School Sports Day Fundraising Ideas: Easy Ways to Raise Money at Your Carnival
School sports carnivals bring together students, families, teachers and the wider school community - which makes Sports Day a great opportunity to raise money for your school.
The best sports day fundraisers don't need to be complicated. From the traditional sausage sizzle to team-colour stalls and pre-orders, there are plenty of ways to raise funds while adding to the fun of carnival day.
Here are some practical school sports day fundraising ideas to get you started.
1. Run a Sausage Sizzle or Sports Day BBQ
There's a reason the sausage sizzle remains a school fundraising favourite.
Families are often at the carnival for several hours, so an easy lunch option can be convenient for parents while raising money for the school.
Depending on your school, you could offer sausages, burgers, drinks and simple snacks.
One important tip: organise your volunteer roster around the carnival timetable where possible. Parents volunteering at the BBQ still want to see their own children compete!
Follow your school's requirements and any applicable food-safety requirements when organising food sales.
2. Invite a Coffee Van
A coffee van can be very welcome during an early-morning sports carnival.
Rather than your P&C or P&F having to organise equipment, supplies and volunteers, consider approaching a local coffee van to attend the event.
Ask whether they offer a fundraising arrangement, site fee or percentage of sales that could benefit your school.
It's a particularly useful option if your committee is already stretched running other activities on the day.
3. Set Up a Team-Colour Stall
Sports Day is one occasion when students are actively looking for things in their house, faction or team colours.
A small stall could include:
- Hair ties, bows and scrunchies
- Coloured zinc
- Sweatbands
- Sports socks
- Pom poms
- T-shirts
- Sports bags
- Temporary hair colour or other team-colour accessories
Choose products appropriate for your school's rules and your particular carnival.
→ Shop Sports Carnival Essentials
4. Create a Team-Colour Zinc Station
A little colour can add plenty of team spirit.
For outdoor carnivals, coloured SPF50+ zinc can be a fun addition to the day while also providing sun protection when applied according to the product directions.
Schools could sell individual zinc sticks before the carnival or incorporate appropriately used coloured zinc into a team-colour stall.
5. Sell Hair Accessories in House Colours
Hair accessories work particularly well for Sports Day because they can be worn again after the event rather than being a one-day novelty.
Students can match ponytails, pigtails or braids to their house colours using hair ties, bows, ribbons, scrunchies and other secure accessories.
If your school has less common colour combinations, organising them in advance also saves families searching different shops in the week before the carnival.
→ Shop Hair Accessories by Colour
6. Run a Guessing Competition
Not every fundraiser needs a stall full of stock.
A simple guessing competition can be inexpensive to organise and easy for students and families to participate in throughout the day.
You might ask participants to guess the number of items in a jar, the total of a mystery measurement or another school-appropriate challenge.
Ask a local business whether it would be willing to donate a prize to keep your costs down.
7. Hold a Sports Day Raffle
A raffle can work well when you already have a large number of families attending the carnival.
Approach local businesses about donating prizes, or create a hamper around a theme such as family activities, sport or local experiences.
Make sure any raffle is organised in accordance with your school's policies and the fundraising requirements that apply where you live.
8. Take Pre-Orders Before Sports Day
You don't necessarily need to wait until carnival day to start fundraising.
Pre-orders can make things easier for both families and organisers. Parents can organise their children's team colours ahead of time, while the school has less stock and money to manage on the day.
It also reduces the risk of buying large quantities of products in advance without knowing what will actually sell.
Fundraise Before Sports Day - Without Buying Stock Upfront
School Ponytails' Fundraise with Bows program allows participating schools to earn 20% from eligible purchases made through their fundraising link, including products families may already be buying for school and Sports Day.
We create the fundraising link and promotional materials, families place and pay for their own orders, and we handle the orders.
For your various school events, Free Delivery to School can also be arranged, allowing orders to be consolidated and delivered to the school for distribution. Sports Carnivals are specifically one of the events this option can be used for.
That means your school can promote Sports Day products without the P&C or P&F having to purchase large quantities of stock upfront!
→ Find Out More About Fundraise with Bows
How to Plan a School Sports Day Fundraiser
A little preparation makes carnival-day fundraising much easier.
4–6 Weeks Before
Choose which fundraising activities you'd like to run and check any school approval requirements.
Contact suppliers, food vendors and local businesses if you're seeking donated prizes or outside vendors.
Start organising volunteers and, if you're using online fundraising or pre-orders, get those arrangements underway.
2–4 Weeks Before
Start promoting your fundraiser to families.
Use your school newsletter, parent communication app, social media pages and P&C/P&F channels.
Let families know:
- What will be available
- Whether they can pre-order
- Prices where appropriate
- How they can pay
- Any important ordering deadlines
If you're fundraising through School Ponytails, this is a good time to share your school's fundraising link or QR code.
The Week Before
Confirm your volunteer roster and supplies.
Check your stock, signage, tables, payment arrangements, food supplies and anything else you'll need on the oval.
If families have placed pre-orders, make sure everyone knows how and when they'll receive them.
On Sports Day
Keep things simple.
Make prices easy to see, make payment instructions clear and ensure volunteers know what they're responsible for.
And don't forget to give parent volunteers a chance to leave the stall and watch their own kids compete.
Free School Sports Day Fundraising Planner
Planning a school carnival involves plenty of little jobs, so we've created a simple printable Sports Day Fundraising Planner to help your P&C, P&F or school committee stay organised.
→ Download the Free Sports Day Fundraising Planner
Make Sports Day Fundraising Work for Your School
There isn't one perfect Sports Day fundraiser.
A large school might successfully run a BBQ, coffee van, raffle and team-colour stall all at once. A smaller school might be better off choosing one simple activity or using pre-orders so volunteers aren't needed on carnival day.
The best option is the one that suits your school community, volunteer capacity and event.
And if families are already shopping for house colours, turning some of those purchases into fundraising income can be one of the simplest places to start.
→ Explore School Ponytails Fundraising
Originally published May 2019. Updated October 2026.
Nicola @ School Ponytails
