The Best Fundraising Ideas for Kids and Teens

If you’re looking for some great fundraising ideas for kids, your school group, PTA, or organization, then you’ve come to the right place! As experts on fundraising events, we know which of the many ideas out there are perfect for kids, teens, and families. 

 

Hosting fundraisers for kids can be seriously good fun – think creative, think messy, and think exciting! From outdoor activities to crafts and food themed fundraisers, there are so many fantastic fundraising ideas for kids that are easy to organize and that children of all ages will want to take part in. Bonus points if they’re fun for parents too! 

 

You will find everything you need in this article to help you host the perfect kids fundraiser and family-friendly event, including our top ideas for children, teens, and families, plus some helpful resources to get you started. Let’s get fundraising!

 

Top tips for hosting fundraisers for kids

When choosing the perfect fundraiser for kids you need to think about the age range of the children and what resources you have on hand. Younger children will be more suited to simple, fun activities whereas older kids enjoy something where they have more independence, such as a bake sale or a restaurant fundraiser with their friends.

 

Creative fundraisers

Kids love to get creative! For some great creative kids fundraising ideas you could hold a craft-party or a crafts competition. A craft competition works especially well if connected with a festive season, such as Pumpkin carving or making Easter baskets. 

 

Another idea for easy fundraising for kids is to get them to create their own donation boxes. They can fill these themselves or with their family.

 

Photo by Jorge Franganillo on Unsplash

 

Active fundraisers

Get everyone outside and active with sports-based fundraiser ideas for kids. There are lots to choose from: a fun run with parents and teachers, an assault course or ‘Olympics’ day, or a scavenger hunt in the local neighbourhood or on the school grounds. 

 

Active fundraisers are fantastic child fundraising ideas and kids love to get involved and expend some of their energy!

 

Photo by RUN 4 FFWPU

 

Food-themed fundraisers

Kids fundraising ideas that involve food are always a win! Popular choices include bake sales, pizza parties, or a restaurant fundraiser. With GroupRaise, you can choose from a huge range of local restaurants that will donate a percentage of all sales back to your cause when you book an event with them. Some of our favourites include Blaze Pizza, Burger King, and Wendy’s, but there are so many to choose from! Simply choose your favourite, select a date and spread the word.

 

Field Day

One way to host a fundraiser for kids on a larger scale is to organize a Field Day. This is a great option for school organizations and PTAs because you can make it a big event with lots of different stalls and activities all hosted by different clubs or classes.

 

Host it on the school grounds and ask parents, teachers, and clubs to each set up a different stall – lemonade stalls,  baked goods, homemade crafts, coconut shy, raffles, field games, and more! Charge for entrance and at each stall and you could raise a lot of funds, plus it’s a great day out for everyone!

 

Easy fundraising ideas for kids

Here is a run-down of the top easy fundraising ideas for kids.

 

Creative fundraiser ideas

• Craft party: host a crafts event for a year group, club, or class and the children pay to take part
• Creative competition: for example, pumpkin carving, Christmas cards, or Easter basket making. Children pay a participation fee
• Face painting: set up a face painting stall at a sports match or other event and offer face painting to kids.
• Create your own donation box: encourage kids to make their own donation box to collect funds from friends and family.

 

Active kids fundraiser ideas

• Scavenger hunt: organize a scavenger hunt around your local community or on your school grounds for kids to take  part in. Parents are welcome too!
• Sports challenge: challenge club members to a fun run or other sports activity suitable for their age group. Encourage children to ask for sponsorship from friends and family.
• Host an ‘Olympic games’: set up various ‘Olympic Games’ and assign different teams or classes to a country. All participants pay an entry fee and top three teams get medals!

 

Food fundraiser ideas

• Bake sale: encourage children to bake something to sell to class mates, club members, or in the local community.
• Lemonade stall: set up a lemonade stall at a school or club sports event.
• Restaurant fundraiser: organize a restaurant fundraiser where everyone can come together for great food, as a club social event or for children and their families to enjoy in association with your cause. 

 

 

Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash

 

Fundraising ideas for teens that they’ll really enjoy

When it comes to choosing fundraising ideas for teens, you’ll want to think outside the box a little and go for activities where they can take some control themselves. Teens love to be independent wherever possible, so events that they can run mostly by themselves and have a lot of fun doing so are the best options! 

