This page covers what a Catholic school actually needs to fund, the constraints that shape how you can raise it, and which event formats fit. If you want the general guide first, start with fundraising by group.
What a Catholic school is usually funding
- tuition assistance
- facilities and building maintenance
- technology and classroom resources
- faculty compensation
- campus ministry and service programs
What makes this group different
These are the constraints that decide whether a fundraiser works here, and they are the reason generic advice underperforms.
- Parish and school fundraising can overlap and compete for the same families
- Diocesan guidelines may govern fundraising activities and how funds are handled
- The parish calendar is already dense with events and appeals
- Alumni are a real asset but are rarely organized into a reachable list
Why an event-based fundraiser fits
The alumni and parish network around a Catholic school is usually far larger than the current parent body and almost never activated by a school-only campaign. Per-student shareable pages reach it without requiring an alumni database that does not exist.
What is realistic to raise
The alumni and parish network around the school is usually several times the size of the current parent body and almost never activated. Per-student shareable pages reach it without requiring the alumni database that most schools do not have.
A working timeline
The dates that matter here are set by this group’s own calendar, not by a generic fundraising season.
- Clear the date with the parish office before announcing it
- Confirm any diocesan guidance on fundraising and fund handling
- Launch with students sharing outward to family and parish networks
- Report to school and parish together, which builds the case for next year
What goes wrong
- Overlapping with a parish appeal, so families give to neither
- Treating alumni as unreachable because there is no list, when students' own families overlap heavily with them
- Skipping the diocesan check and discovering the constraint afterwards
Formats that suit a Catholic school
You are not doing this alone
Every Get Movin' group is paired with a Personal Event Coach — a former PTO/PTA volunteer who has run this before. Get Movin's company president and all of its fundraising coaches are former PTO/PTA members, teachers and volunteers. For a Catholic school, that means someone who has already helped other groups like yours through exactly this.
Your coach:
- strategizes your budget goal with you
- brainstorms incentives that actually motivate your participants
- advises on promotion and timing
- steers you away from the pitfalls they have already watched other groups hit
You also get the FundHub Event Toolbox — 100+ guides, templates, playlists and printables. Meet the coaches.
The platform behind a Catholic school fundraiser
FundHub is Get Movin's online donation platform, built specifically for schools, teams and community groups by former PTO/PTA leaders. It carries 35+ tools. These are the ones that matter most here:
- Personalized student webpages. A parent sets one up in about five minutes, and each page raises an average of $140.
- Teacher access and classroom webpages. Every class gets its own page that the teacher controls, with their own log-in and class-specific incentives.
- Classroom Leaderboard, showing real-time progress by class.
- Family Sharing. Siblings share one Family Webpage, and FundHub splits incoming donations evenly between the participating children — so families with three kids are not asking the same relatives three times.
- Incentive Tracker. Enter your incentives and FundHub produces the distribution list by class or student automatically.
See the full platform on the FundHub page, or book a walkthrough with a coach.
How Get Movin’ runs your Catholic school fundraiser
- Book a call or a FundHub demo and get matched with your Personal Event Coach.
- Your coach helps you set the goal, pick the date and choose incentives.
- Your group page and student pages go live; parents set theirs up in about five minutes.
- Families share by text, email and social; the coach checks in through the campaign.
- Event day, with volunteers organized through FundHub.
- Funds arrive by automatic ACH transfer after the event.
What it costs and what you keep
Get Movin’ groups keep 95-97% of every dollar raised. Donors pay however they want — cash, check, credit or debit, PayPal, Venmo, or Apple and Google Wallet. Automatic ACH payout after the event, straight to the group's account.
Full detail on the pricing page.
Next steps
See what a Catholic school fundraiser costs on our pricing page, or browse free templates including printable pledge sheets.
Common questions
How do you avoid competing with parish fundraising?
Coordinate the calendar with the parish office before setting a date, and be explicit about what the school funds are for. Families who see two overlapping appeals tend to give to neither.
Start your Catholic school fundraiser
Get Movin’ has powered 10,000+ events and raised more than $200 million for groups like yours since 2007, with 1,300+ five-star Google reviews.
Take a FundHub tour with a coach, or book your event. Questions first? Contact us or call 248-895-0206. Also useful: the free school grant guide, the parent and donor FAQ, and our fundraising webinars.