10+ Christian School Fundraising Ideas to Inspire Generosity

For Christian schools, fundraising is about more than simply raising money. It’s about bringing together your community—everyone from your students and their families to local businesses and other organizations—to build a culture of camaraderie and generosity surrounding your educational and spiritual goals.  

However, this essential process can be overwhelming if you're new to fundraising. How do you choose the right fundraisers and get your students interested? This guide will help you by reviewing the top Christian school fundraising ideas and tips. We’ll cover:  

• Inspiring Christian School Fundraising Ideas
• How to Conduct a Christian School Fundraiser
• Christian School Fundraising FAQs

These ideas and best practices were carefully chosen for their simplicity and speed, meaning any school can get up and running with them easily. 

Inspiring Christian School Fundraising Ideas

1. Read-A-Thon

A Read-A-Thon is a fundraiser in which students read as much as they can in an allotted amount of time. Along the way, friends and family members make donations to support their efforts. Giving happens through an online platform, which makes it easy for families to give and your school to track.

Your school can choose approved reading materials for your students or allow them to log minutes for whatever they’re interested in reading. In addition, you can offer prizes to students to encourage their participation. Since they can read at school or take books home with them, they’ll build the healthy habit of reading in and out of the classroom

You could also set aside a specific reading day. You might incorporate this into the students’ weekly schedule or host this day to kickstart your fundraiser. Consider participating in Read Across America, which celebrates reading on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, March 2nd.

Running a Read-A-Thon event is easier with the right tools, so we recommend our user-friendly platform. With Read-A-Thon, all you have to do is sign up for free and spread the word about your fundraiser. Read-A-Thon does the heavy lifting by offering features like:

• Pre-written communications
• Real-time progress reports
• Shareable donation pages
• Payment processing
• A custom success kit

Learn more about our services in this video: 

Here’s an example of what a student Read-A-Thon page could look like: 

As you can see, our donation pages are straightforward and easy to complete, with a clear call to action and suggested donation amounts. They’re designed to make giving as simple and convenient as possible, pushing your school toward its fundraising goal.  

2. Book Sale

A book sale is another effective and educational fundraiser, especially if you’re trying to raise money for your school’s library. Ask for book donations from families and local bookstores. Recruit volunteers to help set up a sale. For a successful fundraiser, you’ll need:

• A wide variety of books for all types of readers
• A large enough venue, like your school’s library, gym, or the local library
• A strategic pricing approach where books are priced based on quality or popularity
• Volunteers to manage the checkout process

Spread the word about your book sale by posting flyers around town at locations such as gyms, local parks, libraries, grocery stores, and restaurants.

3. Matching Gifts

In matching gift programs, companies match employees' donations to eligible organizations, such as schools or nonprofits. Donors are more likely to give if they know their gift will be matched, but billions of dollars in matching gift revenue go unclaimed every year. 

Bridge this gap by informing your donors of corporate matching gift programs for which they may be eligible. Run an awareness campaign about these programs using email and direct mail and encourage your donors to check to see if they’re eligible.

Consider hosting a 24-hour matching gift drive to inspire urgency among donors. Leverage a matching gift database with auto-submission to make the process effortless. With this tool, donors can automatically send a matching gift request directly from your online donation page, simplifying the process and getting funds to your school faster. 

4. eCards

If you want to host an online school fundraiser, eCards are an excellent choice. In an eCard campaign, your school will design custom eCards to promote your fundraising efforts and send them via email. Here’s an example of eCards your school could send before Christmas for a seasonal fundraiser: 

Ensure your eCards explain your fundraising goal and how you’ll use the donations, whether to support student learning programs or buy new technology for your school. 

5. Silent Auction

A silent auction is a fundraising event where participants walk around an event space to view auction items and bid on their favorites. Silent auctions are often incorporated into larger, formal gala events held at a museum, hotel, or other special venue. 

Consider incorporating Christian-themed items in your auction to appeal to your school’s donor audience. This could include religious travel experiences, rare or first-edition Bibles, or jewelry with Christian symbols. 

