5 ways to run school fundraising without paper forms
If you have ever chased down crumpled order forms from backpacks, reconciled handwritten cheques, or tried to decipher a parent's sizing request scrawled in the margin of a flyer, you already know: paper-based fundraising is overdue for an upgrade.
The good news is that going paperless does not mean going complicated. Schools across Canada are replacing paper forms with simple digital tools that save time, reduce errors, and make it genuinely easy for families to participate. No app downloads. No complicated logins. Just straightforward approaches that work with the way parents already shop and communicate.
Whether you are a principal, a parent council volunteer, or a PTA treasurer who has had it with spreadsheets, here are five ways to run your next school fundraiser without a single paper form.
1. Hosted online spirit wear stores
This is the approach we see working best for schools, and it is what we do at Ladybug Designs, so we are a little biased. But here is why it works so well.
A hosted online spirit wear store is a dedicated e-commerce site for your school, set up and managed entirely by your merchandise partner. Parents visit the store, browse your school-branded apparel and products, select sizes and styles, pay online, and receive their order shipped directly to their home. The school earns a percentage of every sale.
How it works with Ladybug Designs
We build and host your school's online store at no cost to the school. There is no setup fee, no monthly fee, and no minimum order requirement. Here is the process:
- We design the store together. You share your school logo, colours, and any product preferences. We set up a branded storefront with your approved merchandise: hoodies, t-shirts, toques, water bottles, whatever fits your community.
- Parents shop online. The store is open 24/7. Parents can browse, select sizes, and pay by credit card on their own schedule. No forms to fill out, no cash to collect, no envelopes to track.
- Orders ship directly to families. We handle production, quality control, packing, and shipping from our Ontario facility. Orders go straight to the family's door. The school never has to sort, label, or distribute anything.
- Your school earns a fundraising percentage. Schools receive a percentage of net sales, deposited regularly. It is passive fundraising that runs in the background while your store is open.
- Bilingual support is built in. Because we are a Canadian company, we support both English and French for your store and customer communications, which is important for schools in bilingual communities or French-language school boards.
- You stay in control of the catalog. Want to add a new hoodie colour for the fall? Swap out a product that is not selling? We update the store for you whenever you need changes. Just send us a note.
Why it is better than paper
Paper spirit wear drives are typically open for one or two weeks, require manual order tracking, and put the burden of sorting and distributing on school volunteers. A hosted store runs continuously, handles its own logistics, and removes the administrative load entirely. Parents who miss the deadline on a paper form simply do not order. Parents with an always-open online store order when it is convenient for them, which means more participation and more fundraising revenue.
There is also no financial risk to the school. Because there is no upfront cost and no inventory to purchase, you are not gambling on whether families will buy enough to cover expenses. Every sale is a net positive.
2. Digital order forms and payment links
If your fundraiser is not merchandise-based, maybe you are selling cookie dough, pizza kits, or event tickets, a digital order form can replace paper entirely.
How it works
Tools like Google Forms, Jotform, or Microsoft Forms let you create a simple order form that parents complete on their phone or computer. Pair the form with a payment link from a service like Square, Stripe, or even an Interac e-Transfer request, and you have a complete order-and-pay workflow with no paper involved.
Why it is better than paper
Digital forms eliminate transcription errors (no more guessing whether that says "medium" or "large"), automatically tally orders for you, and give you a spreadsheet of results instead of a stack of papers to manually enter. Payment links mean no more collecting cash or cheques, and no more chasing families who forgot to include payment with their form.
Most of these tools are free or very low cost, which makes this a great option for schools that want to go paperless quickly without any budget commitment.
3. QR codes on school communications
You are probably already sending home newsletters, posting flyers in the hallway, or updating the school sign out front. Adding a QR code to any of these materials gives parents an instant bridge from the physical world to your online fundraiser.
How it works
Generate a free QR code that links to your online store, digital order form, or payment page. Print it on newsletters, tape it to the front door, include it in the morning announcements slide deck, or add it to the school's outdoor signage. Parents scan the code with their phone camera, no app needed, and they are taken directly to where they can browse and buy.
Why it is better than paper
QR codes turn every piece of school communication into a fundraising entry point. A parent scanning a code on a hallway poster at pickup can place an order before they get to the car. It removes the friction of "bring this form home, fill it out, bring it back" and replaces it with "scan and shop." You can even track how many people scanned each code to see which placements drive the most traffic.
4. Social media campaigns for merchandise drives
Your school community is already on Facebook, Instagram, and community group chats. Meeting parents where they already spend time is one of the easiest ways to promote a paperless fundraiser.
How it works
Share your online store link or digital order form directly in your school's social media channels. Post photos of students wearing the new spirit wear. Run a countdown ("Store closes Friday!"). Ask parents to share the link with their networks. Some schools even create short videos of students modelling the merchandise, which tend to get strong engagement and shares.
Why it is better than paper
Social media posts are shareable in a way paper forms never will be. A parent who shares your store link reaches grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends who would never see a backpack flyer. This expands your fundraising audience well beyond the immediate school community, and that broader reach translates directly into more sales and more fundraising dollars.
It also lets you run time-limited campaigns with real urgency, like "48 hours left!", that drive action in a way a crumpled form in a backpack never could.
5. Parent-portal integration
Most schools already have a website or parent portal, a place where families go for calendars, announcements, and resources. Adding a link to your online merchandise store or fundraising page makes it a natural part of the school's digital ecosystem.
How it works
Add a permanent link or button on your school website that directs parents to your hosted spirit wear store or current fundraising page. Some schools add it to their main navigation ("Spirit wear" or "School store"). Others include it in the parent resources section or link it from announcement posts. If your school uses a communication platform like SchoolMessenger or Edsby, you can include the link in digital notifications as well.
Why it is better than paper
A permanent link on your school website means parents can find your store any time, not just during a two-week fundraising window. New families who join mid-year discover it naturally. And because it lives alongside other trusted school resources, it feels like an official part of the school experience rather than a one-off fundraising ask.
It is also the lowest-effort option on this list. Once the link is added, it just works: no ongoing maintenance, no seasonal updates, no volunteer time required.
Putting it all together
The best paperless fundraising programs combine several of these approaches. A hosted online store serves as the foundation. It is always on, always available, and handles its own logistics. QR codes, social media, and parent-portal links all drive traffic to that store. Digital order forms handle the non-merchandise fundraisers that fall outside the spirit wear store.
The common thread across all five approaches is the same: remove friction for families and remove administrative burden for school staff. When it is easy for parents to participate, more of them do. When volunteers are not buried in order forms and cash envelopes, they can spend their energy on things that actually need a human touch.
The result is less work, fewer errors, broader participation, and a better experience for everyone involved. And honestly, fewer trips to the photocopier.
If you are not sure where to start, start with the spirit wear store. It handles the biggest piece of most school fundraising programs, and everything else can build around it over time.
Ready to set up a hosted spirit wear store for your school? We would love to help. Learn more about our school merchandise solutions or get in touch with our team to start the conversation.