Running a school fundraiser used to mean cash envelopes, crumpled order forms, and a night counting bills at the kitchen table. Online fundraising replaces that with one link. Pick the fundraiser type, set a goal, build a page families can give from, and share it where parents already look.
With SignUpGenius you can do all of that for free, whether it's a fun run, a spirit wear sale, or a simple donation drive. This guide shows which tool fits each kind of school fundraiser and covers the school-specific settings most guides skip.
What Is Online Fundraising for Schools?
Online fundraising for schools is a way for a school or parent group to collect donations, sales, and pledges through a web page instead of cash and paper forms. Families give from their phones, and organizers see totals update as money comes in.
It also widens who can give. Grandparents across the country can chip in for a fun run. Working parents who never make it to the bake sale can still buy a shirt. Nobody has to send cash in a backpack, and nobody on the PTA has to count it.
Most schools still run in-person events too. Online tools don't replace the carnival or the book fair. They handle the money and the logistics behind them, so volunteers can spend their time at the event instead of at a spreadsheet.
āSignUpGenius is the best tool ever. I am sharing this with all my friends. It's our "easy button" for the holidays. Love it!ā
Match your fundraiser to the right tool, set it up step by step, and get families giving from their phones.
Match Your Fundraiser to the Right Tool
School fundraisers come in a lot of shapes, and each one needs something different. A donation drive needs a goal and a give button. A fun run needs a page for every student. A spirit wear sale needs sizes and inventory.
SignUpGenius has a tool built for each, and every one is included on the Free plan.
School fundraiser
Tool to use
What it handles
Donation drive (annual fund, classroom wish list, field trip fund)
Signed waivers collected in the same step as registration or payment
Bigger fundraisers often use two or three tools together. A fun run might use a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser for pledges, a sign up for course marshals and water table volunteers, and a waiver for every runner. A carnival might sell tickets through Events while a sign up fills the game booths.
Everything lives in one account, so you aren't juggling logins or reconciling totals across apps.
How to Set Up Your School Fundraiser
These steps work for any tool in the table above. Plan on about a week from first idea to launch, with most of that time spent on approvals and gathering photos.
Check your school's fundraising rules. Ask your principal or district office about approval steps, date limits, and rules on student photos before you build anything.
Set one goal tied to one thing. "$4,000 for new library books" gets more gifts than "support our school," because families can picture where the money goes.
Pick your tool. Use the table above to match your fundraiser type to the right setup.
Build your page. Add a short note about the need, a photo, your goal, and two or three suggested amounts.
Decide how to handle processing fees. Choose whether donors cover the fee or your group does (more on that below).
Add your team. Give co-chairs access so the work and the questions don't all land on you.
Test it on your phone. Most families will give from a phone, so open the link, read the page, and walk through checkout before you share it.
Launch and share. Send the link through the channels parents already check, and schedule your reminders up front.
š Need a step-by-step guide?
Our Fundraiser tutorial video walks you through the steps to get yours created in no time. Fundraisers are free to create, you pay a simple processing fee when you withdraw - that's it!
Generic fundraising guides skip the parts that make school fundraisers different: who owns the money, how to handle families who still pay cash, and how to hand everything off when the board turns over. Sort these out before you launch.
Decide Who Collects the Money
Decide early whether the fundraiser runs under the PTA or PTO account or the school's account. Funds go to whichever group's bank account is connected, and that group handles receipts and records. Many schools have a policy on this, so ask before you set up.
Is your PTA a 501(c)(3)?
If so, you can verify it on SignUpGenius. Your page gets a verified nonprofit badge, and donors get tax-deductible receipts automatically. Groups that aren't 501(c)(3)s can still run fundraisers and send custom receipts with program details.
Choose How to Handle Processing Fees
Card and eCheck payments carry a standard processing fee. The fee is the same on every plan, including Free. You can pass it to donors at checkout or cover it from what you raise.
Option
Works best when
Trade-off
Pass fees to donors
Every dollar needs to reach the goal, like a fixed bus cost for a field trip
Donors see a small added amount at checkout
Cover fees yourself
You want checkout to look as simple as possible
The fee comes out of what you raise
š eCheck payments cost less in fees than card payments, so it can help to mention that option in your launch message. For current rates, see SignUpGenius pricing.
Plan for Families Who Pay Cash or Check
Some families will always send cash in an envelope. Record those cash and check payments in the same fundraiser so all your totals stay in one place. Recording them is free. Your treasurer gets one report instead of a spreadsheet and a shoebox.
Share the Work With Your Board
A fundraiser shouldn't live on one parent's phone. On Gold plans and up, you can add other admins, so co-chairs can answer questions, update the page, and pull reports without borrowing your login.
Protect Student Privacy
For Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers, use first names only on student pages and stick to photos your school has approved. Donor names can show on the page if you turn that on. Gift amounts stay hidden, so families can see who's joined in without comparing what anyone gave.
Set Up Next Year Before You Forget
Board members change every year, and most fundraising know-how walks out the door with them. When your fundraiser closes, export the report and write a short handoff note covering your goal, what you raised, and what you'd change. Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers can be duplicated for next year, so the incoming chair starts from a working page instead of a blank one.
How to Get Families to Give
A good page only works if families see it. Share your link where parents already look: the school newsletter, class group texts, teacher emails, and take-home folders.
Most families need to see the ask more than once before they act, so plan your messages before launch day instead of sending them when totals stall.
Progress updates help. A post that says "We're at 60% with one week to go" gets more gifts than a repeat of the original ask. For fun runs and read-a-thons, class leaderboards turn giving into a friendly race, and students will remind their own families.
Use this timeline to keep your fundraiser moving from launch to thank-you.
Two weeks before launch
Launch day
Midway
Final three days
After it closes
Ready to launch your school's fundraiser?
Pick the tool that fits, set your goal, and share one link. SignUpGenius is free to start.
I'm on our PTA board. Can we use SignUpGenius to fundraise if we aren't a 501(c)(3)?
Yes. Any school, PTA, PTO, booster club, or parent group can run a fundraiser on SignUpGenius. Registered 501(c)(3) groups can verify their status to get a nonprofit badge and automatic tax-deductible receipts. Other groups can still collect donations and send custom receipts with program details.
Is SignUpGenius free for school fundraisers?
Yes. Fundraisers, Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers, Online Stores, Events, and Sign Ups are all included on the Free plan. Paid plans add things like extra admins, more custom questions, and ad-free pages. Standard processing fees apply to card and eCheck payments on every plan, including Free.
Does SignUpGenius take a percentage of what our school raises?
No. SignUpGenius doesn't take a platform cut or add forced tips for donors. The only cost is a standard processing fee on card and eCheck payments, and it's the same on every plan. You can pass that fee to donors so your school keeps the full gift.
How do donors get a tax receipt when they give to our school?
If your group is a verified 501(c)(3), donors get a tax-deductible receipt automatically after they give. If your group isn't verified, you can add a custom receipt with your organization's details and a thank-you note. Check with your treasurer about what your group needs to include.
Can parents pay with cash or check for an online school fundraiser?
Yes. You can record cash and check payments in the same fundraiser as online gifts, and recording them is free. That keeps every payment in one report, so your treasurer doesn't have to reconcile envelopes against an online total at the end.
What's the easiest online fundraiser for an elementary school?
A donation drive tied to one clear need is the simplest to set up and share. For more family involvement, a fun run or read-a-thon with Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers gives each student a page and lets classes compete on a leaderboard, which keeps families engaged all week.
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