Short answer: Promote a school fundraiser only after it's approved, with one message repeated everywhere: what the money buys, the goal, the deadline and how to give. Use the school's channels (principal's newsletter, website, announcements) with permission, the parent group's own email and social pages, and families' personal sharing with relatives, the only channel that reaches people outside the school. Post about twice a week during the window, translate the key messages and check photo opt-outs before posting students.
This guide is part of how to plan a school fundraiser, which has the week-by-week promotion schedule. This page goes into the channels, the wording and the rules for any fundraiser at any grade level. For event-specific promotion, see promoting a fun run, promoting a dance-a-thon or color run promotion and registration.
Before you promote anything
Promotion is the step that commits the school in public, so district policies put approval ahead of it. Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, for example, requires a fundraiser to be approved "before being scheduled, advertised, or conducted." A save-the-date posted before the principal signs can mean pulling it back in front of every family. The district approval guide covers how to get that signature.
- Written approval for the fundraiser and its dates.
- Permission for each school channel you plan to use: newsletter, website, phone or text system, sign out front, morning announcements.
- Any rules on materials sent home with students. Some districts limit which groups may send flyers home in backpacks (see the FAQ below).
- Your group's own name, address and website on everything. Some districts require parent groups to use their own letterhead and website rather than the school's.
- The school's photo opt-out list (see photos of students below).
Three kinds of channels
Each kind does a different job. A line in the principal's newsletter tells families the fundraiser is real and school-backed. The parent group's email and pages carry the details and updates. Family-to-family sharing is the only one that reaches grandparents, aunts and family friends who never see a school newsletter. Plan for all three; most fundraisers lean too hard on the first two.
One message, everywhere
Families see a fundraiser in scraps: half a flyer, a post scrolled past, a sentence from a child. Every piece should carry the same five facts, worded the same way, so any one scrap is enough to act on.
| Fact | Example wording |
|---|---|
| What the money buys | "New shade structures for the kindergarten playground" |
| The goal | "$12,000" |
| The deadline or event date | "By [date]" |
| How to take part | "Give online, or send a check in the envelope" |
| Who is running it | "[School] PTO, a nonprofit parent group" |
For a collection drive, add a sixth fact: what you accept. Montgomery County's regulation requires promotional materials to clearly state the purpose for which funds are being raised, and suggests naming a second beneficiary in case collections exceed the target. That's good practice anywhere: say up front what happens to a surplus. National PTA's guidance makes the same point about trust, saying the ways funds are raised and spent should be communicated "regularly and in multiple ways."
The announcement
Fill in your details once and every template on this page updates. Anything left blank stays as a [placeholder] to edit by hand.
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Newsletter or website announcement
Morning announcement
A longer kickoff letter for the packet is in the parent letter templates, and a school assembly to go with it is in the kickoff assembly guide.
Social media posts
For a two- to three-week window, plan five or six posts on the parent group's pages, about two a week, each with one photo or graphic and the link. Vary what each post says so followers don't scroll past a repeat.
A visual goal tracker makes progress posts easy. So does a principal challenge tied to milestones, which gives each post and morning announcement something to count down to.The fundraising thermometer maker downloads an updated graphic each time. The final post opens the results report; the results and thank-you guide drafts the full results letter and a matching post.
Photos of students
Under the federal student privacy law, FERPA, a school may designate a student's photograph as directory information, and before it discloses directory information without consent it must give parents public notice of what it covers and of their right to opt out (34 CFR 99.37). FERPA governs the school, not the parent group, but many schools keep a list of families who don't want their child's photo published. Before posting, ask the office for that list, and as a parent group make it your rule even if no policy requires it. Post group shots from behind or at a distance, never pair a child's face with their full name, teacher or class, and never post what an individual child raised.
Helping families share with relatives
Most families are willing to share; they just don't know what to say. Give them the words. Personal messages sent directly to relatives work better than a public post, and they keep a child's name and school off open pages. Keep the asking with adults: National PTA advises that adults raise PTA funds and strongly encourages PTAs to avoid activities that require children to sell to strangers.
Send the group text only to families who gave the parent group their number and agreed to receive texts, and honor STOP replies right away. Federal and state rules on consent for automated texts can apply, so ask your texting service or district what they require before the first send.
