The National Retail Federation released its 2026 back-to-school spending data in early August, and the headline is hard to miss. Families with K-12 students now plan to spend an average of $863.86 per student, a fresh record, with total K-12 spending projected to reach $43.3 billion (up from $39.4 billion a year ago). College households plan to spend even more, an average of $1,437.79 per student. The timing matters, because these numbers land in the same few weeks that fall sports registration opens and school groups reopen their books. For anyone raising money for a team, club, classroom, or cause, the next month is pivotal.
What the 2026 NRF numbers actually say
The record top-line spending is only half the story. The more useful signal for fundraisers is how families are behaving. According to the NRF survey, conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, 64 percent of shoppers expect higher prices this year, and they are responding by hunting for value. Nearly half (46 percent) say they are comparison shopping more, 41 percent are turning to discount stores, and 38 percent are actively seeking coupons and sales. Among shoppers who had not finished buying, 46 percent said they were still waiting for the right deals.
NRF Chief Economist Mark Mathews summed it up plainly: shoppers are keeping value front and center as they look for ways to make their dollars go further. In other words, families are spending, but they are spending carefully and they are looking for a reason to feel good about where the money goes.
Why this collides with fall fundraising season
Back-to-school costs do not arrive alone. For a lot of households, August and September bring registration fees, travel costs, facility fees, and uniforms on top of the school supply run. Every one of those line items competes for the same paycheck. That is the backdrop against which most teams, booster clubs, PTAs, and community groups send out their first fundraising ask of the year.
The lesson from the NRF data is not that families have stopped spending. They clearly have not. The lesson is that they are weighing every dollar and rewarding value. A fundraiser that ignores that mood will feel like one more bill. A fundraiser that works with it can actually pull ahead this fall.
Why raffle tickets fall flat when budgets are tight
Consider the classic raffle. You ask a parent to hand over money for a slip of paper and the small chance of a prize. In a season when 46 percent of shoppers are specifically waiting for a better deal, that is a hard sell. Most supporters get nothing back, the group carries the cost of prizes and printing, and the margin left over is thin. Raffle tickets ask families to spend at the exact moment they are most focused on getting value, and they offer none in return.
The stronger play in 2026 is a fundraiser that gives supporters real value for their money while still funding your group at a high margin. That is a very different conversation to have at a registration table.
A fundraiser that hands value back to families
This is exactly the gap Donacelet is built to close. A supporter buys a wristband, keychain, or virtual support code through your cause and receives member-only Deals Access to the Donacelet Deals Marketplace, featuring more than 700 national brands. In a season when nearly half of shoppers are hunting for deals, you are not asking them to give money away. You are handing them the deals they were already looking for, and funding your group in the same motion.
For the group, the economics are the point. On referred online sales, your team can earn up to $40 per sale, with no inventory to manage. Money from your fundraiser goes to your specific team or group, not into a shared pool.
Two ways to run it
Most groups pick one of two paths, or blend them.
Online, referred sales: You get a linked fundraiser, supporters buy through your team's link, and your group earns up to $40 per referred sale. There is nothing to stock and nothing to deliver, which makes it easy to launch fast and share widely.
Wholesale, in-person sales: For groups that want to sell face to face, wholesale units are available at $15 each when you buy 100 or more. Your unit can then sell them for up to $60 each, which works out to a margin of up to 75 percent. That is a strong return for a table at a registration night, a season opener, or a community event.
What the math looks like for a mid-size group
Say a booster club sells 100 wristbands through wholesale at $60 each. That is $6,000 in sales against $1,500 in cost, leaving roughly $4,500 for the group. Run it as a referred online campaign instead and 100 sales at up to $40 each puts up to $4,000 toward your team, with no inventory to buy up front. Either way, every supporter walks away with something they can use, not just a receipt.
A simple back-to-school plan you can run this month
You do not need a complicated system to take advantage of this window. A tight plan beats a fancy one.
First, pick your model. Choose referred online sales for speed and zero inventory, or wholesale if you have volunteers ready to sell in person and want the higher per-unit margin.
Second, link your fundraiser so every sale is credited to your specific team or group.
Third, set a clear target tied to a real cost, such as covering fall registration or a set of new uniforms. Supporters give more when they know exactly what they are funding.
Fourth, launch where families already are. Registration night, the first practice, a back-to-school open house, or a season opener are all natural moments to introduce the fundraiser and let parents pair their wristband on the spot.
Fifth, lean on the value message. Remind supporters that their $60 comes back to them through 6 months of Deals Access to more than 700 national brands, so the purchase can pay for itself while it funds the group.
Start now, while families are still shopping
The NRF data makes the timing clear. Spending is at record highs, families are actively looking for deals, and the back-to-school and registration rush is happening right now. Groups that show up this month with a fundraiser that returns value, rather than one more ask with nothing behind it, are the ones that will hit their fall goals.
If you run a team, school group, booster club, charity, or community organization, you can set up a linked fundraiser in minutes and start earning right away. Start your fundraiser at donacelet.org and turn this back-to-school season into your best fundraising month of the year.
