This page covers what a field trip actually needs to fund, the constraints that shape how you can raise it, and which event formats fit. If you want the general guide first, start with fundraising by group.
What a field trip is usually funding
- bus and transportation costs, often the largest line
- admission fees
- substitute coverage
- meals and supplies
- subsidies so cost never determines who attends
What makes this group different
These are the constraints that decide whether a fundraiser works here, and they are the reason generic advice underperforms.
- Transportation costs have risen faster than any other line and often exceed admission
- Trips are booked on short notice relative to fundraising cycles
- The teacher is the organizer and has no fundraising time
- Asking families directly turns a school activity into a means test
Why an event-based fundraiser fits
The reason to fundraise for field trips at all is so that no child's attendance depends on what their family can pay. That framing should drive the design: one school-wide effort funding trips for everyone, rather than per-trip appeals to individual families.
What is realistic to raise
Transportation has risen faster than any other line and frequently exceeds admission. The reason to fundraise at all is so attendance never depends on what a family can pay, and that framing should drive the design: one school-wide effort funding trips for every grade.
A working timeline
The dates that matter here are set by this group’s own calendar, not by a generic fundraising season.
- Early in the year, funding the whole year's trips at once
- One school-wide campaign rather than per-trip appeals
- Teachers book against a known budget instead of collecting from families
- Report by grade so every teacher sees the line they can spend
What goes wrong
- Per-trip appeals to individual families, which is a means test in everything but name
- Budgeting admission and forgetting transportation, which is usually larger
- Leaving each teacher to organize their own collection on top of teaching
Formats that suit a field trip
You are not doing this alone
Every Get Movin' group is paired with a Personal Event Coach — a former PTO/PTA volunteer who has run this before. Get Movin's company president and all of its fundraising coaches are former PTO/PTA members, teachers and volunteers. For a field trip, that means someone who has already helped other groups like yours through exactly this.
Your coach:
- strategizes your budget goal with you
- brainstorms incentives that actually motivate your participants
- advises on promotion and timing
- steers you away from the pitfalls they have already watched other groups hit
You also get the FundHub Event Toolbox — 100+ guides, templates, playlists and printables. Meet the coaches.
The platform behind a field trip fundraiser
FundHub is Get Movin's online donation platform, built specifically for schools, teams and community groups by former PTO/PTA leaders. It carries 35+ tools. These are the ones that matter most here:
- Personalized student webpages. A parent sets one up in about five minutes, and each page raises an average of $140.
- Family Sharing. Siblings share one Family Webpage, and FundHub splits incoming donations evenly between the participating children — so families with three kids are not asking the same relatives three times.
- One-click sharing to social, email and text, plus a sharing report showing how many parents are actually using it.
- Instant, customizable donation reports for students, classes and the whole group.
- Automatic ACH payout after the event, straight to the group's account.
See the full platform on the FundHub page, or book a walkthrough with a coach.
How Get Movin’ runs your field trip fundraiser
- Book a call or a FundHub demo and get matched with your Personal Event Coach.
- Your coach helps you set the goal, pick the date and choose incentives.
- Your group page and student pages go live; parents set theirs up in about five minutes.
- Families share by text, email and social; the coach checks in through the campaign.
- Event day, with volunteers organized through FundHub.
- Funds arrive by automatic ACH transfer after the event.
What it costs and what you keep
Get Movin’ groups keep 95-97% of every dollar raised. Donors pay however they want — cash, check, credit or debit, PayPal, Venmo, or Apple and Google Wallet. Automatic ACH payout after the event, straight to the group's account.
Full detail on the pricing page.
Next steps
See what a field trip fundraiser costs on our pricing page, or browse free templates including printable pledge sheets.
Common questions
How do you fund field trips without asking families directly?
Run one school-wide campaign that funds the trip budget for every grade, rather than a per-trip appeal. It removes the means test entirely and takes the organizing burden off individual teachers.
Start your field trip fundraiser
Get Movin’ has powered 10,000+ events and raised more than $200 million for groups like yours since 2007, with 1,300+ five-star Google reviews.
Take a FundHub tour with a coach, or book your event. Questions first? Contact us or call 248-895-0206. Also useful: the free school grant guide, the parent and donor FAQ, and our fundraising webinars.