Here are some top tips to help you choose the best kids fundraiser for teenage children:

 

Stalls and sales

Encouraging teenagers to set up a stall where they can sell handmade crafts or baked goods is one of the best and most successful fundraisers for teens. Kids will love the process of baking some delicious goods or designing some festive greetings cards or decorations, and stalls like these always go down well!

 

Photo by Dari lli on Unsplash

 

Helping out in the community

A fundraiser that gets teens engaged in their community is a really great kids fundraiser idea and teenagers will welcome the responsibility. Some great options include a car wash, litter pick, or charity bag packing at the superstore.

 

Get club members together to offer car washes in the club meet car park, at school, or the local superstore. For a litter pick, you could enquire with the council how to best organize this for your club members and get them picking litter in the community for sponsorship.

 

Photo by Isaac Taylor Pexels

 

Social fundraisers

Teenagers enjoy nothing more than the chance to hang out with their friends, so fundraising ideas for teens that have that social element will always go down a treat. Events such as a games night, movie night, or restaurant fundraiser are all great choices that can raise a really good amount of funds too.

 

With a restaurant fundraiser, you can choose from your favourite restaurants, like Applebee’s, Del Taco, or Dairy Queen for something sweet, and select a day where the restaurant will donate a percentage of sales back to your cause from all orders made through your organization. It’s a great way to get kids out of the house and socialising with their friends, but most restaurants also offer take-out options too!

 

 

Photo by Helena Lopes

 

Easy fundraising ideas for teens

Here is a run-down of the top fundraising ideas for teens.

 

Creative fundraiser ideas

• Cooking class or drawing class: get a local expert to give a cooking, drawing, or other skill-based class to any interested teens for a small ticket fee.

• Arts + crafts for sale: have kids create greetings cards or another festive item they can sell to peers and friends.

 

Social fundraisers

• Club sleepover: host a club sleepover for all club members with yummy food and a great movie!
• Restaurant fundraiser: organize a fundraiser at a restaurant where teens can enjoy great food with their friends while raising for your cause.
• Games night: go old-school with a board games fundraiser with favourites like Monopoly, Cluedo, and Articulate! Kids pay to play each game.

 

Alternative fundraisers

• Car wash: get kids to volunteer to wash cars in the local community for a small fee. Make sure to choose a good central location.

• (Used) book, CD, or DVD sale: get kids to bring along any old books, CDs, games, or DVDs that they no longer use and host a community-wide yard sale to raise funds for your cause.

 

The best family fundraisers

Any fundraising idea for children should ideally be family-friendly, but there are some kids fundraising ideas that are specifically designed for the whole family to get involved in!

 

Fun run or sports challenge

A very traditional family fundraiser but a reliable one! Kids will love the opportunity to try and beat their parents, be that at a simple 5K fun run or on an assault course! Alternatively, a family hike can be a great day out for all the family and you can raise funds through sponsorship or a participation donation.

 

Restaurant fundraiser

A restaurant fundraiser is a family favourite when it comes to good ways to get children fundraising. The whole family can enjoy a delicious meal out at one of their favourite local restaurants while raising for your cause – great food, good company, and a night off cooking for the parents! What’s not to like?

 

 

Photo by August de Richelieu

 

Potluck dinner

Continuing in the food theme, a potluck dinner is a great fundraising idea for kids and families. Invite families from across your community to enjoy a potluck dinner together, all for a good cause. Parents can catch up with each other, and kids can run havoc with their friends after dinner! 

 

Trivia night or Quiz

A quiz is a popular family fundraiser because it can be made suitable for kids for all ages and is fun for parents too. If you’re hosting a quiz for families, make sure to throw in questions that require a mix of experts – from Disney princesses to football stars or old-school movies that only the parents will know!

 

Photo by Rachel on Unsplash

 

What cracking kids fundraisers!

Armed with these fundraising ideas, you’re sure to host a great kids fundraiser that will help raise good support and funds for your cause. Remember, the key is to make it as enjoyable as possible to encourage as many kids to take part as you can, and that will make for a successful fundraiser event.

 

If you’re looking for more kids fundraising ideas, be sure to check out the GroupRaise blog where we have hundreds of great event ideas, resources for organising your restaurant fundraiser, publicity tools, and general tips and tricks!

 

While you’re here, why not find out which local restaurants near you offer a restaurant fundraiser. Restaurant fundraisers never fail to attract a good crowd and are fun for people of all ages, from the younger children to teenagers and parents too!