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
16 School Fundraisers That Everyone Hated Doing
Ivan Aleksic from Unsplash

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

micheile henderson from Unsplash micheile henderson from Unsplash

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

 Alabaster Co from Unsplash Alabaster Co from Unsplash

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

Melina Bronca from Unsplash Melina Bronca from Unsplash

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)

 Yasin Arıbuğa from Unsplash Yasin Arıbuğa from Unsplash

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

Brittany Colette from Unsplash Brittany Colette from Unsplash

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)

 Jess Bailey from Unsplash Jess Bailey from Unsplash

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

Clément M. from Unsplash Clément M. from Unsplash

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

 Rinck Content Studio from Unsplash Rinck Content Studio from Unsplash

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

 Haseeb Jamil from Unsplash Haseeb Jamil from Unsplash

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

Chad Madden from Unsplash Chad Madden from Unsplash

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

Hugo Aitken from Unsplash Hugo Aitken from Unsplash

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

Tom Hermans from Unsplash Tom Hermans from Unsplash

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

Greg Rosenke from Unsplash Greg Rosenke from Unsplash

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

 Julia Morales from Unsplash Julia Morales from Unsplash

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

Sigmund from Unsplash Sigmund from Unsplash

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

Michael Afonso from Unsplash Michael Afonso from Unsplash

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.

Written by: Alyana Aguja

Alyana is a Creative Writing graduate with a lifelong passion for storytelling, sparked by her father’s love of books. She’s been writing seriously for five years, fueled by encouragement from teachers and peers. Alyana finds inspiration in all forms of art, from films by directors like Yorgos Lanthimos and Quentin Tarantino to her favorite TV shows like Mad Men and Modern Family. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her immersed in books, music, or painting, always chasing her next creative spark.

Recommended for You

17 School Fundraisers That No One Misses

17 School Fundraisers That No One Misses

These school fundraisers promised fun and funds, but they mostly delivered stress, confusion, and leftover wrapping paper.

18 Strange School Assemblies Every ’80s Kid Remembers

18 Strange School Assemblies Every ’80s Kid Remembers

Back in the '80s, school assemblies were less about education and more about unforgettable weirdness.