Simple, profitable fundraising options

With resources under more and more strain, and pressure to make everything stretch just that bit further, fundraisers can help school’s provide some nice-to-have extras for their students, as well as maintain vital services and facilities.

Fundraising can be whole-school focused, with the aim of securing funding that would benefit the entire school, or might be undertaken by a particular year level, school team or club, or a group of students hoping to raise money for a specific project. Your school might need some extra cash for upgraded facilities, school excursions, more books for the library’s collection, instrumental music lessons for students, and much more.

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Given its importance, careful planning is integral to the success of any fundraiser. In this feature, we look at how to ensure your fundraiser meets your targets without stress.

Plan for success

A winning fundraising venture relies on efficient organisation. For whole-school events, school parent communities, like the Parents and Friends Association often take the lead, and should work collaboratively with the school. Clear parameters should be established, including what the fundraiser is for, how and when details will be communicated with the school community and the wider community if appropriate, and the monetary goal.

Parent associations often contain many parents with expertise in a certain field., which can be drawn on to enhance fundraising efforts. A person skilled at making the most of social media platforms, for example, may be tasked with coordinating social media content to promote the fundraiser; someone with links to a local business may be asked to approach the business for support.

Involving parents, staff and students can help build a sense of community around your fundraiser, and your school or kura more broadly.

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A fundraiser that works

You can run your fundraiser completely in house, or to relieve some of the organisation pressure, external providers can help to arrange your fundraiser. Some companies provide an all-inclusive service, facilitating online payments so schools don’t need to manage money and cash handling.

Organisations can provide a range of products to sell, including chocolates, first aid supplies, and wrapping paper. Baked goods like pies, lamingtons or hot cross buns for Easter are often a popular choice for schools. Other special occasions can be linked to fundraising activities, for example wrapping paper or baubles for Christmas, or keepsakes like photo keyrings or reuseable mugs for Mother’s Day.

Keepsakes like plates, tea towels or mugs printed with students artwork or photos provide a lasting memento for families.

Regular fundraising events can help to fund larger projects, or establish a pool of funds for future use. Schools with a strong student alumnus, who are keen to give back to their school, are well suited for this.

Activities like giving days, sponsorship of a paver, bench seat, or classroom, or an annual gala dinner or long lunch, give the broad community a chance to offer their support. For auction items or raffle prizes, connect with local businesses for donations, particularly those run by the families of current or former students.

Many fundraising activities can tie to an educational outcome. A fun run, for example, teaches students the benefits of regular exercise; a reading challenge can encourage students to read regularly and often, and help to establish a love of reading; selling items like reuseable tote bags and bees wax wraps can raise awareness about the environment and sustainable practices, while the sale of first aid essentials can be linked to basic first aid education and training.

Depending on the scale of the fundraiser, learning opportunities could also include designing and distributing information about the fundraiser, building strong communication skills while selling items or tickets, and calculating profits. Through volunteering their time to assist in running the fundraiser, students learn the value of service to their school and the community.

Building community

School fundraising can be an opportunity to make more than just money. A well-executed fundraiser can help to foster community within your school, with parent volunteers, staff and students working together to make a difference for the school at large. Students may also feel pride in their school and community, and a sense of belonging.

Importantly, make sure your fundraiser is appropriate for your school context. Consider how much time and money families will be willing to give, and how often.

Related School News story: Fundraising 101: Mobilise the troops

Once your fundraiser is over, share your successes with your school community. Celebrating how much money you have raised, recognising all that made the venture a success, and letting everyone know how the money will help your school or kura will help motivate people to give again, the next time your school is in need.

Winning ideas for school fundraisers

Established in 1976 by James Crooks (Jim), Graphics on Shirts sourced a variety of products. Tea towel fundraising was an idea Jim saw in the UK and set about doing it New Zealand. It became quite popular, with teatowels.co.nz launching near the dawn of the internet. The company print for corporates like ecostore and great causes like CCF.

What makes water-based cotton tea towels a smart solution for fundraising is the student involvement. By placing children’s creativity at the heart of the design, the tea towel becomes a collaborative art piece that motivates parents to purchase a lasting keepsake.

teatowels.co.nz stocks its own 100 percent cotton tea towels (soon to be organic) and the process is designed for transparency, with all pricing and guides, with tips and survey results, available online. Practical, long-lasting, and easily mailed to loved ones, teatowels.co.nz tea towels turn an everyday household item into a meaningful snapshot of school history on an eco-friendly and useful item.

Schools using Kindo have fundraising tools built in, making raising money in your school community simple and stress free. Kindo is designed to fit around what’s already happening at your school and not add to your workload.

Schools using Ezlunch can opt-in to automated fundraising from lunch orders. Once enabled, funds come in every time families order lunch; no events to run, no stock to manage. In Term 3 2025 alone, this brought in nearly $94,000 across participating schools.

Checkout gifting can also be enabled across any school payment. When families are already paying for something, for example swimming lessons, uniforms, or camp fees, they can add a small voluntary contribution. That might be helping another child attend an activity, supporting KidsCan, or contributing to a cause your school community chooses. Last year, families gave more than $153,500 this way, including giving aroha and paying it forward.

If you want to run a campaign, Kindo has ready-to-go fundraisers set up with partners like Good Change Co, Magenta Backpacks, AwesoME Journals, and AWWA Period Care. No sourcing, no logistics on your end – just choose your dates and Kindo handles the setup.

Kindo provides fundraising that works with how families regularly make payments, not against an already-full school calendar. The result is fundraising that’s easier to manage, more inclusive for families, and grounded in real parent behaviour.