For M28 students who began DP1 in August 2026, a bake sale or fundraiser can count for CAS, usually under Service and sometimes Creativity. It qualifies when you participate actively, pursue meaningful goals, meet an appropriate challenge, reflect on your learning, and collect evidence. Merely donating money, buying a cake, or briefly staffing a table is unlikely to be sufficient.
Your school’s CAS coordinator makes the final decision. The IB provides the overall framework, while schools approve individual experiences and apply local safety, financial, and safeguarding procedures.
Which CAS strand does a fundraiser fit?
The official IB overview of CAS identifies three strands. One experience may cover multiple strands, but each claimed strand must be genuinely present.
| CAS strand | When fundraising may fit | What is usually insufficient |
|---|---|---|
| Service | You respond to an identified community need and contribute meaningful time and effort | Donating money or attending without a significant role |
| Creativity | You develop recipes, publicity, branding, displays, or an original campaign | Following instructions without creative decisions |
| Activity | Sustained physical exertion contributes to a healthy lifestyle, such as during a charity run | Carrying boxes, standing at a stall, or setting up tables |
A bake sale is most naturally Service when it supports a verified need. It may include Creativity if you make substantive decisions about products, design, communication, or problem-solving. Do not claim Activity simply because the event involved movement.
What makes a bake sale count for CAS?
CAS is based on engagement, learning, reflection, and evidence rather than points awarded for particular activities. The IB CAS subject brief explains that students maintain a CAS portfolio and demonstrate the seven CAS learning outcomes across the programme.
Purpose and informed service
Investigate the cause before collecting money. Confirm what the organization needs, how funds will be transferred, and whether permission is required to use its name or logo. This makes the service purposeful and reduces the risk of running an unauthorized or unhelpful campaign.
Personal goals and challenge
Set goals before beginning. You might aim to improve budgeting, coordinate a team, communicate ethically, test unfamiliar recipes, or manage contact with a community partner.
A financial target can support planning, but money raised should not be your only measure of success. CAS focuses on your contribution and development. If baking is already easy for you, introduce a new responsibility such as cost management, leadership, supplier coordination, or teaching less-experienced teammates.
Reflection and evidence
Effective reflections explain decisions, difficulties, collaboration, ethical questions, and changes in understanding. Instead of writing, “We sold cakes and raised money,” identify a specific problem, explain your response, evaluate the result, and state what you would change.
Useful evidence includes:
- An approved proposal, timeline, and budget
- Meeting notes and role allocations
- Recipe tests or publicity drafts
- Photographs taken with permission
- Sales or payment records
- Confirmation that the organization received the funds
- Feedback and reflections from different stages
Evidence supports reflection, but photographs alone do not demonstrate learning. The RevisionDojo guide to CAS reflections shows how to connect specific experiences with relevant learning outcomes.
Can fundraising be the required CAS project?
Yes, but a one-day sale is not automatically a CAS project. The IB’s CAS project guidance describes a project as collaborative, involving sequential CAS experiences, and lasting at least one month from planning to completion.
A qualifying project could include investigating a need, contacting a charity, assigning roles, testing products, developing publicity, holding the event, transferring funds, gathering feedback, and evaluating the outcome. The sale itself may last one day, provided the collaborative process extends for at least one month.
A shorter approved fundraiser may still count as a CAS experience. RevisionDojo’s comparison of CAS projects and experiences explains the distinction.
Borderline cases and improvements
| Borderline case | How to strengthen it |
|---|---|
| You buy or donate a cake | Join production, planning, publicity, or coordination |
| You staff a table briefly | Accept responsibility before and after the event |
| A teacher organizes everything | Lead a defined task and make documented decisions |
| You sell for personal profit | Work with an approved community or non-profit cause |
| You already bake regularly | Add unfamiliar techniques, budgeting, or team leadership |
| You have not researched the cause | Contact the organization and investigate its priorities |
Fundraising is often considered indirect service because students may not meet the beneficiaries. This does not automatically disqualify it, but you should explain the need, intended impact, and responsible transfer of funds.
Check school rules before advertising, handling food, collecting payments, or using logos. Your school may require allergy labels, risk assessments, supervision, financial records, or advance approval. These are local procedures rather than universal IB requirements.
Planning a DP1 fundraiser
Use the five CAS stages:
- Investigation: Identify a genuine need and consult the organization.
- Preparation: Set goals, assign roles, create a budget, and obtain approval.
- Action: Run the fundraiser and record important decisions or adaptations.
- Reflection: Evaluate collaboration, challenges, ethics, learning, and impact.
- Demonstration: Organize evidence and communicate what was achieved.
Do not force all seven learning outcomes into one event. They must be demonstrated across your complete CAS programme, not within every experience. Choosing two or three relevant outcomes usually produces more credible reflection.
For further guidance, use RevisionDojo’s introductions to understanding CAS, building a CAS project, and turning an existing skill into CAS.
Conclusion
A bake sale or fundraiser can count for CAS when it includes purposeful participation, personal challenge, reflection, and credible evidence. It will normally fit Service, may include Creativity, and only qualifies as Activity when health-related physical exertion is central.
Obtain coordinator approval before beginning. RevisionDojo’s CAS resources and Jojo AI can help you prepare a concise proposal covering the need, goals, learning outcomes, timeline, and evidence.