Plan a School Fundraising Event

You don’t need experience to plan a school event to support CHOP — you just need the energy and enthusiasm to make it happen!

Each year, many generous and dedicated people host fundraisers to benefit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Organizing an event is a wonderful way to touch the lives of kids who rely on Children's Hospital for care, cures and breakthroughs.

If you're interested in hosting a fundraiser at your school to benefit CHOP, please fill out this form.

School fundraising ideas

  • Bake sale
  • Karaoke or talent contest
  • Battle of the Bands event
  • Coin drive
  • Spelling bee
  • Car wash
  • Fashion show
  • Jeans/dress down day
  • Sports tournaments
  • Bingo
  • Art shows
  • Concerts
  • Picnic or dinner events

 

How we can help with your event

No matter what kind of school fundraising event you choose, we can help. We can provide you with:

  • Banners
  • Event Posters
  • Balloons
  • Online fundraising program
  • Endorsement letter to help with planning

 

Tips for planning a successful event

Planning can make a huge impact on the success of your event. These tips can help you get started.

  1. Choose a planning committee. Enlist enthusiastic people whose dedication and skills will make your event a success. You should also involve enough volunteers to share the workload.
  2. Establish measurable goals. Set realistic goals that you can measure and attain. By tracking progress, you will generate stronger event participation and community goodwill.
  3. Brainstorm! Get everybody thinking, dreaming, and discussing ideas. Now is the time to let imaginations soar. The more you let people participate now, the more committed they will be later.
  4. Choose the right event. Decide on just the right event, promotion, or fundraiser that best utilizes the unique pool of talent, skill and interests of your particular group.
  5. Identify your target audience. Who do you want to participate in the event? Does it include public participation or is it just for your school’s students and staff?
  6. Schedule your event. Pick a date and time for your event carefully to encourage maximum participation. Unless your event is holiday-related, steer away from major holidays to ensure best response. Most of all, give yourself plenty of time to organize, publicize and guarantee greater success with less headaches.
  7. Plan your budget.By identifying and planning for expenses and income sources in advance, you will maximize donations by keeping event costs down.
  8. Promote and publicize your event. Publicize early! Get the word out every way you can. TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and magazines often provide free public service time and ad space. But don't forget social media, flyers, posters, community bulletin boards, e-mails, and good old word-of-mouth.
  9. Collect the funds. Gather most donations ahead of time or during the event. All funds should be in-hand within 30 days of the event.
  10. Create a fundraising page. By creating a page individually or as a group, you can let friends and family know about your event and allow them to donate securely. You can also keep track of your donations! 
  11. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Recognize and acknowledge everyone who participates. Let them know how much they raised and heap on the praise. This can lead to the event becoming an annual undertaking, which generates donations to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for years to come.
  12. Have fun. Be sure to take lots of pictures, then send them to us to post on social media or our website!