Tired of fundraisers selling useless and cheap items? When the schools ask for volunteers for fundraising, volunteer to start a flower fundraiser. Our local schools used to sell flowers in flats and baskets from a local nursery. I took the forms to my workplace and my son usually got in the top seller category. It was a big hit with everyone even the non-gardening people who bought the baskets. Great idea!
By susan from Elkhart, IN
This page contains the following solutions.
Through the years, my children's schools have sponsored fund raisers which offer all the school supplies in a big bag for a set amount. I stopped participating because the supplies were usually of poor quality.
As schools suffer through budget cuts, fundraisers become even more important. Yet everyone is cutting back, and purchasing wrapping paper, candy, or raffle tickets isn't in the budget.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My son is vice president of his junior class. They are always looking for new ideas for fund raisers. They have done the car washes and sold food at sports events. Does anyone have any unique ideas of things to sell or anything else a little more refreshing?
I was student body president for 2 years in high school and one thing we did that was popular and a decent money maker was to have dress up days! We had a somewhat strict dress code and any break from that was great for the students. The most sucessful was Hat Day .. we weren't allowed to wear hats inside the building, unless you paid a dollar in your first class of the day .. then you could wear a hat all day! We used the honor system and it was a smaller school but you could use hand stamps or ribbons or something to denote the people who paid and were allowed to wear a hat! Teachers would get in to the act too, it was a fun, easy way to make extra cash that didn't distract too much.
Before this our big money maker had always been the soda machines .. since we were also trying to phase the "junk" machines out of the school we needed something new! We took the idea from sports teams who would wear jerseys on game days. We'd usually make $175 to $200 each day (HS population was around 250 kids) and have one of these days each month .. each was cleared through the principal of course. Other than the hat day, we did Pajama Day, Crazy Shirt Day (no logo shirts was part of our dress code), Opposite Day .. anything else you can think of! I think you have to be aware of your school to make sure it would work for you. We were a small, relativly close knit school which made it easier.
This was a great idea for our school .. there was no cost involved, other than our time, so the money we made was pure profit. It was popular with the students to the point where we were doing it one a month due to demand. We were able to give alot back to the school as well .. we had a big Field Day the last friday afternoon before final exams where we hired a band and took the afternoon off for a big barbeque on the football field. Plus extra dances, guest speakers, gifts to the school ect.
Good luck with whatever ideas you choose! I loved being part of my school's government .. it has served me well as an adult as well.
Rebekah
One easy and fun way to raise money for a school organization is to sell carnations for Valentine's day, or Hallograms for Halloween, or GradGrams around graduation, etc. The students sell these things for small amount of money and the other students get to send anyone they want a note. Everyone enjoys receiving them. They can write a note to the person or just sign it under a poem that is provided. Then the organizatin that sold the items gets together and hands them out to each homeroom. The most fun is the carnations at Valentine's Day.
My children also sold donuts to be delivered to the person's door on a given Saturday. This is more expensive now, however, due to the cost of gas.
Also, depending on the main theme of the school organization interested in making money, they can offer clinics for younger children on certain Saturdays. These are popular here, the dance team gives a clinic to learn a dance to a certain song, the cheerleaders teach a cheer, the football players have a punt, pass and kick competition in which they help younger kids learn some pointers, etc. The kids usually pay a $10 fee. You could have them on the same Saturday and all work together. Just use your imagination as to what could be offered. The elementary school kids and the Junior High kids enjoy these things and the moms like the half day off that it affords them (usually this is held from 8-12). Free refreshments are served, usually cookies and punch. As long as the high schoolers remember that they are role models to the younger kids this is a fun thing that can be used over and over again, as kids love this if it is a positive experience for them.
I'm the president of a club at my school and we sold pizza after school every Friday. We made major profit.
Does anyone have any good fund raising ideas for a high school volleyball team?
Margaret from Arlington, TN
How about a penny bomb? Each of the team members can have a jar with their name and their friends, neighbors, family, etc can donate their extra pennies. We were very successful at this one, even the staff and faculty donated.
