School production or show: tickets, programme ads, interval food

Sell tickets to the school production or musical, with programme ads, interval food and drinks, and a raffle to lift the take.

Typically raises

$4,000

$1,000–12,000 per eventest.

About $133 per organiser hour

Based on 3 shows of about 250 seats

Is it right for us?

Money: $2,000–10,000
Work: Weeks, part-time
Helpers: 16–40 people
Lead time: 4+ months
Red tape: Some

Common: school shows are a standard annual earner

People: 10-30 adults across front of house, interval food, backstage and raffle, beyond the teaching staff (estimate)
Organiser time: 20-40 hours for the fundraising side (tickets, ads, food, raffle), separate from directing the show (estimate)
Lead time: 1-2 terms: secure the performing licence before casting; tickets on sale 3-4 weeks out (estimate)
Up-front cost: $1,500. A 12-month licence for a NZ-written school musical package is $995 incl. backing tracks and script (School Musicals NZ); published Broadway-style musicals are licensed by rights agents and usually cost more (estimate). Plus costumes, sets, sound hire and printing.
Risk: Medium: rights and production costs are paid before a ticket is sold; a flu outbreak or clash can leave seats empty.

Suits: Primary or intermediate school, High school

Less usual for: Kapa haka, choir, theatre or band

When: Winter (Jun–Aug), Spring (Sep–Nov), End of the school year

How big a job: Several weeks, part-time, 16–40 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $10 a ticket, keep $10, so 550 tickets = $5,500, or about $4,000 after about $1,500 of costs. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

No NZ benchmark of net profit found. Hampden Street School sold out at $10 an adult ticket to fund a school generator (Hampden Street School Facebook). Estimate: 3 shows x 250 seats x $10-15, plus interval food, less rights, hire and costumes. Many productions only break even once rights and staging are paid (estimate).

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Choose the show and confirm who holds the rights before announcing it; budget the licence fee first.
Set a budget: rights, costumes, sets, sound and lights, printing, ticketing fees.
Set prices: a family ticket and a cheaper matinee, with a free or gold-coin dress rehearsal for grandparents (estimate).
Sell online with seat allocation; TryBooking NZ charges $0.50 a ticket plus 2.5% card processing and is free for free events (TryBooking).
Sell programme ads to local businesses at a few price levels; print names of donors.
Roster parents for front of house, interval food and drinks, and the raffle.
Run a raffle with a strong donated prize, drawn at the final show.
Count takings each night in pairs and bank next day.
Report the net result to the board and families, and thank sponsors in the newsletter.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Helpers for the day or night, and local businesses for prizes.
Ask people to buy: People to book tickets or tables, and turn up.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 6–8 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
Facebook events and what’s-on listingsMake a Facebook event people can say they’re going to, and list it on your council’s or town’s what’s-on page.
Community newsletters and magazinesResidents’ newsletters, village magazines and other churches’ bulletins often run community notices free. Small ones close early.
Other groups sharing itAsk the school, kindy, church, sports club or marae down the road to share it in their newsletter or page. Offer to share theirs back.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededYour own grounds or hall
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: NeededClass 1: prizes and the value of all tickets printed both $500 or less. If an individual runs it, all the money goes back as prizes. Sold in person only. Our rule: a numbered paper ticket for every entry
Health and safety: CheckA simple risk check and briefing
First aid: NeededA first aider and kit on site (recommended)
Insurance: CheckCheck your cover

Musicals with songs written for the show are Grand Right works that APRA AMCOS cannot license; get a licence from the rights holder before casting. Stay within the hall's occupancy limit; hiring a theatre may need its own insurance.

Make more from it

Raffle drawn at the final show
often $300-1,500 (estimate)
a full hall over several nights
Programme ads from local businesses
often $300-1,000 (estimate)
every audience member holds the programme
Interval food and drinks
$1-3 per audience member (estimate)
a 15-minute break with nothing else to do

Stack it: on its own, about $4,000. With the 3 priced add-ons above, roughly

$5,600est.

What you can get donated

Programme ads from local businesses; baking and drinks for the interval; raffle prizes; a local business sponsoring the sound and lighting hire.

Tips

NZ-written school musical packages bundle backing tracks and scripts and let you keep 100% of ticket money (School Musicals NZ).
Some touring companies give schools a per-ticket kickback for using a code (Burnside School got $5 a ticket from Enchanting Productions (Burnside School)).
Matinees for other schools or rest homes add audience without extra rehearsal (estimate).

Watch out for

Announcing a famous musical before checking rights are available or affordable.
Assuming the OneMusic school licence covers a full musical: it does not cover Grand Right works (APRA AMCOS).
Underpricing tickets so that rights and hire costs eat the profit.

Free tools for this

Event budget and break-evenCover hire, food and prizes before you set the ticket price.
Volunteer roster plannerPrefilled with the usual roles (front of house / ticket check, usher, interval food and drink and raffle seller) in 3-hour shifts.
Cash float and takings counterDoor and food-stall cash, counted in pairs and banked the next day.
Event run sheetOne timed plan for set-up, the event and pack-down.
Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

Copyright: performing music to parents is a public performance. The OneMusic school licence covers much school music use, but APRA AMCOS cannot license 'Grand Right' productions (songs written for a musical) or shows using three or more songs from one; you must license those direct from the rights holder or agent (OneMusic NZ; APRA AMCOS).
Under the Copyright Act 1994 a school can perform music only to students or staff without a licence; any other audience, including parents, needs one (OneMusic NZ).
Interval food: Food Act 2014 fundraising exemption applies if you sell food to fundraise fewer than 20 times a year (MPI).
A raffle at the show is gambling: class 1 if prizes and turnover are each $500 or less; above that see ‘Printed ticket raffle’ (DIA).
Recording and selling a video of a licensed musical usually needs separate permission; check the licence terms (School Musicals NZ licence allows selling recordings of its shows; estimate for others).
Hall capacity and evacuation: stay within the building's permitted occupancy and keep exits clear (estimate; ask your property manager).

Check the details

Sources

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide