16 School Fundraisers That Everyone Hated Doing
These were the kinds of school fundraisers that left students burnt out, families broke, and garages full of junk.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
Fundraising in schools was supposed to build community and support extracurricular programs, but more often, it just left students feeling exploited and uncomfortable. Most fundraisers leaned on guilt, awkwardness, or outright embarrassment to bring in cash. While the intentions behind them may have been noble, the execution usually made everyone dread the next round.
1. Selling Magazine Subscriptions
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Nothing screamed “awkward” like trying to convince your aunt to buy Good Housekeeping when she hadn’t touched a magazine since 1997. The profit margins were tiny, and nobody actually wanted the subscriptions, but they just wanted you to stop asking. You’d come home with a plastic-wrapped order sheet and a sense of quiet dread.
2. Wrapping Paper Sales
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It felt like a scam: overpriced, glittery rolls of wrapping paper that ripped too easily and barely covered a shoebox. Yet, you had to sell them door-to-door like a tiny seasonal salesman. Parents bought them out of guilt, then stashed them in a closet for years.
3. Chocolate Bars with a Hidden Tax
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Those $1 chocolate bars were decent, but they melted fast in your backpack and made your hands sticky. You ended up eating half the box yourself and owing your mom money. Worse, teachers gave you the side-eye if you didn’t “participate.”
4. Walk-a-Thons (That No One Trained For)
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They made it sound like a community-building fitness event, but it was really just trudging around a track for two hours while your feet blistered. You begged relatives for pledges per lap, then exaggerated your count to boost your total. It wasn’t fundraising — it was mild extortion with sweat.
5. Phonebook-Size Coupon Books
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These hefty books cost $20 and offered deals like “Buy 3 smoothies, get 10 cents off the 4th.” No one wanted them except your mom’s coworker who thought he was helping a “good cause.” They often expired before anyone remembered to use a single coupon.
6. Gift Catalog Sales (aka Adult Trinket Hell)
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You had to push candles, potpourri, and decorative mugs no one actually wanted. The catalog made it look luxurious, but the items arrived looking like something from a clearance bin. Parents bought one thing to be nice, then hid it in a guest room drawer forever.
7. Car Washes with More Soap Than Skill
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It sounded fun until you realized you’d be spending your Saturday scrubbing strangers’ bumpers with lukewarm water and crusty sponges. Most of the cars ended up dirtier or streakier than before, and you never made as much money as the flyers promised.
8. Singing Telegrams on Valentine’s Day
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Cringe doesn’t begin to describe serenading your math teacher with “You Are My Sunshine” in front of the whole class. Sure, it raised money, but it also created trauma. It was always the theater kids who volunteered — everyone else prayed not to be picked.
9. Selling Discount Cards to Fast Food Chains
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These laminated cards offered small savings at local chains, but they were limited and often expired fast. Half the restaurants didn’t even know the promotion existed. You felt like a scam artist every time someone asked, “Do you have change for $20?”
10. Holiday Carnation Grams
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Every February, you paid to send a flower to someone special—or worse, received none and had to act cool about it. It was a popularity contest disguised as charity. The student council made bank, but self-esteem took a hit.
11. Pie Fundraisers Before Thanksgiving
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You took orders for frozen pies you’d never tasted and couldn’t guarantee would arrive on time. When the delivery day came, chaos broke out: mislabeled boxes, crushed crusts, and one poor soul who forgot to refrigerate them. Grandma was not impressed.
12. Book Fairs with Markups
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They claimed it was for literacy, but prices were inflated and half the books were glorified toy catalogs. You were pressured to buy something “educational” but ended up with an eraser shaped like a donut. Meanwhile, your parents quietly wondered why Charlotte’s Web cost $19.99.
13. Jog-a-Thons in Full PE Uniform
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It was always scheduled during the hottest week of the year, and you had to run laps in those scratchy polyester uniforms. You didn’t jog — you shuffled, sweated, and suffered. The promised popsicle reward? Melted disappointment.
14. Selling Raffle Tickets with Boring Prizes
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Nobody wants to spend $5 on the chance to win a beige recliner or a donated dinner for two at the sad diner down the street. You had to sell to everyone in your extended family, and they all regretted it. If anyone won, they never admitted it.
15. Recycling Drives Where You Did All the Labor
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Instead of cash, you brought in bags of cans and stacks of newspapers, turning your garage into a landfill. You crushed aluminum like a pro but never saw where the money went. Sometimes, the prize was a pencil or a “thank you” sticker.
16. Mandatory Talent Shows
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You didn’t want to juggle while singing “Firework,” but your teacher said participation boosted “class spirit.” People paid to watch kids flail through interpretive dance, but most of the funds came from embarrassed parents. It was less about talent and more about survival.