Fun Run Fundraising Ideas

These are nine ways to raise more from one Fun Run. They assume the basics are in place; if not, start with the Fun Run fundraising guide. For event-day fun like stations and themes, see Fun Run ideas instead.

1. Online student pages, shared one by one

Online student pages are where many schools find the most new money, and FundHub reports a $140 average raised per student fundraising page. The lift comes from sharing: ask parents to text the link to each relative individually, with a deadline.

Our Fun Run marketing calendar shows when to send each reminder.

2. Employer matching gifts

Many employers match what their employees give to schools, which adds to a gift at no cost to the family. FundHub's Employer Match identified over $1.4 million in matching donations in its first year.

Remind families at kickoff and in the thank-you. See Employer Match.

3. Business sponsors

Sponsors can cover shirts and supplies so more of every family gift goes to the project. Offer a few tiers, tie the deadline to shirt printing and thank sponsors publicly. Get Movin' schools collect $1,557,521 a year in business sponsor donations.

Our guide to finding Fun Run sponsors covers who to ask and how to price tiers.

4. Add-on sales

Sell event T-shirts, color packs or glow gear. The margin per item is small. Price them to cover cost plus a modest markup, and sell them at check-in or through the school's usual order form.

5. Milestone unlocks

Tie school-wide rewards to totals: extra recess at one level, pie a teacher at the next, a principal stunt at the goal. Each unlock gives you news to announce mid-window.

Carillon Elementary raised over $59,000 against a $50,000 playground goal, and students duct-taped the principal to a wall. Build your ladder with our guide to Fun Run fundraising goals.

6. Class challenges

Set a class participation goal, such as every student with at least one donation, and post class standings daily. Reward participation rather than top earners, so every student can help their class win.

7. Restaurant spirit night

Host a restaurant spirit night during the fundraising window, where a local restaurant gives part of the evening's sales to the school. Use it as a mid-window reminder: hand out the student page link on table cards and announce the next milestone.

8. Donations from every state

Challenge families to collect donations from as many states as possible, with a map in the hallway that fills in as gifts arrive. It pushes families to reach out-of-town relatives, who can only give online. See the 50-state challenge.

9. Themed milestone rewards

Tie themed rewards to individual fundraising milestones. South Lake Elementary's 3rd annual Space Shark Fun Run raised a record $45,000. Students who raised an extra $25 over a weekend earned lunch with the principal in a 'Space Lounge,' and students who reached $100 earned an express carpool pass.

Rewards like these cost little to deliver, so almost all of the money goes to the school. More themed ideas are in 7 fresh Fun Run ideas.

Planning a second event?

If your school wants another fundraiser later in the year that needs no field or course, a Read-a-Thon uses the same model: online student pages, with reading instead of laps.