How to Plan a Successful School or Church Fundraiser Using Bounce Houses, Carnival Games & Ticket Sales
Schools and churches are always looking for fundraiser ideas that are fun, easy to run, and actually make money. One of the most reliable formulas we’ve seen work again and again is a carnival-style fundraiser built around bounce houses, dunk tanks, carnival games, and a simple ticket system. It gets families excited, it’s easy for volunteers to manage, and it can raise significantly more than a bake sale or a walk-a-thon — with a lot less setup headache.
Here’s how to plan one that actually hits your fundraising goals.
Why Bounce Houses and Carnival Games Work So Well for Fundraisers
Bounce houses, combo units, dunk tanks, sumo wrestling, and velcro walls give your event something a bake sale can’t: repeat spending. A family doesn’t just buy one ticket and leave — kids want to bounce, then dunk the principal, then wrestle their friend, then go again. Every activity becomes another small purchase, and those small purchases add up fast across a few hours.
It also solves the “what do we even do” problem event committees run into. Instead of coordinating a dozen different games and volunteers to run each one, a few big attractions become the anchor of the whole event.
The Presale Ticket Strategy: Discount Now, Charge More Day-Of
This is the single most effective pricing lever for a fundraiser, and it’s underused.
How it works:
- Sell tickets in the weeks leading up to the event at a discounted presale price
- Raise the price for tickets purchased at the door on event day
Why this works:
- It locks in attendance ahead of time. Families who’ve already paid are far more likely to show up, and word spreads as people ask friends to join them.
- It gives you cash flow before the event, which helps cover deposits on rentals, supplies, and volunteer needs.
- It creates urgency. “Buy now and save” is a much stronger sell than a flat price with no incentive to act early.
- Day-of buyers still pay more, but they’re impulse buyers — they showed up, they’re already excited, and a slightly higher price rarely stops them.
Sample pricing structure:
| Ticket Package | Presale Price | Day-of Price |
|---|---|---|
| 10 tickets | $10 ($1/ticket) | $15 (~$1.50/ticket) |
| 25 tickets | $20 (80¢/ticket) | $30 (~$1.20/ticket) |
| Unlimited wristband | $15 | $20–$25 |
A discount of 25–35% off the day-of price is usually enough to motivate presales without cutting too deep into revenue. Many schools sell presale tickets through the same paper flyer/order form that goes home with report cards or through a simple online form or QR code link to make it effortless for parents.
Setting Up a Ticket System for Your Attractions
Instead of collecting cash at every single game or bounce house (which creates long lines, cash-handling headaches, and lost volunteers), use a centralized ticket booth model:
- Families buy tickets (or wristbands) at one central booth when they arrive
- Each attraction has a volunteer who collects the correct number of tickets before letting kids play
- At the end of the night, ticket totals are counted per station and cash never has to change hands at the games themselves
This keeps lines moving, reduces theft or miscounted change, and makes volunteer training simple — each station only needs to know one number: how many tickets to collect.
Tip: Color-code or number your tickets by “zone” (e.g., blue tickets for games, gold tickets for big attractions) if you want to steer traffic evenly across stations, or keep it simple with one universal ticket type accepted everywhere.
Suggested Ticket Pricing Per Attraction
Here’s a starting framework many of our school and church clients use. Adjust based on your ticket price-per-unit and how long each activity takes:
- Carnival games (ring toss, bean bag toss, etc.): 1–2 tickets per play — these are quick, low-cost turns meant to be played several times
- Bounce house (10–15 min session): 3–4 tickets — priced to reflect the physical space and time commitment
- Combo unit (bounce + slide): 5 tickets — the bigger, more popular unit can carry a slightly higher ticket cost
- Dunk tank: 3 tickets per throw, or a bundle like 5 tickets for 3 throws — this attraction tends to draw a crowd around it, so a bundle keeps the line moving while still capturing extra sales
- Sumo wrestling: 5 tickets per match — a high-engagement, high-fun attraction that families are happy to pay a bit more for
- Velcro wall: 4 tickets per jump — a fast, fun photo-op activity that works well at this price point
- High stryker: 3 tickets per swing, or a bundle like 5 tickets for 3 swings — high stryker is very popular and tends to draw a crowd, so a bundle keeps the line moving while still capturing extra sales
These numbers are a starting point — feel free to adjust based on your specific ticket denomination and fundraising goals. The key is making sure your biggest, most popular attractions (combo units, dunk tank, sumo wrestling) carry a slightly higher ticket cost than quick carnival games, since they take more space, more supervision, and more of the “wow factor” budget.
Pricing Concessions the Same Way
Keep concessions simple by pricing everything in clean dollar amounts (or matching ticket bundles), so volunteers aren’t doing math under pressure:
- Popcorn — $1
- Bottled water or soda — $1
- Snow cones — $2
- Cotton candy — $2
- Nachos — $3
- Hot dog — $3
- Combo meal (hot dog + chips + drink) — $5
Clean, round pricing keeps the concession line moving fast and makes cash handling (or ticket collection, if you fold concessions into the same ticket system) much easier for volunteer parents.
Promotion Tips for Maximum Turnout
- Start presale ticket sales at least 3 weeks out
- Use school email newsletters, school flyers, church bulletins, and social media to remind families the presale discount ends soon
- Post countdown reminders in the final week (“3 days left to save on tickets!”)
- Share photos from past events if you have them — bounce houses and dunk tanks sell themselves visually
Why Schools and Churches Choose Jump Around Party Jumpers
We work with schools, churches, and community organizations across the Las Vegas area to bring reliable, safe, clean, and well-maintained bounce houses, combo units, dunk tanks, sumo wrestling suits, and velcro walls to fundraiser events of every size. Our team can help you figure out the right mix of attractions for your expected crowd size and budget, and we handle setup and teardown so your volunteers can focus on running the event, not assembling equipment.
Ready to plan your school or church fundraiser? Contact Jump Around Party Jumpers today to check availability and get a quote for your event date.
Call us at (702) 485-5309 so we can assist with your fundraiser or celebration now!