Fund-Raising Ideas for School Groups
Let’s face it, fund-raising for school groups can sometimes be more problematic than profitable. But when the right kind of fund-raiser is chosen and it is done well, a fund-raiser can be wildly successful for the school and a lot of fun for everyone involved. Here are some suggestions that will help you make the grade.
Choosing the Right Fund-Raiser
Schools need extra money for everything—from uniforms to field trips, from football teams to debate teams, and on and on and on. With so many needs for so many causes, it seems almost impossible to select a fund-raiser that not only every kid and parent will love (and isn’t the same old thing), but will also be profitable. On top of that, most parents aren’t begging to direct a fund-raiser. More often than not, the school sticks with tried-and-true fund-raisers that don’t require lots of upfront work, so that adults don’t have to learn the ropes of some new fund-raising venture. So it’s time to find a new fund-raiser—but how?
First, take a few minutes and make a list of all those tried-and-true school fund-raisers that you hoped you would never have to participate in again, whether as a parent, a fund-raising administrator, or a student. Which ones top your list? Chocolate bar sales? Candy sales in general? Flavored popcorn? Magazines? Raffle tickets? Greeting-card sets? Seasonal items (holiday wrapping paper, for example)? Your list could go on and on, but don’t worry, that’s ok—there are plenty more ideas where those came from. Take that list and put it in a drawer—all of those boring, repetitive fund-raisers are officially off the table.
Now, let’s take a look at some novel, creative, less stressful, and even—dare I say— fun ways of bringing in that much-needed fund money. What’s best about most of these suggestions is that they are self-contained, meaning that they don’t require complicated agreements or connections with big professional fund-raising organizations. A few ideas do work within a larger organization, but most are fairly autonomous.
Fund-Raisers That Students Really Can Do
Wouldn’t it be nice to sit back and let the students have a great learning experience conducting a fund-raiser pretty much on their own? Here are a few options for students that have minimal parental intervention:
- Corsage and Boutonniere Sale. Whether it’s for homecoming, Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day, selling corsages is a fairly straightforward fund-raiser. An adult needs to approach local florists to set bulk pricing for the base cost of the flowers, but students can advertise, take advanced orders, and manage a booth for pick-up or last-minute sales with little difficulty.
- “Santa-Grams” and Related Holiday Spin-offs. Regardless of age, students love sending “special delivery” messages to each other for any special occasion—Halloween, Winter Holidays, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, you name it. The messages can come from an identified sender or from a “secret admirer,” and are accompanied by bit of candy (candy cane, lollipop, chocolate) to sweeten the gesture. Students sell the messages at lunch, homeroom, before school, or make the order forms available for people to fill out on their own (and then turn in along with payment). Select one or two students to print order forms and messages, keep track of the type of sweet treats that accompany each message, and log orders and delivery of the final products. Everything is sold in advance, with students needing to know only a recipient’s name and homeroom. Delivery is minimally disruptive when compared with other special student activities or fund-raisers.
One word of advice—pay special attention to whom you choose to handle the funds with these kinds of fund-raisers. Dishonesty among helpers is not the primary concern, but eliminating confusion as transactions occur is the primary concern. Limit the number of individuals handling money, and create a foolproof accounting system to document the exchange of money at every stage of the process.
Parent-Supervised Fund-Raising Suggestions
To handle a fund-raiser with a bit more earning power, parents have to be willing to take roles that are more active. As supervisors parents can oversee the process, but students still do the majority of the work. Remember that for all of these you will need a reliable method to track who orders what, when the order is fulfilled, and when payment occurs:
- PTO-Sponsored Gift Shops. The PTO or sponsoring organization requests low-cost gift donations from families. Each item is priced affordably (from $1 to $5), so that younger shoppers can buy gifts for family members at prices they can afford and still keep the surprise. Older students can volunteer to man the booth during lunch and free-study hours, with parents volunteering to work the booth during busier class hours. The sponsor sends each child home with an announcement detailing the gift booth days and times. Parents are instructed to send the child to school with money in a sealed envelope (labeled with the student’s name, teacher’s name, classroom number, and money amount enclosed). Younger students are given a special “appointment” time when they can take their money envelopes to the shop and select gifts with the assistance of adults or older students.
- Holiday Gift Wrap Service. Once the hassles of holiday shopping are behind you, what could be worse than a huge stash of gifts needing to be wrapped? Wouldn’t it be nice to deliver that mess to a special gift-wrapping session, where you could have tea or coffee while you wait for your gifts to be wrapped, or drop off your stash for pickup later? Older students can itemize unwrapped gifts that parents drop off, wrap gifts while customers wait, wrap items left for wrapping, or coordinate pickup for the wrapped packages.
- Face-Painting Fun. Perhaps your school has an annual festival or fair already. These events take an all-out effort with tons of parental involvement and take almost the entire year to plan. If your school has one of these festivities, you can have the most popular booth of the event by setting up a face-painting booth. If your school doesn’t have an annual festival, you can still put this fund-raiser to work by making the face-painting booth part of your county fair or any local festival. All you need to get started is a handful of artistic student painters, a large display board to show customers your vast selection of face-adorning selections, and lots and lots of face paint.
Wanted: Adventurous Adult Volunteer
If your school’s staff is lucky enough to have an adventurous person as a teacher, coach, or faculty member, then you have a ready-made fund-raiser waiting to be recruited. Would your principal dye her hair neon pink for the day? Would your basketball coach be willing to get a Mohawk-style haircut? What outrageous thing can you think of that would cause students to pay their funds or collect contributions from others?
If you have a special adult willing to play along, set a contribution goal for your fund-raiser, and watch the dollars come in. Once the goal is met, prepare yourself for a reward event that students will remember for years to come. Ask a parent hairstylist to volunteer to do the hair design work—but make sure it happens in an assembly where students can witness the fun. Be sure you have an adult volunteer who doesn’t mind being the star of the event and who can take the fun, as well as dish it out. If you try this fund-raiser, it’s guaranteed that the pictures will make a big appearance in the yearbook, and if you want to sell pictures or videos for additional funds, go for it!
There are limitless ideas for school fund-raisers—these are only a starting point. The most important thing is to try to really identify the interests of the students who will be out there pounding the pavement. Once you have found the right fund-raiser and an enthusiastic group of students, the money will start pouring in!
