Every PTA has run a cake sale. If you’re after something that gets families talking, these quirky fundraising ideas for schools stand out from the usual list, while still being practical enough to actually organise. For the full set of tried-and-tested options, see our main school fundraising ideas guide.
Quirky Ideas That Get People Talking
- Guess the baby photo. Collect baby photos from staff, number them, and charge a small entry fee for guesses, with a reveal at assembly or on a poster display.
- Principal for a day. Auction off the chance for a pupil to shadow or stand in for the headteacher for part of a day.
- Sponge the teacher. A summer fete favourite that never fails to draw a crowd, especially when the headteacher volunteers first.
- Staff mystery box challenge. Teachers open a mystery box on camera or in assembly, with donations unlocking the reveal.
- Crazy hair or fancy dress day. A simple twist on non-uniform day that gets pupils genuinely excited to take part.
- Teacher swap day. Teachers swap classes or subjects for a lesson, with tickets or donations funding the reveal of who’s teaching what.
- Silent auction of pupil artwork. Rather than selling prints, auction original pieces from a whole year group or art club.
- Dog show for family pets. An unusual but popular addition to a summer fete, with categories like waggiest tail or best trick.
- Matchbox challenge. Give each family a matchbox and a small amount of seed money, and challenge them to turn it into a larger sum over a few weeks through their own mini enterprise.
- Colour run. A sponsored fun run where pupils are covered in coloured powder at checkpoints, popular with older primary year groups.
- Reverse raffle. Every ticket wins a small prize, with a grand prize drawn last, keeping engagement high throughout instead of losing interest after the big draw.
- Teddy bears’ picnic with a twist. Add a sponsored element, such as each child’s teddy bear being sponsored to attend a special event or trip.
Planning to run several of these at once? See our full list of fundraising stall ideas for fetes and fayres.
Quirky Products That Sell Themselves
- Whole-class collaborative artwork. Rather than individual drawings, have the whole class contribute to a single piece of art, printed as a limited edition keepsake for the class.
- Self-portrait tea towels. A simple prompt like “draw yourself as a superhero” tends to produce the most charming and giftable designs of the year. See our tea towel fundraising guide for tips.
- Design-a-mascot competition. Pupils design a mascot for the school or PTA, with the winning design printed onto merchandise for sale.
Why Quirky Fundraisers Often Outperform the Usual Options
Unusual fundraisers tend to spread by word of mouth in a way that a standard cake sale doesn’t, since parents talk about them at pickup, share them in WhatsApp groups, and are more likely to attend an event that feels different from previous years. The novelty itself becomes part of the marketing.
Balance Quirky With Reliable
Quirky ideas are great for engagement, but the most reliable income for most schools still comes from a well-run product fundraiser that every family can take part in without attending an event. Many schools combine a quirky one-off event with a steady background fundraiser, such as an artwork keepsake campaign, to get the best of both. See our full PTA fundraising ideas guide for more reliable options.
Pair a Quirky Event With a Reliable Fundraiser
Good Dream Design turns children’s artwork, including self-portraits and class collaborations, into tea towels, tote bags, mugs and cards, with commission rates up to 30% and no cash handling.
Register your school to start a fundraising project today.