fetes (with Tips)

Are you looking for fundraising ideas for school fetes?

School fundraising fetes are the most effective ways to raise money. There is almost no need to motivate students to participate in the fundraising event if the event is planned well. But the planning of a successful fete is exactly what can seem like a daunting task. But with the right fundraising ideas, you can make your school fete a fun and profitable event.

There are many different fundraising ideas that you can use to raise money for your school fete. In this article, we will explore 15 different fundraising ideas for school fetes with tips to make sure your school fete is a grand success.

14 Fun Fundraising Ideas for School Fetes with Tips

Looking for some fun and creative ideas to raise money for your school fete? Here are 14 ideas for fetes and fairs for your school that are sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.

1. Bake Sale

A bake sale is a great way to raise money for your school fete. Encourage parents and students to bake and sell items such as cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. A bake sale, is infact, one of the best primary school fundraising ideas as it promotes teamwork and requires minimal prep.

To make your bake sale stand out, offer a variety of baked goods, including gluten-free and vegan options. You can also offer themed baked goods for special occasions, such as Halloween cupcakes or Christmas cookies.

Practical Tips:

• Bring enough napkins, paper cups, and plates to the venue
• Avoid serving baked goods that need to be heated for faster service
• If it’s a cash-only bake sale, round off the price to full numbers to avoid change issues. If possible, have the same price tag on all the goodies for faster calculation at check-out.
• Train school kids, in advance, about sales and service for faster delivery and service and greater fundraising opportunity.

2. BBQ Sale

One of the most popular middle school fundraising ideas is a classic Barbeque.

BBQ is a hit fete stall during spring and warmer months.

Set up a BBQ stall and sell cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, grilled chicken, and other school kid favorites.

Prepare a potato salad in advance as a side to make the fete stall more attractive to school children and customers.

Practical Tips

• Bring enough napkins, paper cups, and plates to the venue
• Avoid selling items that take a long time to grill.
• Make sure there are enough volunteers and adult supervisors around the school children at the stall to avoid barbeque accidents.

3. Lemonade Stand

A lemonade stall can be a refreshing addition to a school fundraising fete.

Lemonade is a classic summer fete beverage that can be made with simple ingredients such as fresh lemons, sugar, and water.

The stall can offer different flavors such as strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry lemonade. You can also offer a variety of add-ins such as mint, ginger, or honey to create unique and refreshing flavor combinations.

Practical Tips

• A lemonade stall is usually one of the most popular fete stall ideas for school fairs. Make sure it is placed at a highly visible area for maximum sales.
• Stock up on enough cups, straws, ice pitchers, and mixing spoons.
• Price the lemonade moderately for higher sales. Round it off to the nearest bill amount to avoid issues with change.
• Like with the bake sale, make sure you train the volunteers at the stall for faster delivery and collection of money.
• Keep a few volunteers on standby to serve when the demand is high. The demand would be particularly high in peak summers.

4. Coffee and Tea Station

A coffee and tea station is a great way to keep attendees warm and hydrated at your fete. It is a popular stall for school fundraising events, especially around Halloween or Christmas.

Offer a variety of hot drinks, including specialty coffee and tea flavors. You can also offer baked goods or snacks to go along with the drinks. or have the bake sale stall right next to the coffee and tea station.

Offer enough options like herbal tea, green tea, decaf, and hot chocolate to please school comminity including kids, adults, and parents.

Practical Tips

• Keep enough supply of warm and hot water ready to go for faster service
• Ensure there are enough adults to supervise especially if the volunteers at the stall are young school children
• Keep enough napkins, stirrers, and cup sleeves (optional). Keep enough sugar and milk powder sachets in store to allow customers to customize their tea and coffee to their liking.

5. Dunk Tank

A dunk tank is a popular fundraising idea that can generate a lot of excitement. Participants pay to throw balls at a target to dunk someone into a tank of water. A cheeky yet interesting twist to a classic dunk tank would be to call it a ‘dunk-a-teacher’ tank.

Practical tips

• Make sure to have a backup plan in case of inclement weather
• A dunk tank needs plenty of space for safe throws.
• To save costs you can use a DIY Dunk tank but for better safety, it is best to use a rental dunk tank.

6. Carnival Games

Carnival games are a great way to keep attendees entertained while raising funds. Offer a mix of easy and challenging mini fete games, and provide prizes for winners. To make your carnival games successful, make sure to have enough game supplies and volunteers to assist.

Practical tips

• Carnival games are the biggest draw of a school fete for fundraising. Make sure the games are age-appropriate and the prizes are well worth the money spent.
• Keep the games reasonably priced for higher participation.
• To save costs you can ask parents to donate the material required for carnival games.

7. Face Painting

Face painting is a fun and popular activity to include in a school fundraising fete.

Children and adults alike can enjoy transforming their faces into anything from a butterfly to a superhero. If face painting is too bold, you can even double up the fete stall to paint temporary tattoos for school kids.

To ensure the success of a face painting booth, it is important to have a skilled artist or team of artists with a wide range of designs to choose from. Safety and hygiene should also be prioritized by using high-quality, non-toxic face paints and frequently sanitizing brushes and other equipment.

Practical tips

• Set up the booth with a mirror so that the children and adults can see the finished result.
• Charge a nominal fee.
• Set up the stall close to the entrance. Entering the fete with a painted face gets the participants in a fun playful mood right at the outset. Participants are also more likely to get their face painted before they have food or before they engage in carnival games.

8. Photo Booth

A photo booth can be a great addition to a school fundraising fete, providing a fun and interactive way for attendees to capture memories and take home a souvenir.

A simple photo booth can be created with a backdrop and props, such as hair bands, hats, and signs. You can even include your school’s logo as the backdrop or digitally add it to all your photos for more personalization.

A more elaborate booth can be rented with professional lighting and printing capabilities.

Practical tips

• Have an adult supervisor or a volunteer to ensure discipline and crowd management.
• Make sure to arrange for a printer to quickly print out the photo and hand it over to the participants.
• You can even assign a volunteer to digitally share the photo or to upload the photo to the school’s website and social media handles and tag the participants.

Related: Popcorn fundraising for schools | Calendar fundraiser guide

9. Obstacle Course

An obstacle course is a great way to challenge attendees while raising funds. It is a little bit more elaborate than a standard carnival game and requires more material and preparation.

Set up a course with challenges such as crawling through tunnels and jumping over hurdles. The course can be timed or run as a relay race, with prizes awarded to the fastest times or winning teams.

The obstacle course can also be conducted as a team event to promote teamwork and collaboration amongst students.

Practical tips

• Get creative with setting up the obstacle course. You can use plants, pots, baskets, balloons and other easily available material.
• Try borrowing material from parents to save costs.
• Make sure the obstacles are age-appropriate. You may need to set up multiple if the target age group is wide.

10. Talent Show

One section of the fete area at the school fundraiser could be reserved for a proper talent show. The talent show could include performances by the school children.

Charge a basic ticket for the show and provide enough seating. To ensure that the other sections in the fete do not affect the talent show area, hold it in the indoor auditorium, the school’s amphitheater, or a separately marked noise-free area at the venue.

If there is no time to plan performances and rehearsals, mark an area for impromptu talent shows. Challenge participants to dance duels like they do at dance marathon fundraisers or singing challenges, tongue twisters, etc.

Practical tips

• Keep the show short as kids attending school fetes are not interested in being seated for long periods of time and prefer playing games instead.
• Make sure the sound quality is good to avoid the audience from getting distracted.

The talent show is also one of the best kindergarten fundraising ideas as it encourages young kids to perform on a stage and the performances also tend to be super cute and engaging.

(Note: If you don’t want to conduct is part of a fete, you can even host it online as it is one of the best ways to raise funds without money.)

11. Music Performance

Unlike a school talent show, a music performance could be organized where you invite local bands to attract attendees while raising funds. Promote the event well in advance across various platforms for greater attendance.

Offer a small goodie bag or a snack basket to attendees as a token of appreciation for their contribution to the fundraiser.

Practical tips

• Define the target audience of the performance well to invite the right kind of band. You want the band to play the music that the crowd loves for maximum participation.

12. Karaoke

Karaoke is a fun and interactive entertainment option for school fetes.

Provide a stage and sound system, and encourage attendees to participate.

To make your karaoke event successful, have a designated area for the activity and enough volunteers to assist.

Practical tips

• Test the karaoke in advance to avoid disappointment at the fete. Make sure the sound quality is great.
• If the karaoke system comes with a pre-loaded list of songs, see if the options available include songs that are popular and trending among school kids.

13. Craft Stall

Ask kids to make craft items that could be sold at the craft stall. Try and get as much variety as possible in the items sold.

Some easy items that most kids can make include pen stands, keychains, card holders, greeting cards, bookmarks, etc.

Price these products reasonably for maximum sales.

You can even personalize the items with your school logo stamp.

Practical Tips

• Craft stalls are one of the best ideas for school fundraising among older kids who can genuinely prepare high-quality products.
• Give enough notice to students if you plan to source the products from them. Make sure there are enough copies of the same design too instead of having all unique products.

14. Hair spray booth

A hair spray booth can be a fun addition to a school fundraising fete.

The booth can offer temporary hair colors, glitter sprays, and hair accessories to create unique and colorful hairstyles. This can be a great opportunity for students to express themselves and have fun while supporting a good cause.

Volunteers can help to apply the hair sprays and offer styling tips to create a variety of looks.

A hair spray booth can also be a great way to involve the school’s cosmetology program or partner with a local salon to provide additional support and expertise.

Practical tips

• Make sure the products used are of high quality and do not harm the skin and hair of school kids.
• Ensure there is enough adult supervision and volunteers to look after the execution
• Avoid offering styles that require elaborate preparation or ones which are time-consuming as that could slow down the turnaround time and result in lesser fundraising.

In addition to the above, you can even organize a raffle at the school’s fundraising fair. You can read our posts

• how to have a successful Raffle fundraiser
• best raffle prize ideas for schools
• how to get donations for a school raffle fundraiser

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