Christmas fundraising at school for charity: a UK guide

Run a school Christmas fundraiser for charity in the UK: Jumper Day, PTA fair, raffle rules, Gift Aid and online giving, with a six week plan.

In short A school Christmas fundraiser works best when it is simple: one main activity such as Christmas Jumper Day, a PTA fair with a small raffle, and one online page for parents. Plan six weeks ahead, keep gifts voluntary, check raffle and Gift Aid rules, and ask the school about pupil data.

Which Christmas fundraising ideas work best at school?

Pick one main event and one simple online page. A PTA of five to ten active parents can run that well. Trying four activities at once usually means none gets proper promotion.

  • Christmas Jumper Day, with pupils and staff giving what they can.
  • A Christmas fair run by the PTA, with stalls, crafts and refreshments.
  • A carol concert in the hall, with a retiring collection for charity.
  • A sponsored silence or sponsored walk in the last week of term.
  • Christmas cards designed by pupils and sold in aid of your chosen charity.

More options are in our Christmas fundraising ideas guide.

How do you run a Christmas Jumper Day?

Choose a date in early December, tell parents about three weeks ahead, and send one reminder the week before. Ask for a donation of whatever families can manage, rather than a fixed fee.

Keep the message short: what the day is for, which charity benefits, and one link. Show a running total in the school newsletter or on the noticeboard, so pupils can see what the whole school achieves together.

What do you need to know about a school Christmas fair and raffle?

A raffle is a lottery under the Gambling Act 2005, so the type matters. For a school fair, the simplest route is usually an incidental lottery. The Gambling Commission describes it as a lottery held at an event, for good causes only.

  • Tickets are sold only at the event, and the draw can take place during or after it.
  • Costs are limited to £100, and bought prizes to £500. Donated prizes are not capped.
  • Rollovers are not allowed.

If you want to sell tickets before the day, you may need a small society lottery registered with your local authority. That route allows up to £20,000 in ticket sales per draw and £250,000 per year, at least 20% of proceeds must go to your purpose, and tickets can only be sold to and by people aged 16 or over. As pupils are under 16, ask your council how this works for your school. Northern Ireland has its own rules.

Does Gift Aid apply to school fundraising?

Gift Aid works only for a charity recognised for tax or a registered community amateur sports club. A PTA that is a registered charity can claim 25p for every £1 given by a UK taxpayer who has made a valid declaration. A £100 gift becomes £125.

Not everything qualifies. Raffle tickets, paid event tickets and any minimum donation with no choice about the amount are not gifts. A cake sale payment for goods is not eligible either.

The declaration needs the donor's full name, home address with postcode, the charity's name, a statement that they want Gift Aid to apply, the date, and confirmation that they pay enough tax. A tickbox online is acceptable. Keep it for six years after the last gift you claim on. If your PTA is not a recognised charity, ask HMRC before you promise Gift Aid to parents.

Small cash or contactless gifts of £30 or less may fall under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, but online gifts do not.

What about pupils' data and photos?

Handle children's information with care. We have only confirmed the general UK rules for adults: email and text marketing falls under UK GDPR and PECR, and you normally need consent and a clear way to opt out.

What applies to pupils' names, photos or class lists is not covered here. Ask the school's data protection lead before you share anything about children, and see the ICO, the UK data protection regulator, for its guidance. A safe default is to promote the effort of the whole school, not individual pupils.

How do you plan six weeks of school fundraising?

Work backwards from the last day of term, because school diaries fill up fast. Six weeks leaves room for permissions, a page and several rounds of promotion.

  1. Six weeks out: agree the goal and charity with the head teacher, and pick a date.
  2. Four weeks out: set up your donation page and write the story in plain language.
  3. Two weeks out: announce to parents and ask a few families to start their own pages.
  4. Last week of term: run the event, share the total and thank everyone.

Our Christmas fundraiser planning guide goes through this timeline in detail.

How to do it with WeGlow.world

WeGlow.world gives your school or PTA a donation page in three steps: amount, personal details and summary. Parents can give once or monthly, and the page works on a phone.

Parents and supporters can start their own fundraiser page for your appeal, for example a class or a family sharing it with grandparents. Donors give a first name and email address, and you can set up a thank you text for after the gift. If you plan to use Gift Aid, check how you will collect the full declaration, because name and email alone are not enough.

We are also building four Christmas experiences, in concept stage until the official launch. In the Glow Room, a 3D living room with a Christmas tree, every gift becomes a decoration on the tree, which suits a whole school watching the tree fill up. Other experiences include a Starry Sky where each gift is a star, and a Card Wall with cards on a string. Read more in our guide to online Christmas fundraising, or start free at weglow.world, after creating an account.

Frequently asked questions

When should a school start planning a Christmas fundraiser?

About six weeks before the last day of term. That leaves time to agree the plan with the head teacher, set up a page and promote twice.

Can a school hold a raffle at its Christmas fair?

Yes, as an incidental lottery, with tickets sold only at the event, costs up to £100 and bought prizes up to £500. For anything else, check with your council.

Can pupils sell raffle tickets?

For a registered small society lottery, tickets can only be sold to and by people aged 16 or over. Ask your local authority how that applies to your school.

Does a Christmas Jumper Day donation qualify for Gift Aid?

Only if the charity is recognised for tax, the gift is voluntary and the donor makes a valid declaration. A fixed fee to join in is a payment, not a gift.

Can we share photos or names of pupils in our appeal?

Ask the school's data protection lead first and check the ICO guidance. We have not confirmed rules for children's data here, so promote the school's effort as a whole.

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