20 High School Fundraising Ideas for Clubs and Classes

The best high school fundraising ideas give students a chance to take the lead. They can dream up the idea, design the merch, spread the word, and make the fundraiser their own. As a bonus, it lightens the load for advisors, teachers, and parent volunteers.

Need a little inspiration? At Cheddar Up, we like to go straight to the source. We looked at fundraisers school groups ran on Cheddar Up during the 2025-26 school year, from Egg My Yard to holiday craft fairs, and pulled together our favorites.

We’ve organized the top 20 ideas by how you want to run your fundraiser, with options for student council and class officers, academic clubs, and schoolwide campaigns. You’ll also find a simple way to collect payments online while students handle the rest.

The best high school fundraiser for your school comes down to three things: who’s running it, who you’re asking to support it, and when it fits into the school calendar.

A small club with a handful of active members may want something simple, like a sponsorship drive or pre-order sale. A full class or student council has more hands to help and can take on a bigger event that needs setup, staffing, and plenty of coordination.

 Families may be some of your biggest supporters, but your fundraising circle can go much wider. Local businesses can sponsor an event, alumni and staff can join a trivia night, and extended family can support a pre-order sale from wherever they live.

Homecoming, spirit week, and finals can all create natural opportunities for a fundraiser. But with student council, clubs, PTOs, and booster groups all raising money throughout the year, the calendar can fill up fast. Check in with other groups to avoid overlap, then get students involved in choosing a date that works.

Planning for younger students, too? These elementary school fundraising ideas keep adults in charge of the money and kids in charge of the fun.

A great fundraising event gives supporters a few ways to chip in. Think admission at the door, snacks during intermission, or a vote or challenge that gets the crowd in on the fun. Sell tickets online ahead of time to get a sense of your headcount, then accept payments at the door for last-minute guests.

Students sign up to perform, and families, friends, and teachers buy admission to watch. A lip sync battle opens the stage to students who would rather not sing live. For a twist, host a student pageant with a people’s choice vote, where supporters give to cast votes for their favorite contestant.

Teams of four to six pay one entry fee and compete for bragging rights and a small prize. Students can team up with friends or take on teams of families, alumni, and staff. Let the organizers write the questions, with rounds on school history, pop culture, and fun facts about teachers.

Rent booth space to local crafters and small businesses for a holiday market in the gym or cafeteria. Vendor registration fees come in before the event, so you know your numbers early.

Book bays at a local entertainment driving range, then sell spots online at a price that covers the venue and leaves room for your fundraiser. Families, alumni, and teachers can reserve a bay together, and students can run a closest-to-the-pin contest for bragging rights. Ask the venue about group rates before you set your price.

Students give to vote on which teacher takes a pie to the face, a turn in the dunk booth, or a dyed-hair dare. Line up willing teachers first, then set up a single collection page with an item for each teacher, and reveal the winner at an assembly.

Turn one wing of the school into a walk-through haunted house for an October weekend. Art club and drama students can design the sets, and a lights-on version earlier in the evening welcomes younger siblings. Sell timed entry slots to keep the line moving.

Student council, class officers, and academic clubs are often behind some of the biggest fundraising efforts in high school. These ideas give students plenty of ways to take the lead, from building school spirit to planning an event or reaching out to the community. 

Planning for senior year? Check out these senior class fundraising ideas for even more inspiration.

Turn spirit week into a simple fundraiser by selling passes for themed dress-up days, like pajama day, decade day, or school-color day. Open sales online a few weeks ahead so students and families can pay in advance.

A little class rivalry can go a long way. Have each grade compete to raise the most, with a prize like a class party or homecoming perk waiting for the winner.  Traditional penny wars use jars, but for high schoolers, a digital version is a natural fit. Teens are used to paying with their phones, so they can back their grade or launch a sneak attack on a rival in a few taps, and families can join in from anywhere.

Pick one ridiculously catchy song and play it between classes or during lunch until the school hits its fundraising goal. Share an online fundraising link in the morning so students and families can contribute throughout the day. The more everyone wants the song to stop, the faster those donations might add up. Just get the song and plan approved by your administration first.

Give students a chance to practice their pitch while building connections in the community. Invite local businesses to sponsor the club in exchange for recognition on a club shirt, banner, or event program. Create two or three sponsorship levels at set amounts, then add them to a collection page so businesses can choose a level and pay online.

This combines fundraising with a fun surprise. Families pay to have their yards filled with candy-stuffed plastic eggs overnight, creating an Easter egg hunt that’s ready to go the next morning. Collect addresses and preferred delivery dates with each order, set a delivery area, and cap the number of orders based on what your crew can handle. Pair student teams with adult drivers to make deliveries.

These fundraisers live online, making them easy for students to share in group chats, texts, and on social media. Friends and family can support them from anywhere, too. With peer-to-peer fundraising, students or teams can create their own fundraising pages, and every contribution moves the group closer to a shared goal.

Nothing gets students motivated quite like a little friendly competition. Give each grade or club its own fundraising page, then use a live leaderboard to see who’s out front. Add a prize worth competing for, like a class party or special parking privileges, and share the standings each Friday to keep the momentum going.

Could your students make it a full day without their phones? Let them find out as they raise money. Students ask friends and family to sponsor their 24-hour challenge with a flat donation, then check in with an advisor before and after the challenge. It’s simple to organize, easy to share, and gives supporters a fun reason to chip in.

A calendar fundraiser can take a few different forms. Keep it simple by having supporters choose a date and donate that amount, so the 14th means a $14 gift. Or give each student a calendar of their own to fill with donations from family and friends. Want to go bigger? Create a printed community calendar and invite local businesses and families to sponsor dates throughout the year.

Pre-orders take a lot of the guesswork out of product fundraisers. Instead of buying a pile of inventory and hoping it sells, collect orders and payments first. Once the sale closes, order what you need and skip the leftovers.

Let the art club or class officers create the design, then give families a few weeks to order shirts, hoodies, or both. Once sales close, send the final quantities to your printer and plan a pickup day at school.

Give families one less thing to make for Thanksgiving. Team up with a local farm or bakery to offer a few pie favorites, then schedule pickup right before the holiday.

Wreaths, garland, poinsettias, and other seasonal favorites are an easy fit for November fundraising. Schedule pickup in early December, just as families are starting to decorate.

Already have a crowd? Put it to work. School plays, games, open houses, and evening events are all good opportunities to sell snacks and drinks. Donated baked goods and bulk snacks can help stretch your fundraising dollars, while students can help run the concession stand.

Coffee is something many families already buy, which makes it an easy product to get behind. You can sell it by the bag or bring a coffee cart to campus.

Book a local photographer for a day of short photo sessions, and sell time slots online. Families can use them for holiday cards in the fall or for graduation photos in the spring.

Students can run the sales, the promotion, and the event day. An adult advisor should own the account and the money. Here’s how to set it up: