How Three Elementary School PTO’s Fundraised Over $13,000

Raising money for an elementary school doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or dependent on selling chocolate bars.

Across the country, elementary PTAs and PTOs are turning to digital calendar fundraisers paired with student incentives to drive participation. Below are three elementary schools that each raised over $13,000 in 2025 thanks to the power of digital fundraising with Teamfi. 

Creekside Elementary PTA

In the bustling suburbs of the Chicago metro area, the Creekside Elementary Parent Teacher Association knocked their fundraising goal out. They raised $15,021 for their school using the calendar fundraiser, incentivization, and grouping features.

The first thing they did was clearly define their goal, stating that funds would be raised for grade-level parties, extra classroom supplies, and helping to keep PTA events cost-free.

For the kids, they offered individual prizes for filling up weeks on the calendar, popcorn days for their top classrooms, extra recess for top grades, and school-wide goals. By providing these goals, the kids were super excited to get fundraising!

Individual Prizes

• 1 week or $28 – Choose a Smencil or Smicker (scented pencil or stickers)
• 2 weeks or $105 – Receive a new Creekside water bottle
• 3 weeks or $231 – Adopt your own 21-inch cheetah plush pillow
• 4 weeks or $406 – Exclusive invite to Creekside Afterhours Party
• Full calendar or $496 – Choose “Be the Principal for a Day” or a private training session with Buddy the dog

By Classroom

• The top 5 classrooms (by percentage of students participating) earn a Popcorn Day

By Grade

• The grade level that raises the most will earn Extra Recess

For the Whole School‍

• Raise $7,500 and the whole school gets a roller skating party
• Raise $15,000 and the school will duct tape Principal Haymond to the wall. The top 25 student earners will get to help

Note how competition both internally among top earners and between grade levels was heavily engrained in the fundraiser. Competition pushes fundraisers more than anything when messaged right.

Encanto Elementary

Located in the heart of Phoenix, Encanto Elementary smashed through their $15,000 fundraising goal, raising a total of $16,989.

How did they do it? The first thing they did was break it down in the simplest terms:

“If every kid in our school is able to raise $25, we will meet this goal.”

This created an achievable minimum goal that every student could hit, regardless of income level.

“All money raised goes back to the teachers, students, and Encanto Elementary. Funds raised last year went toward field trips, teacher appreciation meals, family movie night, classroom supplies, and many other student enrichment activities.”

Just like Creekside, incentivizing students and setting tiered reward levels is what truly pushed this fundraiser over the edge. The end goal, that $15,000 goal, being fun and meaningful mattered a lot.

Incentives and Rewards

• Participation Prize: Any student who creates an account and adds 10 contacts by September 5th receives a pair of school sunglasses.
  
• Paleta or Pizza Party: The classroom that raises the most money in each grade earns their choice of a paleta party or a pizza party.
  
• Raffle Tickets: Any student who fills all 31 days of their calendar is entered into a raffle to win four tickets to a Phoenix Rising FC game.
  
• Foam Party: If the whole school raises $15,000, every student participates in a schoolwide foam party.
  

Needless to say, they earned their foam party.

Encanto serves Pre-K through 3rd grade with nearly 600 students. The school has a significant number of Spanish-speaking families, and by providing instructions in both languages, they helped eliminate barriers for relatives and donors.

Wise Elementary PTO

Tyler, Texas, isn't just the Rose Capital of the United States. It’s also home to a number of elementary schools including Wise Elementary School serving just over 600 students.

They’re also a well funded elementary school thanks to the work done by their parent teacher organization. They raised just under $14,000 with their calendar fundraiser. 

Wise did a tremendous job explaining exactly how their fundraiser worked.

“HOW IT WORKS: Each child’s classroom has a fun goal to fill an entire calendar with donations. Donation amounts correspond with the calendar dates. Every day that a donation is made counts toward completing the calendar. Reaching this goal helps the class earn rewards and directly supports the great programs the PTO provides. Read below to learn how this fundraiser works, what the prizes are, and where your donations go.”

“EXAMPLE: Lawson Fuller’s Nana, Tonia, wants to donate $15. She clicks on the 15th and makes her $15 donation. Jane Q’s grandpa wants to donate $1. He chooses the 1st and makes his $1 donation. Both donations count toward the students’ classroom goals as well as individual totals.”

This explanation was critical in helping families understand exactly how to participate and contribute.

Fundraising Goals were well established and served a variety of purposes from educational to a little more fun.

• A Bulldog mascot costume
  
• A Comfort Closet to provide clothing and hygiene items for students in need
  
• W.I.S.E. Reads, providing books for classroom libraries
  
• Adopt a Classroom, with 10 percent of profits distributed to teachers for classroom supplies
  
• Water Day, a two-day event with inflatable waterslides, free popsicles, water games, bubbles, chalk, and volunteer firefighters spraying the kids
  
• Student rewards and prizes
  
• Staff appreciation, with 10 percent of profits used for meals during teacher appreciation week and a rolling snack cart throughout the year

Wise kept motivation high with a layered reward system that balanced classroom competition and individual recognition. The top class earned a pizza party, second place received a cupcake party, and each grade-level winner enjoyed a bubble party at recess. Top-earning students chose prizes from the prize stash, while Random Prize Fridays kept participation strong throughout the fundraiser.

“This was one of the most parent-friendly and donor-friendly fundraisers we’ve ever done. Teamfi made it so simple to keep track of individual and classroom totals. It saved PTO volunteers a lot of time. We’ll definitely be using Teamfi every fall moving forward. We highly recommend them to any PTO or school group looking for a simple and effective fundraising platform,” Wise told Teamfi after their fundraiser.

Wise got their bulldog mascot, always great to see a fundraiser pay off!

Similarities Across All Three Schools

Each school used a digital calendar fundraiser, making the entire fundraising process simple, intuitive, and easy to track from start to finish. By moving away from traditional paper-based methods, organizers were able to monitor progress in real time without added administrative burden.

Because of this streamlined approach, schools kept over 96 percent of what they raised, ensuring that the vast majority of donations went directly back into classrooms, programs, and student experiences rather than being lost to fees.

There was also no pen-and-paper tracking required, eliminating common issues like lost forms, manual data entry, and delayed updates. This made participation easier for families and far less time-consuming for volunteers and PTO leaders.

Student rewards proved to be powerful motivators, encouraging higher participation and sustained momentum throughout the fundraiser. Incentives like classroom parties, special events, and schoolwide celebrations kept students engaged and excited to contribute.

Each school also consistently reinforced what funds were being raised for and why it mattered, helping families clearly understand the impact of their support and strengthening buy-in across the community.

Finally, groups were utilized to track progress and manage goals efficiently, allowing schools to break fundraising efforts down by classroom, grade level, and schoolwide benchmarks while keeping everything organized in one place.

Ready to see what you can do with a calendar fundraiser?