12 Easter fundraising events for schools

Easter is an eggstra special time to bring your school community together and raise money! Here are 12 cracking Easter fundraising ideas to encourage your parents and supporters to donate to school.

We’ve found that when you raise for a specific goal or project - new whiteboards, sports equipment, or for a school trip - people are more likely to want to give. They can imagine where the money is going so it feels more worthwhile.

Use Classlist to manage your fundraising events - you can sell cashless, paperless tickets and promote the event to your whole school community easily.

1. Easter egg trail - with a difference

Avoid the tears and temptations that go along with traditional Easter egg hunts. Instead, leave a trail of riddles or clues that teams of children can crack to lead them to their prizes!  Sell tickets for this using Classlist’s Events tool. You’ll need a few volunteers to write the clues and set up a few trails around the school grounds. Print out tick sheets and the children will rise to the challenge of solving the riddles. There’s an opportunity to up-sell here - offer parents the chance to enjoy a coffee and a cake while their children go searching and you could double your profits while they relax.

2. Easter basket raffle

Use Classlist’s online Raffle tool to sell tickets for an Easter basket raffle, with the ultimate prize being a gorgeously soft and fluffy bunny rabbit toy! It’s so easy to set up. Simply ask parents to donate items or vouchers for experiences. Collect and display these in pretty Easter baskets. The element of chance and surprise is a winner here! You’ll be able to take great photos of the baskets so they look appealing on your Raffle page. Classlist’s app does all the hard work for you - people buy tickets there and it even chooses and notifies the winners for you!

3. Egg throwing challenge

Here’s one for the risk takers among your community! Set up two lines of children (or adults), facing each other about 50 cms apart. Give everyone on one side a raw egg. They have to carefully throw it to their partner. If they catch it, take one step back, and return the throw. If someone drops it, the team is out. Keep stepping back, throwing further each time. The team which completes the longest throw wins!  

4. Easter Bake Off

A whole school Bake Off is a brilliant event because there are two opportunities to use it as a fundraiser - first by selling tickets to enter the competition and second, by selling the cakes! To enter, children agree to a three-stage process, with Easter-themed Tray Bakes in week one, Cupcakes in week 2 and an Easter Showstopper in week 3. Children bring in money to buy the cakes and vote on their favourite. The top ten entrants go through to the next round. Delicious fun for everyone. Set this up as an Event in Classlist. You can update the whole school as the competition progresses, and remind everyone to bring in their money to buy cakes on the day.

5. Easter egg decorating competition

Let little imaginations run wild as they decorate Easter eggs in all manner of ways! There could be prizes for the most indulgent, the most delicate and the funniest eggs by year group. Bulk buy plain chocolate eggs and ask parents to purchase tickets for the competition on Classlist. The eggs could be displayed at school and judged by the headteacher - before being demolished by the children!

6. Car boot sale

If your school field is accessible and large enough, you could consider hosting a car boot sale - inviting the wider community to participate. Having a Spring clear out is good for the soul - and children absolutely love spending their pocket money on little gifts. With the luck, the weather will be on your side! Sell entry tickets via Classlist, and don’t forget to up-sell those cups of tea and cakes. Use the guest checkout for family friends and the local community.

7. Easter bonnet competition

Encourage the whole school community - teachers included - to tap into their creative streaks and make homemade Easter bonnets. Set up a catwalk so the children can strut their stuff or perhaps lay all the bonnets out around the school. When everyone is involved in a joint project, schools create buzzing communities. Perhaps you could suggest some cross-year working - with Yr 6s helping the Yr 1s for example? A small donation could cover costs and make a little extra to replenish the art cupboard.

8. Easter bunny hop-a-thon

It’s easy to set up a hop-a-thon on Classlist. Simply follow the instructions here. Can everyone in school (yes everyone, headteacher and PTA Chair included!) bunny hop the length of the playground 12 times? This fun event is sure to have everyone laughing, especially if the teachers volunteer to wear bunny ears as they complete the task! 

9. Bunny poop

Yes, you read that right! Sell bags of edible bunny droppings (the children will love this one!). To create your bunny droppings, either buy chocolate covered raisins and portion them out into paper bags, or coat mini marshmallows in chocolate. You might want to add a little rhyme on a tag: “I got you something special / And here’s the inside scoop / It’s very rare and magical / A bag of bunny poop!”

10. Guess how many mini eggs?

Charge a small entry fee to guess how many mini eggs there are in a large glass jar. The person who guesses closest to the total wins the eggs! You’ll easily recoup your costs, especially if you can buy the eggs from a cash and carry.

11. Easter holiday competition

Parents love it when school sets their children a task over the holidays - it’s something that will entertain their children and keep them occupied during the long break. Depending on the age of the children, you could either set up a tick list of Springtime things for children to spot - a daffodil, lamb, rabbit, baby. Or for older children, a photography competition on the theme of Spring?

12. Crowdfunding

When you have a specific goal in mind, crowdfunding is an excellent way to raise funds. It’s a low-risk, low-energy way for parents to give contributions without having to invest any time in the project themselves. Call it ‘Go The Eggstra Mile’ or something topical to grab their attention. You can publicise your crowdfund via Classlist’s newsfeed.

• Good luck with these easy Easter fundraisers for schools - let us know how you get along on our Instagram page!