Try Temporary Spirit tatoos. You can have ones made with your school logo or other design. You can have the team sell them before any big game or school event. The kids love them!
In our school, which is very small -- K to 12 with 140 students, one of the best fundraisers was a homemade soup sale. One of the mothers from the VB team organized these. Expenses were bowls, spoons, and napkins. Soup was dontated by the moms, served by the team. Homemade buns were also donated.
Another idea is the traditional goodie sale at school -- squares, cookies, muffins, etc. One mom I know brought cinnamon buns to school and baked them in the Home Ec room. The smell of baking cinnamon buns really helped sales.
Auction.
Get three of four groups together ranging from four to five students in each group and auction yourself in doing yard work such as weeding, mowing, racking, or shoveling the yard depending on the time of year. These things are sometimes hard to accomplish in peoples busy schedule so they will be thrilled for the help. Do thier yard work for 3 or so days. Start the biding at $10.
I am looking for ideas for a middle school fundraiser.
There are many things children can do. One popular idea is a car wash, a pancake breakfast, bake sale, or make surprise bags and sell them.
I personally like things that don't involve food only because of large amounts of issues and allergies my family members have had. Maybe raffles, car washes, discount cards, serve-a-thons, auctions, and rummage sales.
I always wanted to do a dance off, where kids would get bids on how long they could dance. People pledge so much for each hour or a flat rate. I thought it would be fun and raise a lot of money! Sadly it wasn't one of the choices and a car wash always won.
Post back what you decide!!
What are some good fundraising ideas that will raise the most money that will help benefit my 11th grade class?
By Dever
Rent-a-Kid...let people make bids on certain chores/tasks the kids could do for them. Flock people - get some pink flamingos - put them in peoples yards and they have to pay a 'bounty' to have them removed. The flocked in turn as the kids to flock someone else - on and on.
Hi there! Some years ago I was with a group that wanted to raise money. Instead of doing just a car wash, we did a "Wash-a-Thon." We had pledge sheets, told everyone we were doing a FREE car wash and were just taking pledges for the number of cars we would wash between certain hours in one day. We got pledges and plenty of people to come by with their cars.
We put up a giant sign that said Free Car Wash. We had some disbelievers, but we convinced them that it was, in fact free. We got way more pledges than we expected, and on top of that, most people who didn't pledge but brought their cars in gave us donations, as well. I think we made three times as much as we needed/expected.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck!
Raffling off gift baskets made from donations of local businesses always do good in our area. Make them in themes, like 'a chocolate basket', 'movie lovers basket, 'an Italian themed basket', 'a sports themed basket', etc. Good luck!
Have you considered online fundraising? Being online it's really easy for people to support you without having to physically go to the school at a specific time, you can tap into relatives and friends who live further away, and they can share your fundraiser with others to reach more people & take it global. Here's a link to some more info villageraised.com/
Hi! You could organize a walk-a-thon / bike-a-thon. You would be able to incorporate the community and the school, hopefully getting more donations and participants.
I want a fun way to fundraise for a classroom. I have very little to sell. I would like to wrap an ordinary penny in gold foil or just keep in the way it is.
I would then ask who on my facebook or among my friends would like to buy this penny for a dollar.
Then when I give them the penny, they will be told this penny has to be sold for another dollar that will go to a charity of their choice. Or maybe they could just keep the penny or frame it.
Any ideas, I know this is a tough economy. What do you think of this? What would be a good name for it?
By Robyn from TN
So far it is getting a lot of positive reaction from my friends on facebook, it is so cute. Also I am thinking of a name for it.
First find out if you can do a fund raiser for just one class room. Most schools do have fund raisers. Some food and paper products have the "Box Tops for Education" on them, and a lot of schools save them, having the students bring them from home. I have a niece that teaches in a Hutterite school, she has grades five through eight in one classroom. She uses these box top things to purchase books to give each one of her students for Christmas gifts.
