Short answer: Run spirit wear as a pre-order: open an order window for two or three weeks, collect payment up front, then order exactly what was paid for. You avoid leftover sizes, and the margin is predictable. Price each item at its full cost (garment, printing, setup and card fees) plus your markup. Before you design anything, get written permission to use the school's name and logo, which districts usually control, and check whether your state taxes the sale.
This guide is part of school fundraising ideas compared, where spirit wear appears among the sales. It goes deeper than the short entry in product sales compared: how to choose an ordering model, how to price for a real margin, how logo permission works, and the tax and fairness questions. Spirit wear raises modest amounts, and it pays back in visibility: families wear it at games, field trips and the school walk-a-thon.
Pre-order or inventory?
There are two ways to run spirit wear, and the choice decides most of your risk.
| Pre-order | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Families order and pay during a window; the group then places one order | The group buys stock in advance and sells it at events or a store |
| Money up front | None, since families pay first | The whole order, before a single sale |
| Leftover risk | Almost none | Unsold sizes and colors, sometimes for years |
| Cost per item | Higher on small orders | Lower on large orders |
| Wait for families | Usually a few weeks after the window closes | Take it home today |
| Best for | Most elementary and middle schools; first sales | Groups with steady events, such as a high school booster club at home games |
Teams that sell at every home game are the usual inventory sellers. The guides to fundraising for school athletic teams and fundraisers for cheer, dance and drill teams show where spirit wear fits next to concessions, sponsors and competition-season costs.
Some vendors offer a third option: an online store where families order directly and the vendor prints, ships and pays the group a share. It removes the sorting and money handling but usually leaves the group a smaller share, and the tax question shifts to who the seller is (see sales tax). Ask the same written questions you would ask any vendor. The vendor questions list covers them.
Limited editions and seasonal designs
A limited-edition design, such as a winter hoodie, a class-year shirt or an anniversary design, gives families a reason to order now and works well as a second, shorter window in the year. Keep it to one or two items, announce that the design won't be reprinted, and run it as a pre-order so "limited" doesn't turn into leftovers. A class-year shirt can be part of the senior class plan in the high school and senior class fundraising guide, and a school in its first year can launch its first mascot shirts as a pre-order, as the guide to fundraising for a new school suggests. A December window can be one of the light, optional asks in the holiday fundraisers guide.
Pricing and margins
Price from the full cost per item, not from the garment price on a quote. Full cost includes the blank garment, printing per item, any one-time setup or screen fee spread across the order, and card processing if families pay online.
Example Pre-order. A shirt costs $9 printed, the vendor charges a one-time $120 setup fee, and the group sells it for $18. Families order 180 shirts, and online payments cost an assumed 3% of sales.
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 180 × $18 | $3,240.00 |
| Shirts | 180 × $9 | −$1,620.00 |
| Setup fee | −$120.00 | |
| Card fees | 3% × $3,240 | −$97.20 |
| Net | $1,402.80 |
That's about $7.79 per shirt, or 43% of sales ($1,402.80 ÷ $3,240).
Example Inventory. The same group instead buys 250 shirts at a volume price of $8, plus the $120 setup fee: $2,120 before selling anything. It sells 180 at $18 ($3,240) with the same $97.20 in card fees, for a net of $1,022.80, and has 70 shirts left. Ignoring card fees, it needed to sell 118 shirts just to cover the order ($2,120 ÷ $18 = 117.8). If it later clears 40 of the leftovers at $10 each in cash, with no card fees, the net rises to $1,422.80, barely above the pre-order, with 30 shirts still in a closet.
Hoodies and jackets earn more dollars per item but often a smaller percentage, and they're where size mistakes cost the most. Compare a sale with other formats on net and volunteer hours in the fundraiser profit calculator.
Permission to use the school name and logo
A school's name, mascot and logo usually belong to the school district, and many districts have a written policy on who may put them on merchandise. A parent group doesn't automatically have permission because it supports the school. Two examples show how specific these policies get:
- Lamar Consolidated ISD (Texas) says the district owns all campus logos, names and word marks. Students, student organizations and parent organizations need written approval through a Logo Use Request Form, only the district's Communications Department may approve logo use, and PTOs and booster clubs can't authorize anyone else to use a logo. School-sanctioned groups aren't charged a fee, and logos may not be copied from the website for reproduction; approved groups receive the official files.
- Hortonville Area School District (Wisconsin), in Policy 9700.03, requires parent and booster groups to get prior written approval from the district administrator or a designee. Anyone producing merchandise with the district's marks must apply for a trademark licensing agreement and may owe royalties, and the policy bans the marks on categories of products such as alcohol, tobacco and vaping products.
Your district's rules may be looser or stricter. Ask the principal and the district communications or business office before you design, and get the approval in writing. Other people's marks need permission too: a design that borrows a professional or college team's logo, a cartoon character or a brand is a problem no matter who approves the school's own logo. A student design contest avoids most of this; get the student's and family's permission to use the artwork, and credit the student.
