Fundraising plays a really important role in many schools. Whether it’s going towards new equipment, supporting trips and activities, or investing in classroom resources, additional income can make a meaningful difference. In today’s society with the cost of living soaring and schools struggling to make ends meet, that difference can be huge.

Fundraising needs to feel easy as well as worthwhile – straightforward to manage, appealing to families, and aligned with the values of the school community.

iQ Cards supports schools with amazing, creative and carefully managed fundraising initiatives – from Christmas cards and gift items to keepsakes for leavers – helping schools raise funds in a way that feels positive, imaginative and sustainable. Since we launched in 2009, iQ Cards has helped schools raise over £1.8 million! 

A Proven Approach to School Fundraising

During our 2025 Christmas campaign:

•  964 schools took part

•  £180,000 was raised

•  916,000 cards were printed

•  144,000 gifts were produced 

Our step-by-step guide explains how the process works.

 1. Children create artwork in school.

2. Artwork is returned to IQ: we scan the designs and create individual order forms which are sent back to school.

3. Parents use the link and unique code on the order forms to order and pay for their child’s products.

4. All orders are printed, packed and sent to school for distribution to parents.

5. Funding payments are made to the nominated school/PTA bank account

It’s easy to organise, really enjoyable for the pupils and something that families genuinely value.

Sustainability in Practice

Sustainability is increasingly part of school life – whether in terms of curriculum planning or choosing suppliers who share those values.

All schools in the UK must now have a designated Sustainability Lead and be implementing their Climate Action Plan.

Fundraising initiatives should reflect those priorities too. During our latest Christmas campaign, we planted a tree for every school that took part – 970 trees in total – through our net-zero partners Switch2Zero.

On average, each tree planted will capture around 0.2 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, contributing to approximately 194 tonnes of long-term carbon capture.

All cards were printed on Carbon Balanced Paper, with 11,765kg of CO2 balanced through the World Land Trust.

This support helps protect 2,247m² of critically threatened tropical forest. Every card also carried the Love Paper logo, promoting responsible paper use and sustainable sourcing.

Sustainability is built into the project from the outset – not an afterthought that’s just added at the end. For schools working towards environmental goals, this offers reassurance that their fundraising efforts totally align with wider sustainability commitments.

Christmas Fundraising

Our Christmas fundraiser remains at the heart of iQ Cards. For 2026 we will be expanding the seasonal range. New products are being added to give families even more choice during the Christmas period – great gifts for grandad, a marvellous mug for mum, a cushion cover for your cousin, oh the list goes on – while keeping the ordering and delivery process simple. The aim is to offer families a fantastic range of items they genuinely want to buy, while keeping the workload light and manageable for schools.

Our schools’ PTAs, reception teams, Friends’ Associations and admin staff have told us how much easier we are to work with than some of the previous companies they had used! That’s music to our ears.

“Thank you for another year of including our school in the Christmas cards design project. . It’s lovely to see the Children’s designs in print.

The designing, ordering, paying for and distributing process worked well for us this year. We look forward to taking part in next year’s project.”

Eversley Primary School

Leavers’ Projects

Our popular Leavers’ autograph books will be available again this year. Designed as a keepsake for Year 6 pupils, they provide a meaningful way to mark the end of primary school.

We are also introducing some new leavers’ gift products this year including tote bags, teddies, keyrings, mugs and bookmarks.

Year-Round Fundraising Opportunities

We are now introducing additional fundraising options to support schools throughout the academic year. Here’s just one example to whet your appetites! 

Ta-da! The Terrific Tea-Towel!

Developed in response to requests from schools and PTAs, our new tea-towel fundraiser offers a practical keepsake that celebrates pupils’ creativity.

Schools can choose between:

•  A design featuring the school logo

•  Tea towels printed with children’s individual self-portraits

Schools or PTAs order directly from us and retain the funds raised from sales.

Smooth Operators

Behind iQ Cards is the same team from iQ Digital House – your top quality print partners based in Aldershot, Hampshire.

Schools and PTAs need fundraising initiatives to run smoothly. And that’s what we do.

•  Handling and scanning artwork

•  Order processing

•  Print production

•  Delivery

All these elements must fit within busy school calendars.

Our years of experience working with education providers means we understand those pressures and have designed the process to be straightforward – as easy as ABC or 123 – from start to finish.

A Smarter Approach to School Fundraising

The most successful fundraising projects are the ones that feel worthwhile.

They celebrate pupils’ creativity and offer families something to treasure, raising funds but without adding unnecessary pressure for the school, the pupils or the parents! With nearly 1,000 schools taking part last year, iQ Cards continues to grow. We think this is because we have found a good balance between creativity, practicality and responsible production.

If your school or PTA is planning their fundraising ideas for 2026, you can register your school online. Or give us a ring on 01252 796914 and we would be delighted to talk you through the options.

To find out more about how iQ Cards can support your next fundraising project, do get in touch with the team.