The Hutterite people don't spend a lot on things like that. However, when it comes to what they give her for a Christmas gift, one year they gave her a hand made down comforter and bed pillows set, plus home processed foods, baked goods, etc. They treat her real well, and she has taught in the school for about ten years.
Campbell's soup labels are also used by some schools. If the classroom that you want to do a fundraiser for is in dire need of a piece of equipment get together with some of the other mothers and see about having a bake sale or something like that for a specific purpose. Also places like Pizza Hut have fund raising programs, as does Tupperware.
The Senior Center where I live has a real successful fundraiser every year(probably going on six years now) where they hand any member of the center that wants to do it, a $5.00 bill and that person in turn has to make it grow as much as possible. Some of the things that people have done is bake a special item that they are known for and sell it at the center, have a rummage sale at their home, with the proceeds being given in exchange for that $5.00 bill that they got.
I don't think your idea would raise enough to make it worth the small initial effort on your part. The teacher for this classroom could also ask the students to bring the Box Tops for Education directly to her and save them for her classroom.
I am 16 and in high school. Through the high school I, along with 29 other students will be going to Chicago for Model UN. Which is where we go and represent countries and debate on World Issues from that countries point of view. I am excited for it, but there is a problem. All thirty of us need help to raise a rather large sum of money. We are also trying to go on another trip to St. Paul, but we can only go if there is enough money. So i ask, how can a large group of thirty students raise money. Are there any Ideas?
I would be glad to do an Avon fundraiser. Avon sells really well! It is not from the book but from flyers. Very simple for you to do!
bludecke@gmail.com
Is it too cold for car washes in MN? That's always an easy fundraiser with minimal expense. Usually held in a church or school parking lot.
What about raking leaves. Canvas neighborhoods and knock on doors. Bring lots of bags and rakes. If it has snowed you could always shovel driveways and sidewalks.
What about a dog sitting or dog walking service?
What about a Parent's Night Out where teens babysit or plan a craft for kids so parents can shop for a few hours or have date night?
Local restaurants here have fundraisers where the group cashier & bus tables for "tips". It's announced way in advance so everyone eats out that night and "tips" big (donates).
If there's lots of senior citizens in your town you could ask what errands or work they need done. Maybe they need housecleaning done or groceries delivered. Maybe they need lightbulbs changed or a garage or attic cleaned. Maybe they just need their trash dragged to the curb each Friday (pickup day).
Hope these are ideas you can use or spark your imagination for other ideas.
How about a candle sale? I know of a good company that would have awesome product, quick delivery.
Becky
babz519 AT yahoo.com
Hi, don't know where you're from, so this might not work if you're in a warm area through the winter. We live in an area where our winters are very cold. Many people have wood stoves, and we raffled tickets for X number of cords of wood. They sold like wildfire..pardon the pun. Check out if a logger will kick in a donation of logs, and split your own. Between all you students, there has to be someone with a chainsaw and woodsplitter or spitting axe. Also, with the gas prices today, you can chip in to purchase X number of litres, and raffle it off. Good luck, have fun!
let's start with the U.N. theme.
1-have a talent show with acts from different countries
2-week previous and at entrance have have small items from several countries to purchase
3-during intermission sell goodies from the different countries for sale.
We have organized a Prom Dress Consignment. Advertisement is the key, make flyers, take them to "tri-State" area high schools, and charge $5.00 per dress w/ accessories to consign, and the profit goes to the individual selling the dresses. We charged $1.00 per person to come in and browse, offer a "Child Watch" for young children. It is a big success, plan approx. 2 months before prom for your sale.
here are some ideas - www.yourminnesotadj.com/dance/dance-fundraising.html""
I'm in charge of making fundraisers for my school and I need ideas.
School Fundraisers
Step 1
T shirts
Step 2
Socks
Step 3
Key chains
Step 4
Bake sale
Step 5
Pizza sale
Step 6
Plant sale
We always had the most monetary luck doing bake sales and candy drives. People always have a soft spot for sweets!
