Every pupil can benefit when the PTA raises funds for equipment, activities or resources. The usual approach is to organise a school fundraiser. A school fete, family quiz night or disco will boost funds, but they also take a lot of time and effort to organise.
In this article, we highlight 5 non-event PTA school fundraising ideas. As they are not all dependent on parents parting with cash, they could run alongside other projects.
School Fundraiser Idea #1 – Ralloo
Exchange Actions for Cash
Ralloo is a micro-sponsorship platform which could help your PTA to gain investment for a specific project. This could work if your school have clearly defined what monies raised will be spent on.
Ralloo invites you to share details of your project and the fundraising target. They use this information to pair you with a relevant sponsor. It is then down to you to rally everyone in your school community to engage with the sponsor.
Consumer insight and building brand awareness are worth paying for, so sponsor requests could include completing surveys or following them on social media. Parents, teachers and even pupils could potentially exchange actions for cash. The greater the engagement, the higher the donation.
Library refurbishments, gardening projects and sport team kits are among the examples that feature on the Ralloo website.
School Fundraising Idea #2 – Easyfundraising
Cashback from Online Purchases
Easy fundraising provides the opportunity to generate a steady stream of income throughout the year, without costing the parents a penny! Once signed up, every time your PTA members, teaching staff and parents shop online, a small donation could be paid into the school fundraising pot.
As a PTA, you need to ‘register your cause’ and then encourage everyone to sign up. With over 3,600 participating retailers, your community will likely be shopping from sites that give a little back. With each purchase, there is a prompt to donate cashback to your PTA.
Once set up, this shopping affiliate scheme is a simple way to generate a steady stream of income towards your PTA fundraising target. Visit the Easyfundraising website to find out more; once you register, they will even provide tips on how to encourage participation.
School Fundraiser Idea #3 – Recycling!
Declutter and raise funds
We all want to do our bit to protect the planet. The great news is that there are recycling schemes which swap unwanted items for cash and these are brilliant PTA fundraisers.
Can you encourage your school community to have a great wardrobe clear out? Bag2School provides a collection service for pre-owned clothes. When you register, you arrange a convenient collection date. Then, every child is provided with a bag to fill with any clothes that they and other family members have grown out of. (There are some restrictions, which are listed on the Bag2School website.)
On the collection day, the pupils bring their bags to school. The Bag2School driver arrives and loads all of the bags into the van. These are taken to be weighed; payment is made on the total weight.
Another possibility is the free recycling programmes offered by TerracycleUK. These involve your school becoming a collection point for specific items of rubbish, for example, crisp wrappers or food pouches. There is a range of recycling options, with companies offering a cash incentive for collecting and returning this difficult to recycle waste.
It could be a good project for pupils to collect specific items for the recycling bin as part of recycling lessons. Then share with them how much their efforts have raised for their school.
Recycling for Schools and Empties Please are two recycling schemes that focus on collecting ink and toner cartridges. Recycling for schools will pay for cartridges, whilst Empties Please will exchange them for green items such as bulbs, seeds, birdhouses and gardening tools. In addition to those used in school, it might be that parents could collect empties from their place of employment to boost funds.
School Fundraising Idea #4 – School Lotto
Win a lump sum!
Would parents be interested in trying their luck in a weekly or monthly lottery? This idea can be organised by the PTA. For each ticket bought, a percentage goes to the winners, with the remainder going into the school fundraising pot. It will take a bit of work to get started, but then offers a regular way to receive donations. Alternatively, you can enrol the school with Your School Lottery.
School Fundraiser Idea #5 – Gift Aid
Claim an extra 25p per £1.00
If your school PTA has registered as a charity, Gift Aid is a simple way to increase the value of any donations. Providing the donor is a UK taxpayer, all they need to do is tick a box.
The Government website has more information on the type of donation that applies and how to claim Gift Aid. If this seems a bit daunting, ask if there is an accountant in your school community. They may be willing to assist in setting this up as their PTA contribution.
Reaching your PTA Fundraising Goals
School Fundraising hope that some of these suggestions will provide ways of generating a regular stream of income. Together with those big events and fundraising projects, they could help achieve the PTA fundraising goals.
