Wouldn’t it be amazing to have our children bringing home school fundraiser options that are good for our bodies and the planet rather than the usual sugar-filled, packaged food fare – I’m looking at you Cadbury chocolate boxes.   Well, it is totally possible – a few years ago I started compiling this list of fundraiser ideas that are not only good for our bodies but also for our amazing planet!  Some amazing companies are striving to make a difference in the way they go about all aspects of their business – thinking about their impact on people, animals, and the planet, and thinking about profit for others rather than just themselves.  That’s pretty cool as far as I am concerned.   So share this list far and wide and hopefully together we can help our schools fundraise in a way that supports our bodies and our planet too!!

Food-Based Ideas

Bowan Mango’s – Mango fundraiser 

Who doesn’t love mangos?  This is obviously an end-of-year fundraising option to tie in with mango season.  Register your school on their page – print out the forms and return them by the 31st of October each year.  Mangos are delivered for collection on a date determined by you.  They have a minimum order of 64 trays. Trays are usually around $19 and you determine what markup to put on the trays and therefore what profit you generate.

Australian Native Food Company

Choose from a wide range of native food products and body products. The The Australian Native Food Company aims to educate their customers, to connect with land, and to embrace, taste & learn about Australian Native plants, food, and aromas. Their products are gluten-free, plant-based, preservative-free, and ethically sourced to ensure that they are healthy and environmentally friendly. They in turn give money from sales to support Zoos South Australia to help save endangered birds. No upfront costs and paperless, they generate a unique QR code for ordering.

Gingerbread Folk – Gingerbread House Kits

Aussie-made gingerbread that has no artificial additives from an ethical business that aims to care for ‘people, creatures, and the earth’.  They also have gluten-free gingerbread house kits available as well.  Another end-of-year fundraising option as the gingerbread houses would obviously go well in the lead-up to Christmas time.

I was a little hesitant to include these given they do contain added sugar, around 2.5 tsp per serving.   It would therefore be really important to take note of the suggested serving size and maybe include an educational note on the WHO recommendations on sugar intake as an educational tool.  However, I have included them because they tick most other boxes including being additive and preservative-free.   As a company, they also endeavour to consider their environmental impact with their cookies packed in compostable wrappers, and all cardboard packaging is made from recyclable, chlorine-free material. The Gingerbread Folk use Green Power and rooftop solar panels generating their own clean, green electricity to power their business.

Apple slinky machine

The company that used to organise apple slinky fundraisers in Australia doesn’t exist anymore – but this is such a great option that it would be worth finding a way to still run an apple slinky fundraiser.  Organising it yourself does add a bit of extra time, but it could be a simple as drafting up a simple form and getting families to pay upfront, that way you would have the funds ready to go and purchase the machines and then keep any profits for your school or child care center.  You can buy these online for around $15 – $20 and then sell them for a profit of your choosing. Otherwise, with a little bit more research, you may be able to find a wholesaler who would sell them to you for your fundraiser.

A great way to get kids eating more apples and possibly a few other fruit and veg. My kids are not fans of raw beetroot but pop one through the slinky machine and they crunch away happily!

 Kiddies Food Cutters – Kiddie safe knives, peelers and safety scissors

This is a great idea for those who love to cook with their children or who like their children to eat a wider range of foods. Did you know that CHILDREN WHO COOK BECOME CHILDREN WHO TASTE!  The American Academy of Nutrition has done research that indicates that children involved in cooking experiences where they are handling the food themselves are much more likely to have an acceptance of eating a greater variety of foods (and less neophobia = fear of food ). Not only that, but you are supporting the development of hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, sensory skills as well as building independence.

Download all instructions and order forms from their website. Makeup to 100% profit on each item.

Farmers Pick – Feed our School Initiative

Farmers Pick, provides the option to buy perfectly good local fruit and veg that major supermarkets reject due to unrealistic beauty standards. Every box is packed with a wide variety of fresh, seasonal produce up to 30% cheaper than the supermarkets. 

As a school, you contact Farmers Pick and ask for your school to be added to their fundraising program. Then parents can order their box from the Farmers Pick website, select their school and the boxes get delivered to the school for pickup. For every box sold, Farmers Pick donates $5 to your school.

This is a great way to source fruit and vegetables and also to help children learn about food waste and how ordering from Farmers Pick can help reduce that waste.

Personal Care Products

Eco Store Soaps 

Eco Store have a fundraising program for their natural soaps! There are two types of soap and your school gets back $1 per bar.

Gardening, composting, recycling

Beautiful Bulbs – Bulb Fundraiser

Beautiful bulbs – this is a great fundraiser for the beginning of the year.  It is so much fun for your children who can help plant the bulbs and then wait eagerly for them to emerge in spring.  They have a low minimum order of $150 with orders closing in early April each year.  They offer a 40% profit.

Good to Grow Fundraiser

Lifecykel – Bee Pollination, Mushroom and Microgreens Grow kits

I really love these kits and what this company is about – children can buy the bee pollination kits with 100% of profits going to the Beemunity™ Research to find a solution to Colony Collapse Disorder which is impacting bees globally – how cool is that.  Their Mushroom and microgreen kits help to give children a homegrown food connection and curiosity by growing mushrooms and microgreens all by themselves.  This is done in a fun, sustainable, and educational way. Win, Win & Win!  They provide 5 free classroom boxes for every 100 ordered as well as a free educational kit.  Orders are placed online and you don’t need to pay until after you have finalised your orders with parents.

Sow and Sow Seed Fundraiser

Buy packs of seeds from Sow and Sow for $4.50 and sell them on for the RRP of $10. Alternatively you could do up an order sheet on your school’s App and get families to order and pay first at $10 per pack of seeds, then submit the order to Sow and Sow. Each pack is made in Australia from 100% recycled materials and includes a packet of seeds,  a tearaway plant label for marking where seeds have been planted and an envelope for gifting or mailing purposes. Make around 50% profit.

Everlasting Flowers Fundraiser

Similar to Sow and Sow, you buy packs of seeds from Everlasting at wholesale price and sell them on for twice the price. Everlasting flowers are beautiful, easy to plant (with 100% germination rate), water-wise, bold, and beautiful and they’re an Australian native flower. Alternatively, you could do up an order sheet on your school’s App and get families to order and pay first at full price per pack of seeds, then submit the order to Everlasting. Make around 50% profit.

Plant a Difference

The ultimate sustainable fundraiser – Helping to change the world has never been easier. Help restore landscapes, reproduce natural ecosystems and reduce carbon emissions whilst delivering high profits for your school or group with the Plant-A-Difference™ Fundraiser. For every $20 raised, you can choose to plant a tree in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor, or one coral in the Great Barrier Reef! The Plant-A-Difference™ Fundraiser directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  And your school gets a whopping 65% of profits!

Envirobank – container recycling

Now that most Australian states and territories have container deposit schemes – Envirobank has established a fund-raising option for schools.  You pay a small fee for Envirobank to provide collection bags and collect them once full and they take care of all the other logistics.  All you need to do is encourage families to bring in their eligible recyclable containers and Envirobank takes care of the rest. In terms of funds raised – they say that if every student in a school of 250 brought in only two items a week each, the school would make around $2,000 every school year (assuming 40 weeks of school).

Clean up Australia Day

Many Australian schools participate in Clean Up Australia day each year.  You could combine Clean Up Australia Day with a gold coin donation to be used toward purchasing composting, waste sorting, or educational resources to place around the school. 

Nude-food Lunchbox supplies & Eco household goods

Munchbox – Lunchbox Fundraiser

Another fantastic way to encourage parents to invest in some ‘nude-food’ lunch boxes.  $10 from every Munchbox sold goes to the school.  You set up the account for the school on their website and parents can order directly from the website. Email them to register your school at info@mymunchbox.com.au

Ecococoon

Ecococoon makes a range of eco-friendly BPA-free lunch boxes, water bottles, cups, and straws that are simple for kids to use and easy for parents to clean. They are super durable so they survive the rigours of childhood and beyond. Get 10 % of purchase which then becomes your school’s profit.

Biome – Zero Waste Fundraiser

Biome Eco Stores have two fund-raising options – a zero waste box (with a selection of green products) or online shopping where your school can earn 5% of online sales with a special code. Biome is a certified B-Corporation and offers all the products and tools needed to live zero waste, toxin-free, and ethically, ranging from reusable coffee cups and beeswax food wraps to organic skincare and toxin-free homewares.

For My Earth –  reusable wraps, food covers and food pockets

Another fab Australian company that stocks great products to include in your children’s nude food lunchbox kit. You make 30% of the total amount ordered.

Sinchies – reusable pouches for lunchboxes, home and camping

Sinchies have a great range of reusable pouches perfect for yoghurt, iceblocks, snacks and a specific line of pouches for camping. They are “…the healthy and environmentally friendly version of the popular throw-away yoghurt pouches and disposable ziplock bags you’ve seen at the supermarket”. Lots of fun designs to choose from. Their fundraisers are 100% online and have up to 40% profit margin.

Eco Basics Fundraiser

Another awesome fundraiser by the Fundraysia Group. Their great selection of products such as bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo clothes, biodegradable garbage bags, stainless steel pegs, shopping bags, and cleaning clothes – are all products that focus on zero waste, sustainability, and reducing chemical usage. Fundraysia set up a customised webshop for you that you direct families to in order to make their purchases. You make 25-30% profit.

School Community Cookbooks

This is a great way to draw together the creative talents of the school community and encourage home-cooked meals.   You can have a focus for the cookbook such as a ‘Multicultural Cookbook’ to tie in with your multicultural day at school, or Mum’s or Dad’s favourite healthy recipes, to tie in with Mothers and Fathers Day.  If you are keen to make sure recipes are ‘healthy’ just pop some criteria that you feel are appropriate to your community, on the instructions page you provide for those who would like to submit a recipe.  For example, ‘Please provide your favourite healthy recipe that is  ‘free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives’. Use a company like School Yard Stories to publish and print your cookbook.

Eco or Re-usable bags, aprons & tea towels

Expressions – Aprons, bags & Tea towels

 This is a great way to combine your children’s creativity with gift-giving.  Children get so much joy seeing the things they design actually getting used, day in day out.  Can be run to coincide with special days of the year such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Reconciliation Day or Christmas. Their tea towels are manufactured from ethically grown 100% organic cotton and using 100% environmentally friendly inks.

Re-usable Tote bags

Another great way to ditch the plastic is with reusable 100% Cotton Calico Tote bags. These handy Tote Bags feature either an individual artwork/photo or a group artwork/photo (collage). Cost per item is $18. You then sell the totes for $25 to $28 meaning you make  $7 to $10 per tote!

Educational Games and Toys

Healthy Little Eaters Game

This is play-based learning at its best – your children will discover through play why it is so important to make healthy food choices, particularly around fruits and vegetables.  In my walk with my children, I have found that for them to truly take on board the importance of healthy eating for themselves and not just because ‘Mum says so’, it has been crucial to give them the ‘why’s’ and ‘how’s’ behind healthy eating and how it makes a difference in their bodies.   This game can be a wonderful tool in that ongoing educational process.  The game consists of bright, colourful cards that capture their attention and when teamed with simple messages about healthy eating  = loads of fun and a greater chance that they too will take on the importance of healthy eating for themselves.

School Community Gatherings

Family Movie Night at school

If your school has a gym or other large space with great AV you could run a family movie night – BYO picnic dinner and charge an entry fee per family.  Not only is it a great family night out but it also helps to build community amongst school families.

Clothing swap

We all know the three R’s when it comes to sustainability – Reduce, reuse, recycle.  This is a great event for REUSE-ing some of our clothing rather than just buying more new.  Start with a  Marie Kondo style clean out of your wardrobe and return from this event with just a few fun new pieces to add a bit of fun to your wardrobe.

This is such a great event for building relationships within your school community whilst also decluttering and re-stocking your wardrobe with some new-for-you clothes.   Here’s how it works:  you ask for donations of quality clothes and hangers (you may choose to do women or kids’ clothing only events to simplify things).  Once you have a location, date, and time, you then set up a pop-u style shop where people come and shop to refresh their wardrobes.  You charge an entry fee (which becomes your profit) which allows people to choose a set number of pieces of clothing for their wardrobe.  They can choose additional pieces for an additional monetary donation.  To make things really fun you can ask a few people or local businesses to sponsor the events with some wine and nibbles, others you can keep things simple and just offer tea, coffee, and a few homemade treats.  Advertise in your school newsletter and even use the school’s event booking system for people to purchase their tickets.  That way you don’t have to worry about exchanging cash.   A close friend of mine ran one of these at our school last year and it was a huge success.   You will need a team of people to help bring it all together – but even that process is an awesome excuse for spending time with some friends within your school community or making some new friends.  Any clothes left over after the event can be taken to charity or recycled through companies like H & M.

Quiz or Trivia nights

Quiz or trivia nights can be loads of fun and can be quite simple to organise.  There are lots of great quiz question templates that you can find online.  It can either be run as an adults-only or family event – some of the best fun comes from forming teams and then battling it out against each other.  BYO  snacks to keep things simple. Charge an entry fee to raise money.  The best trivia nights I have been to are the dress-up ones, as it creates a great sense of fun right from the start.  You could either set a theme for the night or each table can come up with their own theme that reflects their team name for the night.

Still to come: Active Fundraisers