Fundraising at school

Raising money for a charity like SOS Children can be a rewarding and educational experience for school children. By planning and arranging a fundraising activity children practise their research and team work skills as well as their creative thinking.

How to get the most out of fundraising for a charity at school:

To make sure that students learn as much as possible from their fundraising, you might want to make sure that the fundraising and its supporting lessons and activities match the following checklist:

Is it student-driven?

Students will always engage more actively in charity fundraising activities if they get to decide on which charity to support themselves, and if they have as much say as possible in how the fundraising is carried out.

Is it long-term?

To show students long term development and progress you might want to consider supporting the same charity for a longer period of time, rather than just have a 'charity of the term'.

Does it fairly represent those you are fundraising for?

Make sure you present the community you raise funds for in a fair way, and avoid stigmatizing and victimising images. To help guide you, think about how you would like your own community to be portrayed: in a varied and balanced way, showing both positives and negatives.

Does it explore the underlying issues?

Fundraising is a great opportunity to inspire investigation of how the problem you are seeking to help came about in the first place.

Does it offer other ways to make a difference?

While raising money for charity is one way to make a difference, there are many others. Let students explore ways of combining their fundraising efforts with, for example, awareness raising activities and writing to their local MP. 

Fundraising ideas for schools

• Bake sale: A simple fundraising classic: encourage students to bring in baked goods to sell in their lunch breaks.
  
• Non-uniform days: In exchange for a pound or two students wear casual clothes for the day.
  
• 'Make £5 into more': With a small donation from the PTA or governors, groups of students are encouraged to spend the money in a way which will generate a bigger return. A competitive element can be added to make this entrepreneurial challenge more exciting. 
• School concert/talent show: Invite parents and visitors and charge a small ticket fee by the doors. If appropriate, give a short talk about SOS Children.
  
• Sponsored walk/run: Students ask for sponsorship from family and friends for each mile walked/run. This can be any distance, or students can walk the combined distance to an SOS Children's Village over the length of the term.
  

To find out more

Go to our 'find out more' section to get in contact with our Education Coordinator and to learn more about how your school can work together with SOS Children to help children's lives.