Top 10 School Fundraising Ideas During Covid

Virtual fundraising ideas help schools thrive during unpredictable times.

Undoubtedly the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we live our lives, caused us to rethink our path forward, and taken a disproportionate toll on our youth. The detrimental impact has been felt on multiple levels, from unreliable, constantly fluctuating schedules to many children struggling with mental health issues.

Schools have had to delay (or cancel) significant events and milestone markers that help shape the school-age experience (such as senior prom, kindergarten graduation, and grandparents' visitation day).

Worsening the impact of these delays and cancellations, school organizations are experiencing setbacks due to fundraising struggles. Schools have also had to dedicate a portion of their operating budget to COVID response, complicating finances and future improvement plans.

Sadly, the current state of affairs is no surprise as we look at hardships, particularly within the school system, endured over the past seventeen months. Teachers and administration have also been unfairly and heavily burdened with the pandemic's fallout.

“It’s been hard on students and on parents, but the burden of maintaining a space for our youths’ learning and development fell on our communities’ teachers,” writes The Berkshire Eagle.

Indeed, our teachers' and school systems' innovation and perseverance wrought an entirely new level of teacher appreciation.

School fundraising strategies are perhaps more critical now than ever before. As an integral catalyst for creating an environment for academic success now, and post-COVID-19, school fundraisers must be dynamic and adaptable. Virtual fundraising ideas immediately and effectively answer the call for more school funding.

Facilitating the extracurricular events, activities, and amenities that improve the mental health and outlook of children, online fundraising ideas preserve and enhance the school experience.

We continue to offer a variety of great fundraising ideas during COVID and beyond. Our online fundraisers are designed to be 100% virtual, featuring no face-to-face selling, paperwork, or in-person deliveries.

While the pandemic may have delayed many aspects of our lives, including day-to-day activities at school, now is the time to leverage virtual fundraisers to move us forward.

Keep reading below for our best virtual fundraising ideas for schools during COVID-19:

1. Goodies & Gifts Online

Many of us stress over holiday cooking; that's why meal prep and making food ahead can help us out. With this in mind, it is easy to become enamored with various delicious food items. From gourmet food kits to baking mixes and ready-to-eat cookies, there are over 500 products found in Goodies & Gifts, making hosting and holidays easier.

Going beyond food, as the name suggests, you will discover books, magazines, masks, and jewelry. Goodies & Gifts Online truly offers something for everyone.

2. Gifts & More Online

In the social media influencer era, getting ideas to refresh our abode has never been easier. Gifts & More Online provides an array of beautiful home décor for those who like to relax at home.

With over 600 items priced from $9 to $45, this online fundraising store is also great for adding magical touches just for kids or grabbing that unique but hard-to-find gift. Gifts & More Online continues to receive positive feedback from organizations that love the quality and variety of products.

3. Charleston Wrap Online

Charleston Wrap Online makes finding gift wrap fun, featuring highly detailed prints for every occasion. This program offers gift-wrapping bundles and value sets as another holiday helper, making beautiful gift-giving easy. From keepsakes to luggage tags and magnets, Charleston Wrap teems with over 1,500 trendy and timeless items.

If your organization is looking for customizable items, they will find them here. The shop's best sellers include wall-hanging photo tiles, eco-friendly kitchen items, and an essential gift wrap pack. Unique and thoughtful designs ensure Charleston Wrap will deliver that personal touch for shoppers.

4. Believe Online

Did you know more than a third of Americans say they cook at home daily, and 50% say they cook between three and six days a week? Focused on kitchenware, Believe Online showcases household gadgets that do chores and cooking a breeze.

With a product category dedicated to children and pets, Believe offers items like a 'My First Garden" kit and pick-me-ups for your pups. Beautiful jewelry is also available in the Believe Online Catalog featuring dainty baubles and color palettes.

5. Cookie Dough Online

Cookie Dough Online offers the most popular preportioned tubs and edible dough flavors. Allowing maximum flexibility, cookie dough is shelf stable at room temperature or below for up to 21 days, refrigerated for as long as six months, or frozen for up to 1 year.

