80 Fundraising Ideas for Kids & Youth Groups

Need a fresh fundraiser your kids — and their grown-ups — can get excited about? 🙌 Finding the right idea can be one of the trickiest parts of fundraising, especially when you need something that fits your group, your goals, and the amount of volunteer help you have available.

That’s why we’ve rounded up fun fundraising ideas for kids from A to Z! From art galleries, bake sales, and car washes to fun runs, read-a-thons, talent shows, yard sales, and plenty of creative ideas in between, there’s something here for schools, sports teams, Scout troops, clubs, congregations, and youth groups of all kinds.

Explore the A–Z list below to find a kid-friendly fundraiser that fits your crew, then use SignUp’s free online SignUps to coordinate volunteers, supplies, event tasks, and other fundraising details. Ready? Let’s put the FUN in fundraising! 🎉

FUNdraising Ideas from A-Z

Quick Tip: Before choosing a fundraiser, check your school or organization’s policies and any local rules that may apply to raffles, games of chance, food sales, childcare, permits, or other activities. For events involving kids, make sure appropriate adult supervision and safety measures are in place.

Art Gallery: Let young artists shine! Have kids create paintings, drawings, photography, or crafts, then display and sell their masterpieces at a school event, community center, or pop-up art show.

Auction: Ask families and local businesses to donate products, services, experiences, or themed baskets for a silent or live auction. Sell tickets to the event or invite your community to bid online. Be sure to check any rules that apply to charitable auctions in your area.

Badminton Tournament: Turn a little friendly competition into fundraising fun. Charge players or teams an entry fee, create a simple tournament bracket, and invite friends and family to cheer them on.

Bake Sale: A fundraising classic for good reason! Ask families to contribute cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or other treats, then sell them at a school event, sports game, community gathering, or other high-traffic occasion.

Balloon-o-Grams: Let supporters send a little happiness! Take orders for balloons paired with personalized notes, then have volunteers deliver them at school or during a special event. Use SignUp to coordinate orders, delivery helpers, dates, and times.

BINGO Night: Gather families for an evening of BINGO and community fun. Depending on local rules, raise money through admission, food and drink sales, sponsorships, or game participation. Check applicable laws and organization policies before planning any game involving prizes or paid participation.

Bollywood Dance Party: Turn up the music and host a colorful, high-energy dance party for families or teens. Raise money through admission and add snacks, photo opportunities, or beginner dance lessons to make the event extra festive.

Car Wash: Grab the buckets, sponges, and plenty of willing helpers! Set up a car wash in an approved location and collect a set fee or suggested donation for every vehicle your crew makes sparkle.

Cat-Sitting: Help responsible older kids or teens offer pet-sitting services to trusted families in their community. Collect bookings in exchange for donations to your cause, with parents involved in coordinating schedules and safety.

Collect Change: Small change can add up! With permission from participating businesses, place clearly labeled donation jars in approved locations or challenge classrooms and teams to see who can collect the most coins.

Cooking Contest: Invite families to bring their best chili, salsa, cookies, cupcakes, or other specialties and let the tasting begin. Raise money through entry fees, tasting tickets, or admission, and award fun prizes for crowd favorites.

Coupon Books: Partner with local businesses willing to offer special discounts, then package the offers into a digital or printed coupon book your group can sell. It’s a fundraiser that can support your organization and neighborhood businesses at the same time.

Decorate Cakes: Put your group’s creativity to work by decorating cakes, cupcakes, or cookies to sell by preorder. You could also turn it into a decorating event where participants pay to create their own sweet masterpiece.

Dog Show: Invite local pups and their people to strut their stuff in a community dog show. Create playful categories like Best Trick, Cutest Costume, or Waggiest Tail, and raise money through entry fees, admission, concessions, or pet-themed vendors.

Dog Wash: It’s a car wash with more wagging! Set up a supervised community dog wash and ask for a donation or set fee for each freshly scrubbed pup.

Egg Decorating Contest: Celebrate spring with a decorating competition using craft eggs or another mess-friendly option. Charge a participation fee, provide decorating supplies, and award prizes for categories like Most Creative, Funniest, or Most Colorful.

Face Painting: Recruit talented teens, parents, or community artists to paint faces at a carnival, festival, sports event, or neighborhood gathering. Charge per design or collect donations for your cause.

Fashion Show: Roll out the runway! Partner with local boutiques, invite kids to model themed outfits or showcase upcycled creations, and raise money through admission, sponsorships, concessions, or a related clothing sale.

Fishing Day: Plan a supervised family fishing outing at an approved local pond or lake, or create a pretend fishing game for younger kids using prizes instead of fish. Raise money through participation fees, food sales, or activity tickets.

