Sign In

Sign Up

Get Started
Fundraisers
How to run a PTA holiday shop (plus a free volunteer template)

How to run a PTA holiday shop (plus a free volunteer template)

The PTA holiday shop is one of those feel-good school traditions that brings smiles and a little seasonal sparkle. Kids pick out gifts for their families on their own, and your school raises money and builds community spirit. As the PTA member running it, you’ll have to make a lot of decisions, like who supplies the inventory, what to price at $1 versus $5, how many volunteers each shift needs, and how kids pay at the register.
This guide walks you through everything you’ll need to host a successful PTA holiday shop, from eight weeks out to cleanup day. You’ll also find a free online volunteer sign up template you can customize and share with your school community. A PTA holiday shop is a pop-up store your parent group runs at school, where students buy small, low-priced gifts for family and friends. Volunteers help kids shop and wrap, and the PTA keeps the proceeds for school programs.

read more
The Best Giving Tuesday Campaigns: A Guide to Success

The Best Giving Tuesday Campaigns: A Guide to Success

Giving Tuesday has quickly grown into the world’s largest day of giving. Since its start in 2012, it has spread to over 100 countries, inspiring billions in donations every year. For nonprofits, schools, and community groups, it’s a powerful chance to rally supporters and meet ambitious goals. But not all campaigns achieve the same results. Some stand out, raising impressive amounts and energizing their communities. So, what separates the best Giving Tuesday campaigns from the rest? Let’s break down the traits of successful campaigns and how you can apply them to your own efforts.

read more
How North Ed FFA Simplified Its Annual Plant Sale

How North Ed FFA Simplified Its Annual Plant Sale

Brian Matchett has spent his career helping students find their path through agricultural education.
After earning a degree in agricultural education from Michigan State University, followed by a master’s in agriculture and extension education, Brian began teaching in 2003. Today, he serves as an Agriscience Instructor at a Career Tech Center in Northwest Michigan, where students come from high schools across five counties.
Through the program and its FFA chapter, students build leadership skills, gain hands-on experience, and explore possible career paths in agriculture.
One of North Ed FFA’s biggest projects is its annual plant sale. Students help grow and care for the plants, making the sale a natural extension of what they are already learning in the classroom. The money raised goes right back into student programs and projects.
Before Cheddar Up, managing the sale took a lot more work. The program originally relied on cash sales, then tried other tools that were not built for selling a large variety of products. Brian also used Google Forms and spreadsheets, which meant checking orders throughout the day and manually keeping tabs on inventory.

read more
How Pacelli Boosters Raised More by Keeping It Simple

How Pacelli Boosters Raised More by Keeping It Simple

Cardinal Pacelli Catholic School is a small school in Cincinnati serving about 420 students from preschool through eighth grade. Like many school communities, much of what happens outside the classroom depends on volunteers. That includes athletics.
The school’s athletics program is volunteer-run, and booster memberships help fund improvements while giving families useful perks throughout the sports season. But the booster program had become more complicated than it needed to be.
One year, the group offered three membership levels: $100, $150 and $500. The lower-cost option was meant to make the program more accessible by removing some of the extras, like booster swag and recognition. Instead, it created confusion.
Some families chose the lower tier and later wondered why they had not received the same benefits as other boosters. Others likely would have purchased the $150 option if the $100 choice had not been there at all.
For a volunteer team already juggling plenty, the extra questions and follow-up were not worth it. Cheddar Up gave the team the flexibility to adjust the collection and make the experience simpler the next time around.

read more
20 High School Fundraising Ideas for Clubs and Classes

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.

read more
Easy Elementary School Fundraising Ideas Kids Love and Parents Support

Easy Elementary School Fundraising Ideas Kids Love and Parents Support

Elementary school kids are energetic, playful, and not into anything too complicated, so why should their fundraisers be? The best elementary school fundraising ideas feel like fun for the kids while staying simple for the volunteers who make them happen.
Below are 20 ideas built for elementary schools, grouped by how you want to run them, plus an easy, online way to collect payments.
Elementary school fundraising is different because younger children can be active participants, but they still need adults to take the lead on money, sales, and logistics. The best fundraisers play to both strengths: kids bring the creativity, excitement, and school spirit, while adults keep everything running smoothly.
Take payments, for example. A first grader isn’t going to manage a cash box, make change, or operate a point-of-sale system. Keeping payments with adults (and collecting online when possible) makes it easier to track every dollar, so cash doesn’t get lost in backpacks.
Door-to-door selling can be tricky as well. Young kids need adult supervision, and caregivers may not be comfortable sending them out to sell to strangers. Fundraisers that families can support from home or through a school event tend to make more sense.
So, what can elementary students do? All the fun stuff. They can color posters, run laps, cheer on classmates, perform, create something to sell, or proudly share the fundraiser with family and friends.

read more