Five fundraising ideas for schools

We love working with schools to raise awareness of the work that we do at Demelza. There are so many ways that you can get involved with us and in this blog, we’ve put together our top five fundraising ideas for schools. 

1. Non-uniform day 

Holding a non-uniform day at your school is a classic way to support Demelza, because it works. Charge everyone a small amount to come to school in their own clothes for the day. If you’re feeling brave, you could even make it a day to wear your pyjamas!  

Or take part in our annual Shorts 4 Short Lives, which takes place during Children’s Hospice Week and put on your funkiest shorts and donate to Demelza. 

2. Build supporting Demelza into your lessons  

There are loads of ways that you can connect the work that Demelza Hospice Care for Children does with your curriculum. For example, building it into your citizenship looking at the legislation that impacts families and children with a serious or terminal condition. Or, you could use the time to talk about how volunteering for Demelza would have a positive effect on the local community and undertake a voluntary activity as a class.  

Perhaps, encouraging your class to organise their own fundraising activity, is more up your street. Set your class a budget and let them come up with their own innovative ways of fundraising. Add a competition element to it by seeing what group of student can raise the most money. This is also a great lesson in managing income and expenditure for the class.  

3. Hold a bake sale 

Keep it simple and hold bake sale. Who doesn’t love baking? As well as selling a wide range of cakes you can also sell healthy snacks to raise money for Demelza. You could even bake during cookery class.  

Demelza's Chef 'Pie', has put together some irresistible recipes for you to try:

Short bread

Ingredients: 

8oz butter (softened), 4oz icing sugar, 8oz plain flour, 4oz corn flour. 

Instructions: 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180c (fan) 
  2. Cream together the butter and icing sugar. Add the flours
  3. Bring together into a ball, dust the surface with icing sugar and roll out to 1cm thick
  4. Using a cutter, cut out your shapes and place on a lined baking tray
  5. Bake until golden around the edges (10-15 minutes)
  6. Once cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle caster sugar, leave to cool, then transfer to a cooling rack.
A pile of sugar covered shortbread biscuits.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Ingredients: 

8oz of self-raising flour, 8oz of margarine, 8oz of caster sugar, 4 eggs, 1tsp baking powder, 3 lemons, 4oz caster sugar for topping. 

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 160c (fan) 
  2. Place the flour, margarine, caster sugar, eggs, baking powder and zest of the lemons into a bowl and mix
  3. Spoon the mixture in to a lined loaf tin, and cook for 30-40 minutes until cooked 
  4. Meanwhile juice the lemons and combine with the 4oz caster sugar
  5. Once cooked remove from the oven and pour the sugary lemon juice over the top.  
A boy holds a plate of freshly baked lemon drizzle cake.

4. Have a Christmas Fayre in your School Hall 

Do you teach GCSE business studies at your school? Then what better way to test their understanding of planning business activity by tasking them with organising and marketing their own fundraising event: a Christmas Fayre in your school hall. There are loads of ways you can build this in, from asking them to undertake competitor research, devising a marketing plan and creating their own marketing materials.  

5. Set up your own fundraising challenge 

Organise a sponsored walk around your local community for a class, or year group to undertake and encourage all of the students to get people to sponsor them. For example, you could do a sponsored walk from your primary or high school to a point of interest in the local community.