How to Run an Online Fundraiser for Your School
Posted by Kate White
Posted by Kate WhitePosted by Kate WhiteRunning 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.
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.
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) | Fundraisers | Goal progress bar, suggested gift amounts, recurring gifts, and receipts |
| Fun run, read-a-thon, or jog-a-thon | Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers | A page for each student, pledges, and class leaderboards |
| Product sale (cookie dough, wrapping paper, flowers) | Fundraisers or Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers | Orders and payment in one checkout, with optional student sales pages |
| Spirit wear and school gear | Online Stores | Sizes, inventory, sold-out alerts, school pickup, and in-person sales at games |
| Carnival, gala, or family dinner night | Tickets | Ticket types, capacity limits, and QR code tickets |
| Bake sale, book fair, or concession stand | Sign Ups | Volunteer shifts, item lists, automatic reminders, and payments on the sign up |
| Any event that needs a waiver | Forms and Waivers | 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.
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.
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!
Watch: How to Create a FundraiserGeneric 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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See PTA and PTO fundraising ideasHow to Launch Your First Online Fundraiser
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Write a fundraiser page that worksI am a huge fan of SignUpGenius. I am a second career nurse in northern Virginia at a large teaching hospital where I work on the labor unit with 120 fabulous coworkers. The nurses have to sign up for eight hours of "call" each schedule of four weeks. After two months of getting the staff prepared mentally for online call, I'm pleased to say our maiden voyage was a huge success. All 84 nurses signed up within 24 hours, which was unheard of. We usually have to stalk and threaten. Thanks SignUpGenius. I'm a fan forever.
Max Engler
