Introduction
Looking for school fundraising ideas that bring the whole school together, teach real entrepreneurial skills, and are a huge amount of fun? Our Tommy Sugo Shark Tank Presentation Incursion is designed for schools across Perth and Western Australia to run interactive, food-based fundraisers and broader events that deliver learning outcomes, community engagement, and strong fundraising returns.
Meta details and quick overview
We’ve combined proven fundraising formats with classroom-ready entrepreneurship learning. Our approach suits school principals, PTA/PTO committees, teachers, parents, and administrators who want a reliable, exciting model for raising funds while building practical skills.
Key takeaways
- School fundraising ideas should be inclusive, practical, and curriculum-linked to maximise engagement.
- Food-based fundraisers are high-impact; we offer subtle guidance on safety, logistics, and profitability.
- Tommy Sugo’s Shark Tank Presentation Incursion turns fundraising into a hands-on entrepreneurial program for the whole school.
- Use clear roles, timelines, and simple tech to streamline planning and increase returns.
- We provide options suitable for primary and secondary schools across Perth & WA.
Why entrepreneurial, whole-school fundraisers work
Engagement across the school community
A whole-school approach ensures students, staff, and families feel ownership. Fundraisers that are visible, active, and practical create momentum and better returns. These types of events give parents and staff a reason to get involved beyond donating cash.
Real skills, real outcomes
Students learn budgeting, pitching, teamwork, and problem-solving. The Shark Tank Presentation Incursion lifts learning goals by giving students a structured framework to develop, test, and present ideas, perfect for integrating with HASS, Maths, and Design & Technologies curricula.
Scalable and repeatable
Once systems are proven, fundraisers can scale year on year. We show schools how to standardise recipes, pricing, and promotional materials to improve margins and reduce volunteer fatigue.
Popular food-based school fundraising ideas
Community pizza nights
Pizza nights are a crowd-pleaser and adaptable. Partner with a local pizzeria or run a simple school-based kitchen using pre-made bases and safe, low-risk toppings. Use pre-orders to manage quantities and reduce waste.
Bake sales with a twist
Traditional bake sales perform well if organised. Boost interest by tying entries to class competitions, offering healthier options, and including allergy-safe zones. Use price bands and combo deals to increase average spend.
Food stalls at school markets
School markets create a festival atmosphere. Allocate stalls to year groups or committees, include savoury and sweet options, and schedule performances to keep attendees longer. Use volunteer shifts to manage workloads.
Tommy Sugo Shark Tank Presentation Incursion format and benefits
What the incursion involves
Our Shark Tank Presentation Incursion invites student teams to develop food-related business ideas, create simple prototypes or samples, prepare a pitch, and present to a panel. It’s interactive, curriculum-aligned, and designed to run as a full-day or multi-week program depending on your timetable.
Educational outcomes
Students practice public speaking, research, budgeting, and food-safety awareness. The incursion maps to learning outcomes and supports teachers with ready-made lesson plans and assessment rubrics.
Fundraising tie-ins
The best part: ideas developed during the incursion can be turned into live fundraisers. Teams might sell a product at a community night, run a pre-order campaign, or manage food stalls with supervision and a focus on safety and profitability.
Planning a successful fundraiser with a Shark Tank structure
Set clear objectives
Decide how much you want to raise and why. Linking the target to a tangible project new sports equipment, a library upgrade, or camp funds, motivates students and donors.
Define roles and responsibilities
Create a simple committee including a lead teacher, parent coordinator, student reps, and a finance officer. Clear role descriptions reduce double-handling and ensure compliance with school policies.
Create a realistic timeline
Map milestones: idea development, product testing, promotional design, pre-orders, and event day. Build in buffers for permits, food safety approval, and volunteer coordination.
Marketing and promotion strategies for Perth & WA schools
Leverage local networks
Promote through school newsletters, local community groups, and nearby businesses. Perth suburbs and WA regional towns have tight-knit communities, and local partnerships boost attendance and sponsorships.
Use social media effectively
Create event pages, share student stories, and post short videos from the incursion. Visual content of students preparing products or practising pitches performs well and builds anticipation.
Printed collateral and on-campus promotion
Flyers, banners, and morning announcements drive awareness for parents who prefer paper communication. Display sample items in the office or at pickup to spark interest.
