This page covers what a Vacation Bible 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 Vacation Bible School is usually funding
- curriculum and program kits
- craft and activity supplies
- snacks and meals
- t-shirts and take-home materials
- scholarships for families who cannot pay a registration fee
What makes this group different
These are the constraints that decide whether a fundraiser works here, and they are the reason generic advice underperforms.
- The entire program runs in one compressed week
- Curriculum kits must be purchased months in advance of any registration revenue
- Volunteers are recruited for the week itself and are not available before it
- Costs scale with attendance, which is not known until late
Why an event-based fundraiser fits
VBS spends far ahead of when it earns, and a spring campaign closes that gap. A service or kindness format also fits the program's own framing better than a competitive one.
What is realistic to raise
VBS spends months ahead of when it earns: curriculum kits and supplies are ordered before registration tells you attendance. A spring campaign closes that gap and removes the annual guess about how much to order on faith.
A working timeline
The dates that matter here are set by this group’s own calendar, not by a generic fundraising season.
- Spring: launch, before curriculum and supply orders are placed
- Order with money in hand rather than against projected registration
- VBS week: volunteers running the program, not a fundraiser
- After: report what participation the funding enabled
What goes wrong
- Fundraising during VBS week, after every purchasing decision is made
- Ordering to a guessed attendance because the funding is uncertain
- Recruiting the same volunteers for the campaign and the week
Formats that suit a Vacation Bible 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 Vacation Bible 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 Vacation Bible 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.
- One-click sharing to social, email and text, plus a sharing report showing how many parents are actually using it.
- Volunteer Organizer. Post positions with dates, times and headcount; parents self-select their shift instead of a chain of emails.
- Email Builder with Dynamic Flyer templates, person-to-person emails and official school receipts for donors.
- 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 Vacation Bible 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 Vacation Bible School fundraiser costs on our pricing page, or browse free templates including printable pledge sheets.
Common questions
When should you fundraise for VBS?
Spring, before curriculum and supply orders are placed. A campaign that runs during VBS week arrives after every purchasing decision has been made.
Start your Vacation Bible 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.