11 School Fundraising Companies that Bring in the Most Money

top school fundraising companies

Whether you need to raise money for elementary or high school these school fundraising companies have you covered.

In the 1970s when school fundraising began, the money raised often supplemented extracurricular activities like field trips and glee clubs.

But in the 21st century, fundraising has become more of a necessity to combat budget cuts that deny funding for art and music programs, essential equipment like computers and tablets, and school uniforms.

Fortunately, school fundraising is well supported in communities and often quite lucrative. According to Nonprofit Resource, more than half of public schools in the United States conduct fundraisers each year, earning more than $1.5 billion annually. One-third of schools raise on average up to $5,000, with the top third earning in excess of $75,000.

School fundraising companies can contribute to the success of a school’s fundraising efforts by providing the right products or services and supplemental support throughout a campaign. We’ve selected 11 companies that offer a variety of tried and proven programs for successful school fundraising.

school fund raising ideas

What Companies Offer Fundraisers?

1. Entertainment Card Fundraiser

The Entertainment Coupon Card is by far the best fundraising companies with over $3 billion earned for schools since 1962.

The coupon book has now expanded to include an online app making redeeming offers less cumbersome than carrying around the little coupon book.

For supporters who prefer the physical coupons, books are shipped free and memberships are good for one year.

Schools earn a whopping 75% though online and face-to-face sales. Supporters who purchase the Entertainment discount offer save up to 50% off retail price and there are many buy-one-get-one-free offers. Not only is the profit high, but the customer receives a lot of value in the coupon discounts, making this a great school fundraiser.

2. ShopWithScrip

Since 1994 ShopWithScrip has worked with over 48,000 organizations to raise more than $700 million.

The concept is simple:

Fundraiser supporters purchase gift cards to their favorite retailers like hotels, grocery stores, airlines, and over 700 popular retailers.

Schools earn a rebate from each card sold and continue to earn each time the card is used for purchases.

Rebates range from 2% to 15% on purchases and are accredited directly to the school’s fundraising account.

Sign up is quick and easy and fundraisers have access to MyScripWallet, an online resource for managing fundraisers.

The ShopWithScip fundraising program has successfully teamed up with public and private schools of all levels.

3. Custom Ink

Questioning what you can sell at a school fundraiser? Selling t-shirts is one of my favorite fundraiser ideas for school. With over 2 billion T-shirts sold each year, it’s not hard to see why schools have been selling t-shirts to raise funds for their schools.

Before online shopping, schools typically ordered printed T-shirts in bulk and took responsibility for storing and shipping the product.

However, t-shirt fundraising became streamlined with print-on-demand services that will print one order at a time ship it to the buyer and keep track of sales, cutting out much of the work for schools.

Custom Ink has school fundraising down to a science. Easy to use design programs online allow schools to offer more designs with little effort and to set their own prices for greater profits.

Custom Ink has a great reputation within the community. They donate profits to their own favorite causes and have earned numerous awards for their innovative human resource practices and charitable contributions to the community.

T-shirts fundraisers can be used alone to generate funds or combined with other efforts such as school walk-a-thons, bake-offs, etc.

4. Krispy Kreme

If you are looking for a free fundraising idea, this is the one.

Everyone loves donuts. So why not use that to have a fundraise? Krispy Kreme are probably the most famous brand in that category, and are loved by the entire nation.

The program for fundraising is called Digital Dozens and it’s perfect for groups and schools. You get 50%+ back from all sales.

To learn more about this program, check out the site here

6. Oberweis

A fan favorite in the form of ice cream and other dairy products with a quality that deserves and award. You can get 20% back on all your purchases and that’s why it’s a favorite for many in the states of Missouri, Michigan and Illinois.

Wanna check it out? Visit their website and fund your event

7. Barnes& Noble

Barnes & Noble, the #1 bookseller in the United States, operates over 600 bookstores and has a strong online presence, averaging annual sales of more than 155 million books.

In addition to books, they also offer a huge selection of over 5,000 magazine titles and almost 1,000 national and international newspaper titles.

The company is deeply invested in the community with over 100,000 charity events hosted yearly, including school fundraisers. Each year since 2017, Barnes & Noble has earned the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index maximum rating of 100 percent.