Inspiration from Nathan Baws
Nathan Baws, a Shark Tank hero and motivational speaker, inspired practical, energetic fundraising approaches that work. Got ideas from him: focus on storytelling to connect donors to your cause, use short video appeals on social, and embed a fundraising page in your newsletter. His techniques are great fundraising ideas for schools looking to fundraise smartly and raise funds faster.
Food safety, compliance and logistics practical guidance
Permits and school policies
Check local council requirements in Perth and WA for food stalls and temporary food events. Our recommendations include applying early for permits and keeping documentation accessible for event day.
Allergy and dietary management
Implement clear labelling for allergens, provide separate serving areas for common allergens, and offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Communicate policies to parents and volunteers beforehand.
Safe preparation and volunteer training
Run short food-safety briefings for volunteers. Use pre-made ingredients where possible to reduce handling time, and assign hygiene officers to monitor stations during events.
Financial management and pricing strategies
Budgeting for profit
Create a simple budget template showing ingredient costs, packaging, marketing and any permit fees. Aim for clear per-item margins and set unit goals for meeting fundraising targets.
Smart pricing techniques
Use tiered pricing, bundles and family deals to increase spend. For example, a family meal combo or class pack converts casual attendees into higher-value customers.
Transparency and accountability
Keep sales records, use cashless payment options, and reconcile funds quickly. Transparent reporting builds trust with parents and the school community.
Volunteer coordination and community partnerships
Recruiting and rostering volunteers
Use online sign-ups and clear time slots. Offer short shifts and rotating roles to reduce volunteer fatigue. Recognise contributions publicly to encourage repeat involvement.
Sponsorships from local businesses
Local suppliers often support school events. Offer signage, shout-outs, and product placement in exchange for ingredient discounts, prizes, or sponsorship funds.
Involving older students and leadership groups
Use student leaders to manage teams, mentor younger classes, and take responsibility for operations. This boosts leadership skills and reduces load on staff.
Examples of Shark Tank-style fundraising events
Classroom product pitch and market day
Each class develops a food product or concept, pitches to a panel of community judges, and then sells samples at a market day. Combine with performances and games to make a festival.
Community cookbook and pre-order meals
Students contribute recipes for a school cookbook sold online and at events. Pair this with pre-ordered family meals (e.g. pasta night) prepared with partner caterers or in-school kitchens under safe supervision.
Cooking challenge and tasting stations
Host a timed cooking challenge with student teams creating budget-friendly recipes. Set up tasting stations for parents to buy tasting tickets; judges award prizes, and proceeds go to the school.
Measuring success and improving year on year
Track KPIs beyond funds raised
Measure student participation, volunteer hours, social reach, and parent satisfaction. These metrics show the wider value of the event and help secure support for future initiatives.
Feedback loops
Collect feedback from students, staff, and parents after the event. Use surveys, short interviews, or suggestion boxes to gather ideas for improvements.
Documenting processes
Create a simple event pack with budgets, supplier contacts, and timelines so each year’s committee can start with a proven template. This saves time and increases consistency.
Case studies and local success stories (Perth & WA)
Suburban primary school market night
A Perth primary school increased funds by 40% year on year after introducing a student-led market night. Winning factors included student ownership, local sponsorships, and professional-looking promotional material.
Regional high school enterprise fair
A WA regional high school used a Shark Tank model to incubate small food businesses. Students learned enterprise skills, and several ventures continued as weekend markets, generating ongoing income for the school.
PTA-led community pizza fundraiser
A PTA in Fremantle partnered with a local sourdough bakery to run a community pizza night. Pre-orders and family bundles sold out; the partnership reduced costs and improved margins.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Underestimating preparation time
Start planning early. The difference between a good event and a stressful one is often simply time for preparation, volunteer recruitment, and promotion.
Overcomplicating menu choices
Keep food options simple to control costs and reduce waste. Feature a few well-priced, on-theme items rather than a long menu that strains volunteers.
Poor communication
Use multiple channels to reach parents and carers. Clear timing, pricing, and allergy information reduces confusion and improves attendance.
How Tommy Sugo can support your school
Program delivery and facilitation
We deliver a Shark Tank Presentation Incursion that’s ready to run. We bring facilitators who guide students through ideation, prototyping, and pitching with a focus on food-based concepts.