Football Skills Challenge: Skip the full-contact game and host a kid-friendly football skills competition instead. Charge an entry fee for challenges like passing accuracy, longest throw, kicking, or obstacle courses, with prizes for different age groups.

Fun Run: Get your whole community moving with a fun run, walk-a-thon, color run, or themed race. Participants can pay an entry fee or collect pledges from family and friends based on laps or distance completed.

Game Night: Invite families to unplug and play board games, card games, or group challenges together. Charge admission and boost fundraising with snacks, drinks, or sponsored game tables.

Garden Party: Host an afternoon garden gathering with refreshments, music, lawn games, and plenty of time to mingle. Sell tickets in advance and ask volunteers or local businesses to donate food, flowers, or supplies to keep expenses down.

Go Green: Put an eco-friendly spin on fundraising by selling decorated reusable bags, upcycled crafts, starter plants, or other Earth-friendly creations made by your group.

Hair Braiding: Recruit volunteers who know their way around a braid and offer simple hairstyles at a school fair, sports tournament, festival, or community event in exchange for donations. Add colorful ribbons or approved temporary hair accessories for extra fun.

Hat Day: Give students permission to rock their silliest, coolest, or most creative hats for the day in exchange for a small donation. Make sure to get school approval first, then add prizes for categories like Funniest Hat or Most Creative.

Haunted House: Transform a school hallway, community center, or other approved space into a Halloween attraction. Charge admission and recruit volunteers to help with decorating, costumes, ticketing, crowd flow, and cleanup.

Hula-Hoop Sale: Get crafty by making colorful custom hula hoops to sell, or turn the idea into a hula-hoop challenge where participants collect pledges or pay to compete.

Ice Cream Social: Scoop up some fundraising fun with a family ice cream social! Sell tickets or sundaes and invite volunteers or local businesses to contribute ice cream, toppings, drinks, or supplies.

ID Tags: Let kids design colorful personalized backpack or luggage tags to sell to classmates, teammates, or families. Offer several designs and take preorders to avoid making extras.

Jewelry Sale: Have kids create friendship bracelets, beaded jewelry, keychains, or other simple accessories to sell at school events, craft fairs, games, or community gatherings.

Jump Rope Challenge: Turn jumping rope into a pledge-based fundraiser. Kids can collect donations for completing a certain number of jumps or minutes, or you can host a friendly competition with age-group prizes.

Karaoke Night: Give your community a chance to take the stage! Charge admission or a participation fee, then add concessions, song dedications, or a family-friendly singing competition to raise additional funds.

Keychain Sale: Let kids make colorful bead, cord, or shrink-plastic keychains and sell them at events or by preorder. School colors, team themes, and personalized designs can make them even more appealing.

Kite Day: Host a family kite-flying festival with decorating stations, contests, and plenty of outdoor fun. Charge an entry fee or sell simple kite kits, snacks, and drinks.

Lemonade Stand: Give the classic kids’ fundraiser a fresh spin with a lemonade and refreshment stand at a neighborhood event, sports game, community yard sale, or other approved gathering. Add cookies or snacks to increase sales.

Make Memories: Turn your group’s favorite moments into a digital or printed keepsake. Create a photo book, team yearbook, calendar, or commemorative photo collection that families can preorder.

Marathon Challenge: Pick an activity your group loves — ping-pong, dancing, reading, shooting baskets, crafting, or another kid-friendly challenge — and collect pledges based on time, rounds, or milestones completed.

Movies on the Lawn: Create an outdoor movie night for families with blankets, lawn chairs, popcorn, and treats. Raise money through admission, concessions, sponsorships, or reserved seating, and make sure you have permission or the appropriate license to publicly show the movie.

Night Out for Parents: Give parents an evening off while kids enjoy supervised games, crafts, movies, and activities at an approved school, church, or community space. Charge a participation fee and make sure your organization follows all applicable childcare, supervision, screening, insurance, and facility requirements.

Note Cards: Turn kids’ artwork into sets of greeting cards, thank-you notes, or holiday cards. Take preorders from families and community supporters, then package the finished cards into gift-ready sets.

Old Christmas Tree Pickup: After the holidays, organize a team of adults and older youth to collect Christmas trees from participating households in exchange for a donation. Coordinate transportation and disposal or recycling with an approved local facility first.

Pancake Breakfast: Bring the community together over a stack of flapjacks! Sell breakfast tickets and recruit adult volunteers to handle cooking while kids help with age-appropriate jobs like greeting guests, setting tables, serving, and cleanup.

Picture Taking: Set up a seasonal or themed photo station at a school event, festival, dance, or holiday gathering. Ask for a donation per photo and create a fun backdrop families will want to pose in front of.

