Middle School Fundraising Ideas Your Students Will Love

Middle school staff salaries, school supplies, utilities, support for extracurricular activities, and more all cost money. When taxes and grants can’t cover these costs, it’s time to set up a fundraiser. If you’re looking to set up your own event, make sure you choose one that will rake in the funds and be fun to boot with these winning middle school fundraising ideas.

Looking for the best fundraising ideas for schools? Look no further. The following events are fun and can generate lots of money for your school district.

Further Reading:

• 18 Best Elementary School Fundraising Ideas
• 10 Best Preschool Fundraising Ideas
• 19 Back-to-School Fundraisers
• 6 Best Teacher Appreciation Gifts
• Online Donation and Fundraising Platforms for Nonprofits

Get your middle schoolers active and raise funds for your school with this one simple event: a walk-a-thon! If your school has a track, simply dedicate a day and time for the event and promote it in your school and community. Staff and community members can pledge a set amount of money for every lap students walk.

If you want to boost your funds, you can sell event t-shirts! Go a step further and hold a contest for your students to design the shirts. It will be fun and engaging—what more could you want?

Any parent or teacher will tell you that middle school students have a lot of energy. If a walk-a-thon isn’t up to speed—literally—try a fun run instead. It’s a great way to raise funds with a small entry fee while encouraging friendly competition among your students.

Break fundraising goals with a car wash. This event remains a classic for a reason: it’s easy and generates some serious cash. All you need is a place, some water, soap and towels, and volunteers.

Who doesn’t love baked goods? Get something delicious and raise money for your school with a real win-win of a fundraiser: a bake sale! Have students bake some goodies, then have a sale where goods are purchased for a small donation to your school. You may even have luck asking local businesses, like restaurants and bakeries, to donate items to your good cause.

If you think a bake sale is too overdone, try hosting a pancake sale instead. For a small fee, students can have a pancake made by a staff member just the way they want, with sprinkles, chocolate chips and all. It’s a great incentive to have middle schoolers give back to their school.

A movie night is a family-friendly event that students and their parents will love. Simply select a date and time, find a movie you have the rights to show, and charge a small entry fee to the event. You can further boost your fundraising efforts by selling snacks and refreshments at a concession stand.

Foster a lifelong love of reading with this fundraising event. A Read-a-Thon fundraiser® is a great incentive to get middle schoolers reading and raising money for their school. The concept is simple: kids read during a set amount of time, and donors (community members, staff members, parents, or anyone else) can pledge a certain amount of money for every book a child reads.

Middle school students will love an in-person event like a school dance or dance-a-thon. For a school dance, raising funds is as simple as charging a small admission fee. For a dance-a-thon, have donors pledge a certain amount of funds for every period of time danced. For example, for an event that lasts 6 hours, donors can pledge $5 for every 30 minutes a student dances.

A 50/50 raffle is a fundraising initiative that can raise the most money for some of the easiest work by your students. Simply have students go to their local community to sell raffle tickets. That’s it! The winner will get half the money generated while the rest goes to your school. You may even luck out with an exceptionally generous winner who donates his or her winnings back to your school.

A silent auction is another easy event that can raise some serious money. Simply select a time and place and let people bid on items at their own pace. You can get some great items for your auction by asking for donations from your local community, such as discount cards to a popular local restaurant.

If you have items that didn’t receive any bids during your silent auction, why not put them in a yard sale that students and staff members run?

A talent show is a fundraising event that can engage not just students, but their family members too. Simply set a time and date and charge audience members small admission fees.

Raise school spirit—and school funds—with a field day! Proceeds from ticket sales can go directly to your school. The hard part is choosing just which exciting activities your students will pay to participate in.

Some great field day events include:

• 3-legged races
• Obstacle courses
• Relay races
• Team scavenger hunts

A trivia night or board game night can make for a successful fundraiser for middle school students. Simply charge a small fee to enter and have students put their knowledge to the test. You can make this event more educational by having the trivia rounds or games be relevant to a recent lesson.

One of the easiest fundraising campaigns you can host that gets the whole school community involved is a pajama day. Simply have students and staff members pay a small fee to dress up in their favorite set of pajamas.

A cookie dough fundraiser is a delicious way to raise money for your school. Simply have students take order forms for cookie dough to the local community and, once the forms are submitted and the orders arrive, deliver these orders to their customers. It’s a great way to help students learn more about entrepreneurship and organizational skills.

In-person fundraising campaigns are great, but they only raise funds during the school year. With an online donation form permanently set up on your school’s website, you can collect donations all year.

Looking for a fundraiser that raises money and serves as a lasting reminder of your donors’ generosity? Yes? Then you can’t go wrong with a brick fundraiser.

The process is simple:

• We help you set up an online donation portal and give you the templates you need to create some amazing physical posters or explainer videos to spread the news about your event on social media
• Your donors select the brick or tile they want and customize it to their hearts’ content
• Your donors’ orders are made using a high-quality laser-engraving process that results in a long-lasting (and great-looking!) brick
• You can display your donors’ bricks in an installation like a walkway or wall of your school

These unique fundraisers are incredibly popular, meaning they can generate some serious funds for your school. Your students will love it too. After all, they can have a brick customized with their favorite movie quotes and clipart. What’s not to love?

At Fundraising Brick, we know what goes into an effective fundraiser, and we have the knowledge and fundraising tools necessary to help you make your next event a great success… and we’re ready to share that know-how with you.

Let’s get in touch. We’ll help you find the middle school fundraising idea that works for you.