What about service projects that are needed in the community and have the people donate a minimum for say raking leaves, pulling weeds, painting porch railings, etc.
No one needs wrapping paper or magazines.
Candy or pop corn are popular here.
Car washes were popular until there were water shortages.
Flea markets are hit or miss.
We had one event called international night where clubs cooked meals from their nationality and you could eat I or take out. That was huge! All food and cooking were donated so it was all profit!
Post back what works for you!
My grandchildren's school did book fundraisers and they went over well because people love to buy books for their children. They also had a pizza sale every Wednesday after school, a bake sale once a year and they did a Halloween carnival.
How about a Penny Drive?
Years ago, I was in charge of a school supply fund raiser. I had a room full of packages in my living room, and I had the list for each grade, K through 7.
Over several days, I pulled all the packages together (after working all day at a new job) and delivered them back to the school. I know the prices were better than buying everything separately, because I had done the research. Still, a lot of them went unsold.
Then, I had to break everything down and return them to the store.
Surprisingly, the penny drive brought in more cash. We asked people to save their pennies, and of course, some just put all their change in, and I believe the school collected something like $1500.
Thankfully, I wasn't on the penny-rolling detail.
I am the chair of our high school band's annual fruit sale fundraiser. For the past several years we have given cash prizes to the top sellers, but the same kids seem to win every year (or their siblings).
I would like to change the rewards to gift prizes that everyone has a chance to win (lottery style) with no more than 5 prizes to be won.
Question 1: With 130 kids in the band, some selling one box of fruit and others selling 200, and everything in-between, what is a fair way to compete for the prizes? (Assuming the prizes are of somewhat varying cost levels.)
Question 2: What prizes will motivate high school students? iPads came up, but we could only afford one of those. What else can you suggest?
Thanks for the help.
By Melody Bressler-Hay from Oak Ridge, TN
Categorize the prize. For everyone who sells 1-20 boxes, a 10.00 prize. From 21-39, a 20.00 prize and so on. No one who sells 200 boxes should compete against someone who can only sell 1. This keeps things fair. That is what I have done before and it worked out great. Hope that helps!
Having had some experience with this sort of fundraiser, it is my opinion that a lottery type, where the kid who sells one box wins the prize and the kid who sells 200 doesn't, you will find that your sales go down. Some kids like to sell, and others don't. It is very difficult to motivate those that don't and taking the incentive away from the kids who do sell will not help. You will have far fewer sales in the long run.
Something that works fairly well in schools is to offer a prize, like an ice cream cake or pizza lunch to the class who has the top sales. Perhaps you could modify this if you have some sort of groupings or split them into sales teams. Some groups such as bands simply assign a quota to everyone, especially if everyone will benefit, such as for a trip. High school students are motivated easiest by cash. You could offer a percentage of the sales for everyone who sells over a minimum.
Eg. Let's say that you think that everyone should be able to make $200 worth of sales (I'm just randomingly picking numbers). Then you say they get a 10% prize - so $20. Sell over $500 and you get 12% - $60, and so on. If you don't get the minimum, you don't get the prize. However, whatever you do, DO NOT take away the prizes from the kids who are doing all of your sales for you.
Here is what we did with our 50 person band fund raiser prizes. We didn't announce how the prizes would be given out before the fund raiser but did say what thye were: an iPad mini, $50 cash (X2), $10 iTunes gift card, homework pass, etc. After the fund raiser we totaled the amount of money raised and found about 1/200 of that. Then we did a lottery style drawing for the iPad, cash, and homeowrk pass. The 200 lottery tickets were divided out by who had rasied the most money getting the most tickets, maximum ten tickets. The person who made the least money got the iTunes gift card. We also did some little stuff by section/cleff. Whichever section raised the most money got to pick which songs we did for the day and the cleff (bass or treble) got to pick one song for one of our concerts.
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