Potted Plant Sale: Sell flowers, herbs, succulents, or other easy-to-care-for plants, especially around spring holidays and end-of-school celebrations. Partner with a local nursery or have families help pot and decorate the plants.

Quiz Night: Put everyone’s random knowledge to good use with a family trivia night! Charge teams an entry fee and add concessions, sponsored rounds, or prizes donated by local businesses.

Raffle or Prize Drawing: Ask local businesses and families to donate prizes or themed baskets, then hold a drawing to support your cause. Because raffles and other games of chance are regulated in many places, check applicable laws and your organization’s policies before moving forward.

Read-a-Thon: Encourage kids to turn pages into pledges! Participants can collect donations based on books, pages, or minutes read during a set period, making this an especially natural fundraiser for schools and literacy programs.

Reserved Seats: Turn the best seats in the house into a fundraising opportunity. Offer premium seating for a school performance, graduation, game, or special event through a fixed donation or another method permitted by your organization.

Seed Sale: Sell packets of flower, herb, or vegetable seeds, or create simple garden starter kits. For an extra community-service twist, older kids can offer supervised planting help for an additional donation.

Sing-Along: Gather families for a musical evening featuring favorite family songs, holiday tunes, or another fun theme. Sell admission, snacks, and drinks, and be sure your event has any permissions needed for public performances or screenings.

Skateboard Fun Day: Partner with a local skate park or qualified instructors for a supervised day of demonstrations, beginner lessons, challenges, and competitions. Raise funds through registration fees, concessions, or sponsorships.

Sock Hop: Break out the poodle skirts and dancing shoes for a retro family dance! Sell tickets and add a photo booth, snacks, costume contest, or dance competition to increase the fun and fundraising.

Soup Sale & Delivery: Take preorders for homemade or donated soups, then schedule a pickup day or organize local deliveries. Follow applicable food-safety requirements and use SignUp to coordinate cooks, ingredients, packaging, and delivery volunteers.

Spelling Bee: Host a friendly spelling competition for students, families, or even teachers. Raise money through entry fees, audience admission, sponsorships, or pledges for participating spellers.

Talent Show: Give singers, dancers, comedians, magicians, musicians, and other performers their moment in the spotlight. Sell admission and concessions, or invite local businesses to sponsor the show.

Temporary Tattoo Studio: Set up a station with kid-friendly temporary tattoos at a carnival, field day, sports event, or community festival. Charge per tattoo or offer an all-you-can-wear wristband.

Team Challenge: Replace old-fashioned practical jokes with a positive group challenge! Let teachers, coaches, or team leaders agree to silly, safe challenges — like wearing a funny costume, taking a pie-free “silly string shower,” or performing a dance — when the group reaches specific fundraising milestones.

Used Book Sale: Ask families to donate gently used books, puzzles, games, and other family-friendly items, then host a low-cost community resale event. Donate or responsibly recycle anything left over afterward.

Vacation Activity Day: Plan a supervised day of games, crafts, sports, and activities for younger kids during a school break. Charge a registration fee and follow your organization’s requirements for adult supervision, background checks, insurance, facilities, and childcare.

Watermelon-Eating Contest: Slice, set, go! Host a supervised watermelon-eating challenge at a picnic, field day, or summer event and raise money through entry fees, admission, or concessions.

Wreath Sale: Get crafty for the seasons by making and selling wreaths for fall, winter holidays, spring, or school and team celebrations. Take preorders so your group knows exactly how many to make.

X Marks the Spot: Ahoy, fundraisers! Host a pirate-themed party or treasure hunt for younger kids with maps, clues, games, crafts, and refreshments. Charge admission and let families embark on a fundraising adventure.

Yard Sale: Ask families to donate gently used household items, toys, books, clothing, and sports gear, then host a big community sale. Recruit volunteers for collecting, sorting, pricing, setup, checkout, and cleanup.

Zany Challenge: Finish the alphabet with something wonderfully wacky! Set a fundraising goal and let supporters vote on a silly challenge for a teacher, coach, principal, or other willing grown-up — like wearing a ridiculous costume, doing a goofy dance, or getting covered in washable school-color streamers. Keep challenges safe, respectful, and approved by your organization.

Ready to Plan Your Fundraiser?

Found the perfect idea? Let’s make it happen! 🎉 Free online SignUps make it easy to rally volunteers, coordinate shifts and tasks, request supplies, organize event-day help, and keep everyone on the same page.

Create your free SignUp and spend less time chasing helpers — and more time putting the FUN in fundraising!

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About the Author

Diana Schlott

Customer Champion & Content Creator

Diana is a SignUp co-founder and content creator of how-to user guides, YouTube videos, and Idea Center content on fundraising, mentoring, and business management. More about Diana →