Curriculum-aligned resources
Our materials include lesson plans, assessment rubrics, and marketing templates so teachers can embed the incursion into existing programs with minimal extra work.
Ongoing support for fundraisers
We advise on logistics, supplier contacts, and pricing strategies, and can provide on-the-day support to ensure your fundraiser is safe, profitable, and fun.
Next steps: planning your school fundraiser
Initial consultation
Start with a short planning meeting to set objectives, dates, and responsibilities. We recommend including the principal, a teacher coordinator, and a PTA rep in the meeting.
Choose a model
Select from market nights, pizza nights, bake sales, or a full Shark Tank market. Each model has a clear checklist and cost template to help you decide.
Book the incursion
Secure dates for Tommy Sugo’s Shark Tank Presentation Incursion early in the school year to allow time for promotion and preparation. We tailor the program to match your school’s size and context in Perth or regional WA.
Conclusion
School fundraising ideas work best when they combine community engagement, clear planning, and learning outcomes. Tommy Sugo’s Shark Tank Presentation Incursion offers an entrepreneurial, interactive, and food-friendly solution that’s perfect for whole-school participation across Perth and Western Australia. If you want to run a fundraiser that teaches real skills, brings families together, and raises significant funds, we’re here to help.
Ready to get started? Visit our site to learn more and book a consultation: https://tommysugo.com.au/
FAQ
What are popular Australian fundraising ideas?
Popular Australian fundraising ideas include sausage sizzles, trivia nights, raffles, mufti days, and school discos. Cake stalls, car washes, and online crowdfunding campaigns are also very common. Many schools and groups use local community events like markets or fun runs to raise funds.
What are the fundraising ideas in Australia?
Common fundraising ideas in Australia include bake sales, charity auctions, sports days, dress-up days, and bottle drives. Online options like GoFundMe pages and Facebook fundraisers are increasingly popular . Community-based events such as markets, trivia nights, and sausage sizzles remain favourites.
What type of fundraiser makes the most money?
Trivia nights and gala dinners typically make the most money for Australian schools and groups. Major raffles with high-value prizes (cars, holidays) and online crowdfunding for specific causes can also raise large amounts. Events with corporate sponsorships or ticketed dinners often outperform smaller sales-based fundraisers.
What is the biggest fundraiser in Australia?
The biggest fundraisers in Australia include the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, Movember, and the Cancer Council’s Daffodil Day appeal. School-based fundraisers like the Biggest Morning Tea and Relay for Life also raise millions nationally . Community events like the Variety Bash and MS Sydney to the Gong are among the largest annual fundraisers.
What are the easiest items to sell for fundraising?
The easiest items to sell for fundraising in Australia are chocolates, lollies, raffle tickets, and baked goods . Sausages and bread rolls for sausage sizzles are extremely simple and popular. Pre-packaged snacks, candles, and merchandise like school uniforms or stationery also sell quickly.
What are some good ideas for fundraising?
Good fundraising ideas include trivia nights, car washes, bake sales, mufti days, and online auctions. Community markets, sports tournaments, and charity runs are effective and engaging. Virtual fundraisers like online raffles or sponsored challenges work well for wider reach.
What is the most profitable fundraiser?
Trivia nights and high-ticket raffles are among the most profitable fundraisers in Australia. Events with corporate sponsorships or large prize draws (e.g. cars, holidays) generate the highest returns.Online crowdfunding and gala dinners with ticket sales also rank very high in profitability.
What are the 5 P’s of fundraising?
The 5 P’s of fundraising are Planning, Promotion, Participation, Perseverance, and Profit. They guide effective campaigns by ensuring clear goals, strong marketing, community involvement, persistence, and financial focus.Some variations use People, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion for product-based fundraisers.
What can I do to raise money quickly?
To raise money quickly, host a sausage sizzle, run a raffle, sell pre-packaged chocolates, or organise a mufti day.Launch a short online crowdfunding campaign or hold a bake sale at a busy local spot.Trivia nights or car washes can also generate fast funds with minimal setup.
What is the most profitable thing to sell in school?
The most profitable items to sell in school are chocolates, lollies, and pre-packaged snacks with high mark-ups.Sausage sizzles (bread rolls and sausages) are extremely profitable due to low costs and high demand.Raffle tickets and baked goods also sell well and offer strong profit margins.