6. Serve-a-thon

A serve-a-thon brings students and community members together to pursue charitable projects around your community. These projects can include:

• Home repairs for homes damaged by weather or old age
• Cooking meals for elderly or disabled community members
• Spending time with residents in assisted living facilities
• Cleaning up trash at a local park
• Reading the Bible with elderly or visually impaired community members

To earn funds through this campaign idea, students will collect pledges before completing their service projects. After successfully completing their charitable activities, students will receive donated funds based on the pledge amounts. 

7. Benefit Concert

Host a concert at your school or another large venue, like a local park or restaurant. Invite a local musician to perform—you may consider seeking out a nearby Christian rock or folk band to appeal to your school’s audience. 

Charge an entry fee for the event and sell concessions and merchandise to raise additional funds. 

8. Movie Night

Invite families to attend a movie night at your school with an age-appropriate movie viewing. Set up comfy chairs and pillows in your school’s library or gym. Charge for admissions and sell movie snacks like popcorn and drinks. 

You can poll your students and their families ahead of time to see which movie they’d be most interested in watching. Ask students during classes and send a note home that allows family members to mark the option that appeals to them. 

9. Craft Fair

Recruit students from your school’s art classes to create crafts for sale. These could include:

• Ornaments
• Nativity scenes
• Paintings or drawings
• Sculptures or figurines
• Decorated crosses

Set up a craft sale at your school to showcase items for sale. Allow students to participate in the sale by handling the money. 

10. Parents’ Night Out

Plan a parents' night out event to give your school’s parents and guardians a night off. Offer childcare options to families, such as having students congregate in your school’s gym to watch a movie under the supervision of volunteers and staff members. 

Then, allow parents to enjoy a fun night out by planning a fancy dinner, trivia night, or gala for them to participate in. Make the event special by hiring a DJ and catering from a local restaurant. 

11. Car Wash

Invite all community members to stop by your school for a car wash fundraiser. Some students can help wash cars and accept donations; others can hold signs near the road to draw cars in. 

You can even offer upgrades by asking a professional car detailing company to donate some of its time and services. 

12. Field Day

What better way to get students and families excited about your fundraiser than by spending a school day outside playing games? Hosting a field day can be a fun way to raise money for your cause. 

Pit students against each other or teams of students against teams of teachers to encourage friendly competition. You can even get whole families involved by allowing them to play as their own team during the field day. 

To raise funds through this idea, charge for admission and sell concessions and merchandise. 

How to Conduct a Christian School Fundraiser

No matter which school fundraising idea you choose, use these tips to make your campaign a success: 

Plan and Prepare Your Team

Gathering and preparing a fundraising team is crucial, especially if you’re just getting back into the swing of things with a back-to-school fundraiser. Get volunteers and PTA members in the right mindset by following these planning steps: 

• Assess your current fundraising situation with a SWOT analysis. This overviews your school’s fundraising strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Use this analysis to determine what you do best and how to improve. This will help you determine your goals for the campaign and recap the resources available to you before launching a fundraising initiative.
• Set a fundraising goal. Whether you’re raising money for your school’s library or a class field trip, you’ll need to define specific monetary goals before your fundraiser gets started so you can track your progress during the actual event.
• Conduct a stakeholder analysis. Consider all the people who will be involved in or affected by your project, such as teachers, staff, parents, students, and PTA members. Define key volunteer roles and how you’ll communicate with them throughout the process, whether via email, text, or phone calls. 
• Establish a budget in which you spend no more than 10% of your revenue on the fundraiser. Consider all your potential expenses, like any tech solutions you’ll need to succeed. You’ll also want to plan your marketing strategy so you can factor any marketing materials into your budget (more on this in the next section!).

Meet with your fundraising team regularly, such as twice a month, to ensure you’re aligned on the necessary steps to move your campaign forward. 