Districts often add other rules for the sale itself, such as who may sell on campus and whether vendors need approval. The district approval guide lists what to ask.
Running a pre-order sale
- Approval and design
Get logo permission and the principal's approval. Keep the design simple and readable from across a field; one or two ink colors usually keeps the printing cost down.
- Quotes in writing
Ask at least two vendors for the price per item at your likely quantities, setup fees, the production time after you order, sizes offered (youth and adult), and whether they sort by student or class.
- Size samples
Ask for a sample set and put it out at pickup or a school event so families can check fit. Wrong sizes are the main source of exchanges.
- A two- or three-week window
Publish a clear closing date, collect payment with every order, and state that orders are final once placed. Online payment reduces the cash you handle.
- Order, sort and deliver
Order exactly what was paid for, plus a few spares only if you accept the cost. Sort by class with a printed list, and send items home in labeled bags. With no campus pickup, virtual and online schools build shipping into the price or hand items out at a regional meetup.
- Close the books
Reconcile orders, payments and the vendor invoice, and report the net. For an inventory sale, count stock before and after each event; sales should equal the difference. If spirit items sell year-round, a student-run school store can carry them with a daily cash log.
Sales tax on spirit wear
Clothing sold by a school or parent group is taxable in many states, even when the group is tax-exempt, and the rules turn on who the seller is and how often you sell. Two state examples show how much the details matter:
- Texas. The Comptroller's Publication 94-183 treats spirit wear, school supplies and other merchandise as taxable, except during the two one-day (24-hour) tax-free sales each calendar year that schools and school-related groups may hold. When a fundraising company's own products are sold, the company is the seller and collects the tax.
- Washington. The Department of Revenue treats a three-week fall spirit wear sale by a PTA, ASB or booster club as an exempt periodic fundraiser, but spirit wear sold all year is taxable. When families order online through a business that pays the group a commission, the business makes the sale and collects the tax.
That difference is one more reason a short pre-order window is the common model. For other states, the sales tax table for product sales shows what to ask, and your state revenue department gives the final answer. Booster clubs often have a different tax status from the school, so a booster club should ask about its own sales rather than rely on the PTA's answer.
Logo rules come from your district, and sales tax depends on your state, your group's status and who the seller is under the vendor agreement. Confirm both before the order window opens, with your district office and your treasurer or state revenue department. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Keeping spirit wear optional
Spirit wear is a fundraiser, so it should never be the price of joining in. Keep spirit days open to any school color, not only purchased shirts, and don't hand out class rewards for the most orders. The same rule applies to spirit weeks planned by a student council. A group can also keep a small stock of shirts, bought with donations or a sponsor's help, for students who'd like one, and give them out quietly through the counselor or teacher. The guide to fundraising at Title I schools sets out the principles for asks that don't sort students by what their families can spend. When an event shirt is needed for everyone, such as a field day or a walk-a-thon, the walk-a-thon sponsorship guide shows how sponsors can pay for shirts printed with their names.
Sources
- Logo & Trademark Policy, Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Policy 9700.03: Use of District Logos, Hortonville Area School District (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Publication 94-183: School Fundraisers, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (accessed 2026-10-30)
- ASB, PTA, PTSA and Booster Clubs industry guide, Washington State Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-10-30)
Frequently asked questions
Is spirit wear a good school fundraiser?
It's a steady, modest one. A pre-order sale with a sensible markup can net several dollars per item with little risk, and families like wearing the school name. It won't replace a major fundraiser, so treat it as a low-effort extra once or twice a year, and keep the purchase optional.
Should we pre-order spirit wear or buy inventory?
Pre-order, unless you have frequent events where people buy on the spot. With pre-orders, families pay first and you order exactly what was paid for, so there are no leftover sizes and no money at risk. Inventory gets a lower price per item but can leave the group with stock it paid for and can't sell.
How much should we charge for spirit wear?
Start from the full cost per item: the printed garment, any setup fee divided across the order, and card fees. Then add your markup. In our worked example, a $9 shirt with a $120 setup fee sold at $18 across 180 orders netted about $7.79 per shirt after an assumed 3% in card fees.
Do we need permission to use the school logo on shirts?
Usually, yes. Districts typically own the school's name, mascot and logo, and many require written approval before a parent group or vendor uses them. Lamar Consolidated ISD in Texas, for example, requires a Logo Use Request Form, and Hortonville Area School District requires merchandise producers to hold a trademark licensing agreement. Ask your district before you design.
Do we charge sales tax on spirit wear?
Often, yes, but it depends on the state. In Texas spirit wear is taxable except on a group's two tax-free sale days. In Washington a short, periodic spirit wear sale by a parent group is exempt, while year-round sales are taxable. Check your state page or ask your state revenue department before the window opens.