Passive Fundraising Ideas for School Parent Groups

Passive Fundraising Ideas for School Parent Groups
Lyubov Kobyakova/Thinkstock

Although a few major national companies have shut down their fundraising programs, many options still remain for enterprising PTOs and PTAs.

by Emily Graham

11/15/2021

With the end of Target’s 20-year Take Charge of Education program and the Campbell Soup Company phasing out its Labels for Education program, many parent groups are looking for other passive fundraisers to replace that lost income.

The good news is that plenty of shopping and collection fundraisers are still active. We asked members of our PTO & PTA Leaders Facebook group to tell us about similar fundraisers their groups are using. (Join our closed group to be in on discussions like this from the start!) We organized their suggestions and others into the following sections:

National Affiliate and Loyalty Fundraising Programs
National Collection Fundraisers
Regional Collection Fundraisers
Grocery Store Loyalty Fundraising Programs

Do you know of other programs? Let us know in the comments at the bottom so we can add them to this list and share them with other readers. Before signing up for any fundraiser, be sure to read the fine print and decide whether it’s a good fit for your school community.

Learn the benefits, risks, and costs of credit card processing for your fundraiser

National Affiliate and Loyalty Fundraising Programs

AmazonSmile
Through AmazonSmile, shoppers can select a charity to receive 0.5 percent of the purchase price of eligible purchases. Our article on AmazonSmile explains how the program works.

Benefit
This mobile shopping app allows parents to earn 2 to 20 percent for a designated organization while shopping online, dining out, buying plane tickets, and more.

Emily Press Labels
Organizations receive 20 percent of sales of customized labels made through a custom fundraising campaign link.

FlipGive
The FlipGive app can be used to earn a percentage of sales for your group at participating stores, both in person and online.

GoodShop
Users of the GoodShop app can get coupons to major retailers and designate a group to receive a portion of each purchase they make, from 1 to 30 percent.

iGive.com
Through the iGive.com website or app, shoppers can make purchases from more than 2,100 stores and designate an organization to receive a percentage of the amount they spend. Percentages vary from store to store.

Lovable Labels
Groups receive 20 percent of purchases made through a custom fundraising campaign link.

Mabel’s Labels
Mabel’s Labels’ fundraising program gives 20 percent of sales of customized labels and other products back to participating organizations.

Office Depot/Office Max Give Back to Schools
The office supply store chain gives 5 percent of sales to schools as store credit when customers provide a school ID number. The Give Back to Schools site has a tool to look up school ID numbers and to print ID cards to hand out to families.

Plum Print
Parents submit student artwork to Plum Print to have the art printed in book form. In Plum Print's school fundraising program, the school earns 10 percent of all sales. Parents receive a discount on their books, too.

SchoolStore
Supporters of your group can shop at online stores through the SchoolStore website and earn a percentage of their purchase for your school. People can also purchase a gift card through the site to be given to a classroom teacher for educational supplies.

Shutterfly Storefront
Participating schools receive a custom URL linking to Shutterfly, where customers can create and purchase photo books, cards, and more. The school receives 8 percent of the sales made through the link.

Staples Classroom Rewards
The Staples program gives reward checks to teachers rather than schools. Parents can earn 5 percent back for teachers when they log in to the Staples Classroom Rewards site, add the receipt, and pick the teachers they would like to support.

National Collection Fundraisers

Box Tops 4 Education
In July 2019, Box Tops for Education announced plans to transition to a digital-only program. Existing box tops from participating products will be accepted until their expiration date, earning 10 cents per label.

Funds2Orgs
Organizations hold drives to collect gently worn shoes. Funds2Orgs picks up the shoes and pays according to the total weight of the items collected.

My Coke Rewards for Schools
Registered schools can collect My Coke Rewards labels and ask people to donate My Coke Rewards points online. Points are converted to cash each quarter.

Savers FUNDrive
In this donation drive fundraiser, schools collect used items including clothing, shoes, bedding, toys, and books. Schools can take the items to a designated donation center or make other arrangements. Payment is based upon the total weight of donated items.

Regional Collection Fundraisers

These programs are run by companies operating more locally. Check individual program websites for eligibility.

Aunt Millie’s Bakeries School Spirit Program

Community Coffee Cash for Schools

Country Hearth/Village Hearth Loaves for Learning

Longmont Dairy Milk Caps for Mooola

Morning Fresh Dairy Caps4Cash

Prairie Farms Our Caps Your Cause

Grocery Store Loyalty Fundraising Programs

Many grocery store chains offer loyalty cards. Shoppers can pick a school to receive reward points or a percentage of their total purchases. Programs vary by chain, and grocery chains may have different programs in different areas.

Baker’s Community Rewards

City Market Community Rewards

Dillons Community Rewards

Food 4 Less Community Rewards

Food City School Bucks

Foods Co. Community Rewards

Fred Meyer Community Rewards

Fry’s Food Stores Community Rewards

Gerbes Community Rewards

Giant A+ School Rewards

Harris Teeter Together In Education

Ingles Tools for Schools

Jay C Food Stores Community Rewards

King Soopers Community Rewards

Kroger Community Rewards

Martin’s A+ School Rewards

Owen’s Community Rewards

Pay Less Super Markets Community Rewards

Price Chopper

Publix Partners

Quality Food Centers Community Rewards

Ralphs Community Contribution Program

ShopRite

Smith’s Community Rewards

Stop & Shop A+ School Rewards

Originally posted in 2016 and updated regularly

Comments   

# Lindsey 2016-11-15 18:13
I just heard of Schoola as a great fundraiser. We are going to try it this Spring. Anyone else work with this organization and had success?
# Christine Machala 2016-11-21 06:39
Mighty Nest
http://schools.mightynest.com/
Donates 15% of purchases
# James Roller 2016-11-28 21:58
Amazon Smile only gives 0.5% on qualifying purchases, whereas simpleschoolfundraising.com provides at least 3% on the exact same Amazon purchases. On purchases of $10k, Smile commissions would be $50, but the exact same purchases would net $300. Or you could make 4% or more by becoming an Amazon Associate yourself.
# Tom Weeks 2018-05-21 14:36
Awesome article! Your ideas for easy school fundraising are great.

Education Funding Partner's digital ad network, EFP adNet, is turn-key solution for school fundraising, and I think it would be a great fit for this article. I'd love to discuss having EFP adNet included.
# R. Cox 2020-10-14 12:05
Amazon Smile is a great passive option. I don't understand all the hate it gets. I have spent $123.24 in qualifying purchases and my school has received $12.34. It is easy to see and track. So the previous person who said your school would only receive $50 after you have spent $10,000 is way off.

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