Fall is one of the best times of year to raise money for your school, team, or community group. Cooler weather opens the door to outdoor events like pumpkin patches, football watch parties, and hay bale mazes that people genuinely want to attend. The ideas below are grouped by type, so you can find the right fit for your group's size and energy level. Each one works well with a sign up to organize volunteers, registrations, or payments.
Idea Type
Best For
Effort Level
Pumpkin Patch and Carving Party
Whole-family crowds
Medium
Dinners and Tastings
Adult donor audiences
High
Movie Night and Fall Pictures
Families with young kids
Low to Medium
School Spirit Ideas
Booster clubs and student groups
Low
Community and Group Events
Pumpkin Patch - Most people enjoy using pumpkins to decorate their homes or carve before Halloween, so if they can buy a pumpkin and support your group at the same time, that's a win for everyone. Set up a pumpkin patch on-site if you can, or work with your town or a local farm to find a good location. Add a photo backdrop and sell apple cider and popcorn for an extra charge. Use a sign up to organize your workers and volunteers.
“Using SignUpGenius we can also keep a tab of how many volunteers we had participate in TEACH modules every year, and we can even organize the data by medical center (location) or date. Also, since we have many events at each location every year, we can duplicate an old sign up and simply adjust the date instead of creating another sign up from scratch!”
Michael Shavolian, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
From pumpkin patches to barn dances, these fall fundraiser ideas work for schools, booster clubs, and community groups of any size.
Pumpkin Carving Party - This family activity is even better when the mess isn't at your own house. Decide whether to charge a set entrance fee that includes the pumpkin, or let people bring their own pumpkin for a lower ticket price. Provide tools, templates, markers, tea lights, and music. Run a contest for the best-carved designs with prizes by category. Use a sign up to organize volunteers and register attendees.
Hay Bale Maze - Build a maze out of hay bales on your property or a nearby farm. If space allows, add a fire pit with s'mores and a hot cocoa stand, plus a photo backdrop. Decorate with hay bales, plaid blankets, pumpkins, and mums. If you're running the maze for several weeks, change the layout regularly so people come back for a new challenge.
Collective Yard Sale - Ask members of your group to donate items to sell, and advertise more broadly to widen the range of donations. Group items by table to keep pricing simple for shoppers, and add fall decorations and snacks to keep it festive. Use a sign up to organize donation drop-off times and volunteer slots.
Consignment Sale - Organize a kids', adult, or teen clothing consignment sale. You can split proceeds with the people who donated items, or keep all profits for your group. Set up sturdy racks and plan for enough time to sort and tag everything before the sale. Use a sign up for drop-off times and volunteer slots.
Dinners and Tastings
Taste of Autumn Dinner - Host a multi-course meal in a scenic spot, whether that's a backyard patio, a barn, or a farm. Decorate with jewel-toned flowers like zinnias and sunflowers, along with pumpkins and fall foliage. Bring in a local chef and print the menu ahead of time. Set up a cocktail and appetizer hour so guests have time to mingle before the meal.
Wine Auction - Pair a wine auction with a full meal or casual appetizers. Either way, feature the wines up for auction alongside specialty cheese plates and desserts that pair well with them.
Cooking School - Offer an interactive cooking class with a local chef as your fall fundraiser. Guests prepare part or all of the meal together, then sit down to enjoy it. Have a photographer capture the evening and send guests photos afterward along with the menu and recipes.
Outdoor and Family Fun
Outdoor Movie Night - Set the scene with hay bales and plaid blankets, or keep it simple and ask guests to bring their own. Charge a flat admission price or ask for donations, and decide whether snacks are included or sold separately. A flavored popcorn bar, candy apples, and hot cider are easy crowd-pleasers. Pick a kid-friendly fall favorite for the screening.
Fall Pictures - Set up a festive autumn photo backdrop and offer fall portraits for families and kids. Offer digital downloads along with a printed photo as a take-home keepsake. Have people reserve a photo slot through a sign up.
