This page covers what a class trip 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 class trip is usually funding
- transportation
- admission and program fees
- meals
- chaperone costs
- assistance so no student is left behind
What makes this group different
These are the constraints that decide whether a fundraiser works here, and they are the reason generic advice underperforms.
- Booking deadlines and group rates create a hard cutoff
- One grade level is a small fundraising base
- Parents of that grade have no fundraising infrastructure of their own
- The teacher organizing it is doing so on top of teaching
Why an event-based fundraiser fits
A single grade level is a small base with a hard deadline and no standing organization. Simplicity matters more than sophistication — the campaign has to be runnable by one teacher and a few parents in a few weeks.
What is realistic to raise
One grade level is a small base with a hard booking deadline and no standing organization. Simplicity matters more than sophistication, because the whole thing has to be runnable by one teacher and a few parents inside a few weeks.
A working timeline
The dates that matter here are set by this group’s own calendar, not by a generic fundraising season.
- As soon as the trip is booked, because group rates have cutoffs
- Students share with their own families and networks
- Short campaign window — long ones lose momentum with no organization to sustain them
- Report against the trip cost and the assistance line
What goes wrong
- Sizing the goal to the grade rather than to the grade's networks
- A long campaign with nobody to keep it alive
- Leaving assistance unfunded, so cost decides who goes
Formats that suit a class trip
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 class trip, 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 class trip 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.
- 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.
- One-click sharing to social, email and text, plus a sharing report showing how many parents are actually using it.
- Instant, customizable donation reports for students, classes and the whole group.
- Automatic ACH payout after the event, straight to the group's account.
See the full platform on the FundHub page, or book a walkthrough with a coach.
How Get Movin’ runs your class trip 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 class trip fundraiser costs on our pricing page, or browse free templates including printable pledge sheets.
Common questions
How does one grade level raise a trip budget?
Through each student's own network rather than through the grade. Twenty families is a small base; twenty students each reaching their extended family is not.
Start your class trip 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.