If your fundraiser gives each child a personal page, suggest families share it by text or email to people they know, rather than posting it publicly, and use first names only. Pledge-event specifics, such as asking for a per-lap pledge, are in the walk-a-thon letter templates and read-a-thon letter templates.
Flyer template
A flyer gets about as long as it takes to walk from the backpack to the fridge. Lay it out in this order, top to bottom, and leave white space.
- Headline: the purpose
"Help us build a new playground" beats the fundraiser's name in large type.
- One picture
The thing the money buys, or a drawing of it. Skip clip-art collages.
- The three facts
Goal, deadline or event date, and how to take part, each on its own line.
- The link and a short web address
Print both a scannable code and a short address someone can type.
- Who runs it and how to reach them
The group's name, "a nonprofit parent group" if that applies, and a contact email.
The flyer below follows that order. The details you entered for the announcement fill it in; add a picture where marked, then print it or copy the text into your own design.
School fundraiser flyer
For a designed version with color and layout, the free flyer generator builds a printable flyer you can adapt to any fundraiser. Slogan ideas that fit a headline are in walk-a-thon slogans and fun run slogans.
Bilingual flyers and posts
If families at your school read other languages, a two-sided flyer (one language per side) is easier to read than two languages squeezed onto one side. Keep the numbers, dates and link identical on both sides, and have a native speaker check any machine translation. For posts, publish each language as its own post rather than stacking both in one caption. Ask the school which languages its families use and whether the district provides translation. The guide to letters in other languages has more, and the guide to fair fundraising at Title I schools covers messaging that doesn't pressure families who can't give.
Adjusting halfway through
Check participation by class at the halfway point, not just dollars. If a few classes are far behind, the message probably didn't reach those families: ask the teacher or class parent whether the packet went home, whether a translated version is needed and whether a reminder from the teacher would help. Send the next reminder to everyone, never to named families who haven't given. For ways to bring in families who rarely take part, see getting more parents involved.
Promotion works when families can see the end. Two posts a week and three emails over the window is plenty for most schools. If you need more contact than that to hit the goal, the goal or the format is probably the problem; the fundraising goal calculator shows what's realistic.
Sources
- Regulation CND-RA: School-Related Fund-Raising, Montgomery County Public Schools (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Policies Governing School Fund-Raising Activities of PTAs, PTOs, and Booster Clubs (BUL-1633.3), Los Angeles Unified School District (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Mission-Driven Fundraising, National PTA (accessed 2026-10-30)
- 34 CFR § 99.37: What conditions apply to disclosing directory information?, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (FERPA regulations) (accessed 2026-10-30)
Frequently asked questions
How often should we post about a school fundraiser?
About twice a week on the parent group's social pages during a two- to three-week window, with three emails: the kickoff, a halfway progress update and a last call. Add one line in the principal's newsletter at launch. Vary each message with progress, a story or a thank-you so it doesn't read as a repeat.
What should a school fundraiser announcement include?
What the money buys, the goal, the deadline or event date, how to take part and who is running it, worded the same way in every channel. Add a contact for questions and, ideally, what will happen to any money raised above the goal. Keep it short enough to read on a phone, and link to the full letter for details.
Can we send fundraiser flyers home in students' backpacks?
Usually, with the principal's approval, but check your district's rules on distributing materials. Some limit it by group: Los Angeles Unified doesn't let booster club flyers go home with students, though boosters may leave them in the office for pickup with the principal's approval. Put your group's own name and contact on the flyer, not the school's address.
Can we post photos of students to promote the fundraiser?
Only after checking with the school. Under FERPA, a school that discloses directory information, which can include photos, must first tell parents what it covers and let them opt out, and many schools keep a photo opt-out list. Ask the office for it, avoid pairing faces with names or classes, and never post what an individual child raised. Group photos from a distance are the safest choice.
How do I share my child's fundraiser page with family?
Send it directly by text or email to relatives and friends you know, with a short personal note: what the school is raising money for, the link and the deadline. Direct messages feel more personal than public posts and keep your child's name and school off open pages. Use first names only, and keep the asking with adults rather than your child.