Fundraising Strategies for School Playground Markings

Author: Rebecca Occomore
Updated on: September 16, 2024

Is your school in need of new playground markings? Are you eager to enhance your school’s playground with vibrant and engaging markings but unsure how to fundraise for the project? 

At Fun & Active Playgrounds, we recognise the importance of offering captivating outdoor environments where children can thrive in learning and play. Yet, we understand the constraints of budget limitations, which may sometimes hinder schools from realising their aspirations for vibrant and engaging playgrounds.

Regrettably, the reality for all schools is the need for additional funds, as budgets can only stretch so far. Prioritising expenditure within these constraints can pose a challenge. Nevertheless, through fundraising efforts, schools have the opportunity to supplement their budgets and finance exciting projects. These endeavours not only enrich the school environment but also champion and encourage a healthy and active lifestyle for both current and future pupils.

In this blog, we’ll explore creative fundraising strategies to help you raise money for playground markings and transform your school into a dynamic and inviting space for pupils of all ages to enjoy. We will also provide some handy calculations which allow you to see how many activities you may have to organise to reach your target amount.

How do I raise money for my school’s playground markings?

Before initiating fundraising efforts, it’s essential to outline your goals and objectives. Are you looking to refresh your existing markings, add a couple of new playground games or do a whole playground renovation? Once you’ve outlined these objectives, you will be able to work to a specific timeframe and fund accordingly.

Fundraising in schools has been around for over 60 years and the premise of how schools raise the money hasn’t drastically changed. Bake sales, bring and buy sales, raffles, and family discos have been used to fundraise for years and still provide a good income for schools today. 

Traditional School Fundraising ideas

Cake Sales

Cake stalls take very little organisation and are very popular, making them the perfect fundraiser! This is a great way to get both parents and pupils involved. Some parents have instant dread when they hear the word “Cake Sale”, “I hate the pressure of making sure our cakes look amazing!”, “When am I going to have time to bake?”, “It’s going to cost me a fortune!”. However, this isn’t a cake competition, keep your offerings simple. Remember this isn’t The Great British Bake Off, Paul Hollywood won’t be coming out to give you a handshake – you are selling to children aged 4-10!

The PTA+ have crafted an excellent idea of how to engage parents and pupils with the sale and increase donations. They suggest letters about the bake sale can be sent home via a paper plate with a cake poem – grabbing the attention of parents and guardians instantly.

Please note to also remember about allergies when hosting your bake sale, more information can be found on The Allergy Team website.

Non-Uniform Day

Who wouldn’t want to swap their school uniform for their favourite outfit? This fundraising activity can be designated to one day, typically towards the end of term, for students to wear their own clothes in exchange for a modest donation. This makes for an easy option for fundraising, it requires minimal set up and the majority of children are likely to want to take part. 

Book and Toy Sale

Why not host a charity jumble sale at your school? The Teenage Cancer Trust states that “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Making it a perfect way of raising lots of money for your playground project. 

Ask your pupils to bring in unwanted books and toys, set up a sale in the hall after school and allow pupils to attend with parents/guardians, with all donations going to your school’s new playground. A book and toy sale is a win-win as a fundraising opportunity; an excuse for families to have a well-needed clear out whilst raising funds for your school.

School Discos

Whether this is just for pupils or the whole family, discos are a fantastic way for the school community to have fun outside the classroom, play games, have a dance and get dressed up. Money can be raised through ticket sales, a raffle and a tuck shop. Giving your event a theme can help create a buzz of excitement! Be inventive with how you tie the theme into the event, the music, catering and decorations can all add to the fun and increase the money raised.

Digital School Fundraising Methods

Setting up a crowdfunding page such as Just Giving, enables you to promote your project to a wide audience and collect online payments, which can be anonymous. As schools sit at the heart of the community, you are in a prime position to access the generosity of all those who have a vested interest in the success of your school.

This method can also be used in conjunction with any of the traditional methods, they are easy to set up, they have wide reach whilst also offering the potential for greater donations. Why not send your crowdfunding page to local businesses too?

How many fundraising activities would I need to host in order to fund our playground markings project?

To determine the number of fundraising activities needed to fund your playground markings project, you’ll first need to calculate the total cost of the project and then assess the potential fundraising revenue each activity could generate. This solely depends on whether you are looking to refresh your existing markings, add a couple of new playground games or do a whole playground renovation.

It also depends on the size of your school, while the size of schools differs across the country, the latest data from the Government for 2022/23 shows that the average size of a primary school in England accommodates 276 pupils. 

At Fun & Active Playgrounds, we offer a free, no-obligation playground design service which is completed via a virtual survey of your school playground. Our virtual surveys give you the opportunity to chat to our playground marking experts and see your playground plan come together in front of you. Our design team will take an aerial image of your school from Google Earth and position your chosen markings on the playground, building a realistic vision of what your new playground will look like.

With this partnership-led approach, we can combine your objectives with our 10 year+ industry experience to help you get the most out of your space and available budget.

To assist your school in funding a playground project, let’s break down some calculations which have been made using the average number of pupils and staff in a UK school:

Playground projects between £1,500 – £3,000

• Host a cake sale / non-uniform day: If each child contributes £1 and each staff member contributes £2.
• £276 + £60 = £336
• Your school would need to host 4 – 8 small fundraising events

Playground projects between £3,000 – £5,000

• Host a school disco: Child’s ticket £2, Adults ticket £4
• £552 + £2,208 = £2760 ticket sales (based on all children attending with two parents accompanying)
• Tuck shop and raffle tickets = £1,932 (based on each child spending £2 at the tuck shop and £5 on a strip of raffle tickets)
• TOTAL: £4,692
• Your school would need to host 1 – 2 larger fundraising events.

Other Funding Options

If you are looking to boost your fundraising efforts with additional funding, check out our latest blogs, featuring helpful guides on securing funding through various grants and programmes. Learn how the Blue Spark Foundation supports projects that enhance children’s educational and development opportunities, discover tips on applying for the Awards for All grant to fund community-focused initiatives and explore how to make the most of the Sports Premium to improve physical activity in schools.

Raising money for your school’s playground markings requires creativity and whole school collaboration. With a combination of crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising events and parent and pupil involvement, you can successfully fundraise for your playground project and create a fun and engaging outdoor space for pupils to learn and play.

If you require any further information about fundraising opportunities or you wish to speak to us about your dream playground project, please get in touch with our team of experts today.