Genius Tip
A fall photo backdrop works well as a high school fundraiser too. Loop in the photography teacher and students to run it as a hands-on project.
Barn Dance - Host a barn dance with dance lessons included. Teach line dancing, the Texas two-step, and square dances like the Virginia Reel, since many guests will be learning these for the first time. Award the couple with the best moves. Serve Texas-style beef brisket, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and banana pudding with iced tea.
"Glamp" Out - Give guests a taste of glamorous camping, with fire pits, s'mores, and sweet tea or lemonade in mason jars as they arrive. Decorate with colorful pennants, black-and-white checked tablecloths, sunflowers, and lanterns. Hold it on waterfront property if you can, and add activities like a zip line, capture the flag, or boat rides. Close the night with fireworks.
School and Booster Club Ideas
Fall Yard Work - Schools and youth groups can hire out their teens for fall yard work like bulb planting, leaf raking, and pruning. Make sure teens know what they're doing before they start, and ask homeowners to have supplies ready and someone home to confirm the task list. Participants sign up for a day and time.
Decorate Lockers - Booster clubs can raise money by decorating lockers for band, theater, sports teams, or any other student group. Work with your advisor to decide whether you're marketing this to students, parents, or both, and have students sign up to participate.
Front Row Tickets - As a theater fundraiser, auction off front-row seats to the school musical, or sell arts memberships that guarantee a prime seat. The same idea works for the athletic booster club with football, basketball, or volleyball.
Meet and Greet - Younger students often look up to high school athletes and performers. Offer a meet-and-greet before or after a game with players, or after the school play while the cast is still in costume. You can also sell tickets to a behind-the-scenes tour of game or show prep.
Parking Pass - Auction or raffle off a front-row parking spot for students and teachers, or a "skip to the front of carpool" pass. Both are real time-savers for busy parents, students, and staff.
Game Ball Raffle - Raffle the game ball after each home game for football, soccer, or volleyball, and have the players sign it. Offer a special higher-priced raffle for the homecoming game.
Genius Tip
Keep game ball raffle tickets in the $10 to $20 range. That price point works for students, teachers, and parents alike, so participation stays high.
Face Painting - Offer face painting before Friday night games. Advertise that it will be available at every home game or a specific weekly event, so students and fans know when to expect it. It's an easy way to raise money and build school spirit at the same time.
Pumpkin Spice Bake Sale - Give the classic bake sale a fall theme and set it up wherever people already want snacks: the carpool line, a home game, or intermission at the school play. Football- or pumpkin-shaped cookies and pumpkin spice pastries keep it on theme.
With any of these ideas, the key is making it feel specific to your group, not generic. A fun backdrop, some fall decor, and a little thought into the details go a long way. People are glad to support a cause, especially when they get a good fall experience out of it. Thank your volunteers and attendees when it's over.
Ready to put this into action?
Whatever fall fundraiser you're planning, SignUpGenius helps you organize volunteers and collect payments in one place, for free.
What is an easy fall fundraiser idea for a school? A pumpkin-themed bake sale or a face-painting table at home games are two of the easiest options. Both use supplies most schools already have, need minimal setup, and can be organized with a sign up for volunteers and time slots.
How do I organize volunteers for a fall fundraiser? A sign up is the simplest way to organize volunteers. Share one link, let people claim a shift or task, and send automatic reminders so you're not chasing anyone down as the event gets closer.
How can I collect payments for a fall fundraiser online? Sign Ups includes built-in payment collection, so you can gather ticket sales, entrance fees, or donations directly on the same sign up you use for volunteers and registration, with no separate link needed.
What is the best month for a fall fundraiser? Late September through November works well for most fall fundraisers. It gives you cooler weather for outdoor events and still leaves room before the busy holiday season.
School Fundraising Ideas
More ways to raise money for your school throughout the year.