Implementing an annual cookie dough fundraiser at your school ensures families can keep cookie dough on hand all year! There is also a little-known surprise about our cookie dough; it is edible – no need to bake it to enjoy it!

The Student Fundraising Chair of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy writes in their review, "A ship-to-buyer online fundraiser during the pandemic was a great way to go." Another reviewer boasts, "Selling cookie dough online provided a great solution for our cheer group to reach its sales goals."

6. Popcornopolis Online

Popcornopolis is, as the name suggests, a high-volume, popular virtual fundraising idea for schools. Here you can find our six best-selling flavors – Zebra^®, Caramel Corn, Kettle Corn, Jalapeño Cheddar, White Cheddar, and colorful Unicorn mix.

Popcorn always seems to accompany America's favorite pastimes, whether for ball games, movie night, or family time at the carnival. We've mentioned before how popcorn can bring on feelings of happiness. The Popcornopolis campaign has an average selling price of $16 and raises to 40% profit margin.

Organizations frequently find our popcorn affordable and liked by many. Our exclusive 5-bag Gift Basket is a best seller and a great year-round gift! Don't forget that our Popcornopolis popcorn is popped in coconut oil without high fructose corn syrup, gluten, or GMOs.

7. Flowers Online

A green and eco-friendly alternative, our Flowers Online is an unexpected but delightful fundraising idea. Offering a large variety of beautiful eco-friendly flower bulbs and plants, families will be excited to receive these beauties at their door. Don't have a green thumb? No worries, Flowers Online offers a 100% grow guarantee!

As a fundraiser that provides 50% profit, Flowers is an excellent choice for raising money and improving the earth at the same time. For seasonally focused success, spring sales run from early November through the end of April, and fall flower sales run from the beginning of June until the end of November.

Consumer reviews rave about the ability to sell flowers to family members across the country as an "easy way to raise money" and that the flowers were well-received by the community.

8. Cheese & Sausage Online

The Heartland Cheese & Sausage Online fundraiser breaks the mold with tasty, flavorful choices from cheese spreads, gourmet mixes, and summer sausages.

There are over 15 unique meats and cheeses to sell but with a whopping 0 grams of trans-fat. Baskets and assortments make a great gift to give or get. And like our other virtual school fundraisers, Cheese & Sausage Online offers 100% contact-free delivery straight to your customers' doors.

9. Candles Online

Our Candles and wax melts represent the highest quality in the fundraising market. Choose from eight unique categories. Boutique lines, such as Kalm Candle Co., feature a chic farmhouse-theme candle hand-poured with artisan wax and finished with an all-natural wick.

Even if you've never spent time in Tennessee, you may know about the origins of the Moon Pie. Moon Pie candles look like the famous tasty treat and smell just as good! Indeed a unique gift no matter where you are located.

Candles Online has enjoyed glowing reviews (pun intended), with many customers mentioning the high quality, popularity, and great experience. A teacher from Memorial School exclaims, "This online fundraiser was key during this time when most students are virtual."

10. Stainless Tumblers Online

This online store lets you find premium quality licensed NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS tumblers, collegiate items, and more. This drinkware promises to keep your beverages piping hot for eight hours and ice cold for a solid (pun intended) 24 hours.

With people spending more time at home, what better way to support your student's school or favorite organization than to buy a new, favorite mug? Drinkware Done Differently offers over 200 stainless tumblers and coffee mugs with great sayings like 'Mom Life', the 'Home Series', and 'Say It with Sass,' ensuring your coffee mug has as much character as you.

You can even feature your customized school tumbler in the store. It will indeed be sought after by parents, teachers, and staff alike.

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Despite the past year and a half of considerable setbacks and hardships, Big Fundraising Ideas' online fundraising options offer a quick, flexible, and effective way to dig into fundraising (and do so free of inventory).

We always offer the option to add cash or prize incentives to your online fundraiser to increase engagement. Leveraging the nearly limitless potential of virtual space, these fundraisers offer a critical stepping stone to strengthening schools and school-related organizations nationwide.

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Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.