Preschools often rely on fundraising efforts to enhance their programs and facilities. But finding preschool fundraising ideas and organizing successful preschool fundraisers can be challenging.
Let’s look at some ideas for how you can raise money for your school, and we’ll break them down by season of the year and by the age group of the kids in your preschool.
These ideas will help you cultivate a sense of enthusiasm and teamwork among students, parents and your community!
Benefits of Preschool Fundraisers
Before we dive into fundraising ideas, it’s essential to understand the significant advantages that fundraising brings to a preschool:
Enriched Learning Environment: Funds generated through these initiatives can be channeled into creating a more dynamic and engaging learning environment for preschoolers.
Enhanced Resources: Fundraisers can help procure essential resources such as educational toys, books, art supplies and advanced teaching tools that aid in holistic development.
Community Building: Fundraising events often involve the active participation of parents and the local community, fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration.
Skill Development: Children can learn valuable life skills such as teamwork, creativity and the importance of giving back to the community through participation in fundraising activities.
When you integrate children into the planning process, children can see how goals come into being and how you plan to meet these goals.
Preschool Fundraising Ideas for Fall
Harvest Festival: Organize a fun-filled harvest festival with pumpkin decorating contests, apple bobbing and a bake sale featuring seasonal treats.
Fall-themed Art Auction: Encourage children to create vibrant fall-themed artwork that can be auctioned off during a special event for parents and the local community.
Preschool Fundraising Ideas for Winter
Holiday Craft Fair: Host a winter-themed craft fair where families can purchase handmade crafts, ornaments, and gifts created by the children.
Winter Wonderland Raffle: Curate a selection of winter-themed gift baskets and hold a raffle, with all proceeds going toward your preschool’s initiatives.
Preschool Fundraising Ideas for Spring
Spring Plant Sale: Organize a plant sale featuring flowers, herbs and small potted plants. This can also be combined with a gardening workshop for children and parents.
Easter Egg Hunt Fundraiser: Host an exciting Easter egg hunt event with festive activities and a bake sale with spring-themed treats.
Preschool Fundraising Ideas for Summer
Summer Carnival: Plan an outdoor carnival with games, food trucks and a dunk tank. Include activities such as face painting and a talent show to showcase children’s skills!
Ice Cream Social: Arrange an ice cream social with various flavors and toppings, and consider incorporating a raffle or silent auction for added excitement.
Preschool Fundraising Ideas by Age Group
Let’s start by looking at how you can fundraise for children who are 2 to 3 years old. Consider an art show and sale to showcase the children’s artwork in a mini art exhibition. Parents and other community members can purchase children’s special creations.
Another popular idea is a pajama day fundraiser! Organize a fun-filled pajama day and allow children to wear their favorite pajamas for a small donation, and participate in themed activities like a teddy bear picnic.
For kids who are 4 to 5 years old, hold a bake sale and set up a lemonade stand. Engage the children in baking simple treats and selling them alongside refreshing lemonade to parents and the local community.
Another idea is a mini-Olympics with relay races, mini obstacle courses and simple sports games. You can sell tickets for a small fee.
How to Get Families Involved in Fundraising!
Preschool fundraising is not just about raising funds – it’s about creating an engaging and inclusive environment that fosters learning, creativity and community involvement.
The ability to share information with parents about what’s happening in your preschool or other child care is essential. They want to know what activities are coming up, and an easy way to communicate this information to help busy families make plans is through Procare’s newsletter function!
You can choose to send your newsletter by email to every family who is enrolled in your early childhood education center, or narrow it to a class. Here’s another example: you could customize even further who would get the newsletter, such as only the families of children with food allergies who may need specific dietary information.
The same is true for text messages. You can text individual people or send a group text (known as bulk texting) to many people at once. This is especially helpful when you need to close your center or program, such as for a snow day, or if there’s an unexpected problem with your building such as an electricity or water outage.
Procare also gives staff and families the ability to view upcoming schedules and calendars, and exciting events such as fundraisers!
Download the free “7 Reasons Why a Child Care Mobile App will Help Streamline Operations and Communication at Your Center or School” infographic to learn what this app can do for your child care business!