Promote the Fundraiser

In this planning stage, you’ll promote your school’s name and fundraising goal in the community. Reach out using a variety of marketing channels to connect with a wider audience, including: 

• Direct mail outreach: It’s no secret that students don’t always keep up with the important papers they need to take home. By sending direct mail, you can directly reach out to families at home with a physical copy of the necessary fundraising information.
• Emails: Emails make your digital communication personal. They’re like sending direct mail, but faster and easily accessible. Send an email about your fundraiser to take your campaign straight to your supporters’ inboxes.
• Newsletters: Newsletters can be all-inclusive, summarizing everything that’s going on at school while also giving specific insight into your fundraiser. You can pass out printed newsletters at school sporting events or volunteer days to ensure they reach many people.
• Social media posts: Use social media to reach supporters more casually and consistently. Posting information about your fundraiser across platforms can extend your communication reach. For example, students’ extended family members or friends might not receive direct communications from your school but still want to be involved.

In addition to these tangible materials, cultivate word-of-mouth messaging. Teach your participants, such as volunteers and students, about your fundraiser’s purpose and how to speak about your organization. That way, you’ll have a singular, united message.

Raise Funds

This step is where you finally put all your planning into action. Monitor your budget and revenue to see how far away you are from your goal. Communicate regularly about the fundraiser, especially if it’s longer than a one-day event. Remind parents and family members how much time they have to give and how far you are from reaching your goal.

Follow Up

Your work doesn’t stop when the fundraiser is over. Follow-up is crucial to a successful fundraiser and necessary for hosting more fundraisers in the future.

Analyze your data and compare it with past campaigns to see what changed. Did you see an increase or decrease in funds raised? Did you get more volunteers or participants? Can this be attributed to your marketing strategy? Considering all these factors allows you to see what worked and what didn’t for future reference.

Most importantly, thank your donors and volunteers. Write notes or prepare gifts for those who contributed to your fundraising success. If you decide to send gifts, consider preparing them ahead of time to avoid long lapses between the fundraiser and follow-up stages.

Christian School Fundraising FAQs

How Do You Make Your Fundraiser Stand Out?

The key to raising more donations is asking for support in a unique and compelling way. You can do this by:

• Creating fundraiser-specific branding that plays on your school’s primary brand elements, including your logo, colors, and fonts. 
• Partnering with community organizations related to your cause, such as nonprofits, churches, or businesses that like to support local schools. These organizations can spread the word about your fundraiser to their unique audiences. 
• Integrating your fundraising messages with your school’s values and beliefs to inspire like-minded people to donate.

Your school’s mission, values, and core beliefs influence parents to enroll their children. Since this makes your school stand out, use it to make your fundraiser stand out, too. Your brand, partnership, and communications should reflect your values in a way that makes your community want to support your school.

How Do You Get Students Involved?

Your students are the heart and soul of your fundraiser, so you should involve them as much as possible.

Consider incentivizing their involvement with prizes for your school fundraiser. Offer fun dress-up days, like a pajama day, or rewards for the top earners. Pizza parties or homework passes could be given to anyone who earned more than a certain threshold.

In addition, ask for their input while planning the campaign. Students will be quick to give input on what prizes they’d like or how they want to be involved. Not only will this give them a sense of responsibility, but they’ll also be more likely to participate if they like the idea.

Wrapping Up: The Impact of Christian School Fundraising

Successful Christian school fundraising lays the groundwork for a better educational experience and stronger bonds with your local community. Use these ideas and tips to plan a fundraiser that your community will never forget! 

Looking for additional school fundraising resources and ideas? Start here: 

• 50+ Elementary School Fundraising Ideas to Be Inspired By. These fundraising ideas are perfect for younger students and their families. 
• 10+ PTA Fundraising Ideas Your School Community Will Love. Use these PTA fundraising ideas to refresh your strategy and invigorate this year’s fundraising process. 
• 10+ Middle School Fundraising Ideas to Wow Your Community. Slightly older students will be able to take on more complex fundraising campaigns. Explore top ideas for middle school fundraising. 
•