Need an idea for a fund raiser? Look through the ideas below to get those creative juices going. Or come up with your own idea. For your event to be successful, you’ll need to publicize it. So be sure to check out our resources page, where you’ll find lots of helpful items – including sample posters, flyers, letters to businesses, news articles, our KC4K logo, and more. 

Fundraisers Students Can Do

Penny War—Many school groups have already done Penny Wars as a KC4K fundraiser ... raising as much as $1300! And it's so much fun! The goal of a Penny War is to collect as many PENNIES as possible in your jar AND put as many NON-PENNIES in everyone else’s jar. Here’s how it works:

First you need to establish teams. They could be grade levels in a school, homerooms, clubs, etc. Each team needs its own labeled container or jar. Money is worth “points” based on its monetary value.

• Pennies = 1 point  
• Nickels = 5 points 
• Dimes = 10 points 
• Quarters = 25 points
• $1 Bills = 100 points
• $5 Bills = 500 points
• $10 Bills = 1,000 points
• $20 Bills = 2,000 points

But there another key rule in a Penny War. Pennies give your team positive points—while nickels, dimes, quarters, and any dollar bills take points AWAY from the team’s total. Therefore, you want to put PENNIES in YOUR TEAM’S jar (positive points). But you want to put nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills (negative points) in the jars of OTHER TEAMS. The goal is for your team to have the most POSITIVE points by the date for the end of the fundraiser.

“Dress Down Day”—This works well if you have uniforms or a dress code at your school. Have students pay a designated amount to wear casual clothes instead of uniforms.

Have an all-school Talent Show or Karaoke Contest—Groups can pay an entrance fee, guests and vote for their favorite acts with their money. You might even sell refreshments to raise more money.

Donate Allowances—Get your friends to donate a week’s allowance or money they get for doing chores for a certain number of days. Or set a goal for how much your group would like to raise. If you do this as a class or a group, have everyone write down the amount they think they can earn on a secret ballot. Then you can see in advance how much you could possibly raise together! Even small allowances add up when you have a group participating!

Sell KC4K t-shirts—Order Kids Caring 4 Kids t-shirts and sell them for what they cost (or a little more). All money raised from t-shirt sales provides educational support for needy kids in areas where KC4K has projects—uniforms, school supplies, and school fees for those who can’t afford them.

Have a “Kids Caring 4 Kids” Birthday Party (teens and all ages)
Instead of receiving gifts, ask guests to bring a cash gift (or check) equal to what they’d typically spend on a gift. Two Chicago groups of teens had a birthday party and raised $1500 altogether! 

Kids Caring 4 Kids “African Safari Theme” Party (for younger guests)
Ask guests to dress up in safari gear (khaki clothes) or as their favorite animal. Decorate with safari-colored balloons and streamers (brown, tan, green, yellow). Play jungle sounds and music. Consider these activities and come up with your own:

• Make lion cupcakes 
• Play “pin the tail on the lion”
• Have animal face painting for your guests
• Go on a safari around your house or yard to find hidden animals (stuffed animals, small animal figurines, or animal pictures printed off the Internet)
• Watch an African-themed movie (ex: Madagascar)
• Instead of gifts, ask parents to send a contribution to Kids Caring 4 Kids

Ideas for PTAs, Youth Groups, All School, and Adult-Sponsored Groups

Sell Something—T-shirts, baked goods, candy bars, donuts, homemade jewelry, cookbooks, greeting cards, etc. One group chose some children’s artwork, made greeting cards, and sold them. Or how about a "used toy" or "used sports equipment" sale to raise money to help African kids who really just need the basics to make their life better.

Silent Auction—Ask individuals and businesses to donate items for your auction. Classes or groups could create a themed basket, such as a spa basket or a movie night basket. Individuals might donate services or homemade goods. Hold your silent auction at the same time as another event when you might draw a crowd: sports event, play or choral concert, family game night, etc. At your auction table, have individuals fill out small slips of paper with the amount they are willing to pay for the item they are bidding on and their phone number so you can call them if they’ve won. Don’t forget to publish the retail value of each item in your auction.

Car Wash—This could coincide with another school event, such as a Saturday morning sports event. Be sure to publicize well and let people know what you’re raising funds for.

Ticket Sales—This is an easy fundraiser and the dollars can add up if the event draws a big crowd. Donate a portion of the proceeds from your school play/musical/choral concert/sporting event/talent show ticket sales. Add $1 or $2 on to the ticket cost, and give those proceeds to KC4K. Be sure to let people know that it's a benefit event.

 “Shave a Teacher’s Head” Drive—Find at least three teachers who are willing volunteers and have students vote (with money put in a secure collection container) on which teacher they’d like to see shave his/her head. The teacher with the most votes (money in their collection container) loses their hair. Another option is: Find a volunteer teacher, parent or staff member who is willing to shave their head if students reach a specific fundraising goal.

Host an all-you-can-eat potato bar, taco night, or spaghetti dinner—Try to get all the food and supplies donated so the proceeds from tickets can go to help kids in Africa through KC4K. You can have student groups (choirs, orchestra, etc.) perform at the dinner. Or maybe some teachers have a hidden talent that would draw people to your event!

Have a 50/50 raffle at a school event—Sell tickets for $1, $5, or $10 with the winning prize worth half (or less) of the amount of ticket sales.

Raffle off a donated item. This could be services donated by a business, gift certificates from a local restaurant, an iPhone, or even a vacation timeshare.

Board Game or Chess Tournament—Have teams or individuals pay an entry fee to play. If you wish, set up a concession stand to earn extra money. Have a local business donate a prize for the winner(s) to entice more to enter.

3 on 3 Basketball Tournament—Get sponsors for your tournament and have players wear KC4K t-shirts. 
 
Pancake Breakfast—Hold a pancake breakfast on a Saturday morning. Plenty of advertising will bring in hungry guests! Charge by the plate or ask for donations.

Gift Wrap Holiday Presents—Get permission to have a gift-wrap station at a store or mall during the holidays and wrap gifts in exchange for donations to KC4K. A Girl Scout Troop or youth group could do this as an activity.

Gather Loose Change—Call your fundraiser “Change for Good” or “Change for Change.” Provide labeled jars or bottles for people to put their change in, then pick a date for collecting and counting all that change.

More Fundraisers for Any Age

Sponsorships—Run a marathon or race and designate your sponsorships to KC4K. You can send people to your own fundraising page at KC4K to make it easy for people to donate.

Musical groups can play their instruments at the local farmer’s market or in a public place where you have permission and give the proceeds to KC4K. Be sure your sign clearly states what you’re raising money for!

Clean houses or garages for donations to Kids Caring 4 Kids.

Have a garage/yard sale with proceeds going to help kids in Africa.

Collect recyclable items from friends and neighbors in states where they pay for recycled aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

Rake leaves/shovel snow in your neighborhood. Leave each customer a flyer about KC4K, which you can find in our resources section.

Got a great idea for a fundraiser?  Email us to tell us about it so we can add it to our list!