Fundraising at School

One of the most rewarding things about being in a school community can be getting everyone together to do something amazing for a charitable cause. Whether it’s taking part in a big national fundraising campaign or hosting a smaller event to boost a local charity (or your school!), raising money can be a great way to get your students passionate about the idea of social responsibility and looking after one another. 

Read on for some great ideas for fundraising events and a whole bunch of handy fundraising resources from CGP+ to help.
 

Teaching about Charities

It can be challenging to talk about charities in a classroom — for a start, some pupils might not know anything about them, while others might be themselves receiving support. It’s important that conversations are mindful of different backgrounds and experiences. To help make sure everyone’s on the same page, we’ve put together some introductory resources for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 which explain what charities are, why they exist and the kinds of work they do.
 

Raising Money

Children are often very enthusiastic about supporting good causes, but teachers often have limited time to help organise big events. There’s lots of things you can do, but some events take more planning than others. Here are some of our favourite ideas for fundraising…

A cake sale

They’re a classic school event, and for good reason: even with only a few days’ notice, there’s usually a few talented bakers happy to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in. Depending on your how old your class is, it could even be a good way of getting children to have a go themselves. CGP+ has some age-appropriate recipe ideas, like this fabulous fudge.

(Also, don’t forget to decorate your stall with our banner so everyone knows where to go!)

A non-uniform day

Another school classic, non-uniform day is a quick and easy event to organise. If you want to mix things up a little bit, there’s always the option of giving people something they should wear. You could ask your pupils to wear their pyjamas, a piece of clothing that’s a specific colour or to wear their uniform — but with an extra, unusual item, such as a fancy hat.

A class quiz

Rather than the traditional evening event, you could have your event on a lunch or break time so it’s easier for pupils to attend. Pit classes or teams of children against one another to see who comes out on top in a battle of the brains.

A talent show

Let your pupils strut their stuff with a school talent show. This is a bit more of an involved activity to organise, but it’s so flexible a format that it lets lots of children participate. Rope some other teachers in to form a judging panel and make sure there are plenty of prizes!

A sponsored event

If there’s a member of staff willing to dye or shave their hair, or a pupil who’s really keen to do something then this may be the easiest option for you. Alternatively, you might be able to get the whole class involved in something like a sponsored silence or sports game. CGP+ has a handy sponsorship form that’s easy to use, whatever you end up doing.

Tying fundraising into the curriculum

Give your pupils a chance to show off what they’ve learnt with events like spelling bees or read-a-thons. By adding an extra incentive, a few reluctant learners might feel a bit more motivated to join in.
 

Keeping Everyone Enthusiastic

To keep everyone excited about fundraising, you could tie it in as a theme in their other lessons. For example, these maths worksheets for Years 3-4 and Years 5-6 put pupils’ skills into practice in real-life contexts. Or, once your event has happened, ask pupils to summarise what happened in this Years 5-6 newspaper article activity.
 

After the Event

There’s so much more to fundraising than just an event though — and CGP+ has some extra bits and bobs to help you out. Make sure your pupils understand targets and setting goals by using our totaliser to keep track of how much they’ve raised. You can also get students to combine their creative flair and shape knowledge by putting together a donations box to collect coins and cash. Once everything’s over, there’s snazzy certificates to celebrate the work that your class or individual pupils have put in.

Whatever you’re planning, we’d love to see it — let us know on Facebook or Instagram. Put the ‘fun’ into ‘fundraising’ with CGP+!