Barnes & Noble hosts pre-K-12 in-store and online themed bookfair fundraisers such as scavenger hunts and poetry readings.

The bookseller also offers a limited number of donations and sponsorships for school programs centered around the arts.

A list of school fundraising companies

Barnes & Noble provides:

  • publicity and marketing materials
  • in-store and online promotion
  • staff to handle all transactions
  • additional support to teachers, students and organizers

Schools earn between 10-30 percent of all Barnes & Noble items sold in-store and online during the fundraiser event. Online sales will continue to accrue for 5 days following the event.

8. Equal Exchange

Equal Exchange, founded in 1986, operates as a worker cooperative using Fair Trade practices. Initially working with one coffee farmer from Nicaragua, the co-op is now one of the largest in the United States and offers a full catalog of coffees, teas, chocolates, and nuts sourced from farmers and artisans around the world.

On average for each fiscal quarter, Equal Exchange contributes $250,000 for fundraising groups implementing the fundraising catalog program.

In addition to catalog sales, schools have the ability to utilize an online platform to increase and streamline sales.

This program not only enables schools to reach their fundraising goals but also empowers small-scale independent farmers around the world.

Schools earn 40 percent of the profit on all sales with no minimum sale requirements and free shipping for wholesale orders that exceed $135.

Free promotional materials including catalogs, fundraising guides, vendor videos, downloadable graphics, and other promotional materials.

Equal Exchange works closely with each school throughout the fundraising campaign and assigns a fundraiser coordinator to ensure success from start to finish.

9. RaiseCraze

This innovative fundraising company doesn’t sell anything. Instead, students receive donations to the school for future acts of kindness.

RaiseCraze was started by a couple of parents who were frustrated and dissatisfied with traditional school fundraising companies’ profit margins.

They also wanted to find a way to fundraise that encouraged their children to participate in the community in a positive way.

Working with others, they designed a platform to bring fundraising students together with family, neighbors, and community that would benefit all involved.

Using a pay-it-forward model, students create a list of acts of kindness they will enact in the near future for monetary donations of support now.

Acts of kindness might include preparing a homeless gift bag with food and clothing,

writing a thank-you letter to a public servant, cleaning an elderly neighbors flower bed, and so on.

Students come up with their own lists and keep track of how much money they’ve earned for the fundraiser through their own school’s fundraising website dashboard.

RaiseCraze staff is also available to assist with social media campaigns and other marketing endeavors.

Schools keep 90% of funds raised and RaiseCraze keeps a 10% fee for maintaining and promoting the program online.

10. Chuck E. Cheese

Perhaps the most fun on the list of fundraising programs. Chuck E. Cheese has been around since 1977 and has operated 600 stores in 47 states and more than 15 countries. A well-branded theme fun-spot where families can eat, play games and meet Chuck E. up close and personal.

Chuck E. Cheese school fundraisers are particularly successful for elementary schools with over $16 million earned for school and other nonprofit fundraisers.

Chuck E. Cheese donates 20 percent when fundraising groups spend $3000 or more. For events under $3,000, schools earn 15 percent.

Teachers in attendance also enjoy free meals, and children earn 10-free-play points stickers. Prior to the event, Chuck E. Cheese provides free promotional materials, and on the day of the event, Chuck E. will even visit the school to generate more participation.

The trademarked tagline says it all: Turning Fun into Funds.

11. TerraCycle

Another innovative fundraiser for schools, TerraCycle is a great way to fundraise for schools and reduce waste in communities.

Brigades, or trash-collecting volunteers, are in charge of collecting waste in their communities. TerraCycle provides pre-paid shipping labels to attach to collected boxes of garbage containing pre-approved items. TerraCycle takes care of everything from there including sorting and recycling. Points are awarded for each piece collected, which are redeemed for cash.

So far, more than 30,000,000 people in the United States have collected over 2.5 billion items for recycling and earned almost $4.5 million for fundraisers.

Conclusion

We hope you have found this list of school fundraising companies helpful. Our goal was to find fundraising ideas that were high in profit to help make the most out of your fundraising efforts. Whether you need fundraising ideas for elementary school, middle school, or high school one of these should work.

You can also look into selling cookie dough and doing a gift wrap fundraiser around the holidays.

Now it’s time to go out there and raise money.