Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

School carnivals are one of the most popular ways to raise money for schools in the United States. While the amount of planning and organizing that goes into this type of an event may be very high, the pay-off can also be substantial. If you find yourself in charge of running your school’s carnival, take a few minutes to read about the things NOT to do, if you would ever like to resume this position in the future.

Repeat the Same Games, Activities, and Entertainment Year After Year
A surefire way to decrease the annual attendance at your school carnival is to find some activities that seem to work and then use them year after year after year. It’s very easy to fall into the mindset that since an activity or event was popular one or maybe even two years, it will always be so. However, this is dangerous. People get bored. Also, just because you still have some props left over from previous carnivals, and it’s cheaper not to have to build new ones is no excuse to stick with the “same-old, same-old”.

The only exception to this rule is something that is considered a local tradition. Perhaps there is a long-established talent contest or chili cook-off that is responsible for actually drawing people to the carnival.

However, these kinds of perennial events should make up only a small fraction of your carnival agenda. Most of the entertainment, activities, and events should be continually updated to keep attracting a large audience each year. continue reading

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For today’s Resource Round-up, I’m pointing you toward a number of articles that highlight some of the more interesting “thons” that are out there. Although not all of these articles involve school fundraising in particular, the ideas can certainly be adapted and used in any kind of non-profit situation. Be creative!

In Canton, Illinois, students have organized a Math-A-Thon as fundraiser for a hospital. From the Canton Daily Ledger.

Each year, hundreds of Christians gather at the U.S. Capitol to undertake a 90 hour continuous Bible Reading Marathon. This year the event happens from Sunday, April 27 through May 1, 2008. Check out the web site for more info.

In Houghton, Michigan, the Mining Gazette reports that the Bay Cliff Health Camp sponsored its second annual Stand-a-thon.

Found at the Online Athens website: The University of Georgia Rec Club will host a “Kartwheels for Kids” cartwheel-a-thon Saturday to raise money for the Interplast Foundation, which provides free surgical care for children in developing countries.

UDaily, the student newspaper for the University of Delaware, has an article about the third annual Erg-a-thon, which raised $8,000.

And in Olympia, Washington, an elementary school is hosting a Moustache-A-Thon. It’s true, I couldn’t make something like that up!) Read more in The Olympian.

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In recent years, there has been a growing desire to infuse traditional fundraising events like a product sale with positive values such as eco-awareness or proper nutrition. We at Top School Fundraisers are very happy to be able to refer our readers to examples of such trail blazing groups.

Today I would like to introduce you to “Apples Online”. This is an organization from the Yakima Valley in Washington State that grows a wide variety of delicious apples and ships them anywhere in the country. And while it is possible to order these apples on your own, there is also a plan to sell these apples as a school fundraiser!

Apples Online has a great and informative website which you can check out here. I recommend that you take some time, if you are considering a product sale, to visit Apples Online to learn if their style of online fundraiser is right for your organization. Here is a snippet of their fundraising plan:

There are two types of Fundraisers: (1) Sell bags of apples, and (2) have the customer come later to our website and place orders. You should be able to earn 100% on the bags and 10% on the internet sales. It is not necessary to sell bags to entitle your Fundraiser to sell from the internet, but it is encouraged in order for your customers to try the apples first to see the quality they will be receiving. (More…)

If you have heard people in your community wish they could change up the fundraising products they are asked to sell each year, here is a wonderful alternative to tell them about. This could be a terrific move for your school.

If you do try this out, please drop us a line to share your experience. We’d love to hear from you.

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Most schools rely on product sales to generate much needed revenue for their programs. These kinds of events are great ways for schools to raise money and accomplish goals. However, there seems to be a growing reluctance by some parents to participate in such sales. Without active and enthusiastic participation, however, product sales cannot succeed.

So, as school fundraising leaders, we have to employ every strategy we can in order to ensure success. Here is a list of 14 ideas to help you maximize your parent participation in product sales events.

1. Limit the Number of Product Sales Per Year
Like anything else, you don’t want too much of a good thing. Realize that most parents have other children involved in other non-profit groups, that are also doing product sale fundraisers. Families only have so much of a budget for this sort of thing. Be considerate in your planning.

2. Clearly Tell Parents the Number and Dates of Each Product Sale for the Year
Parents like seeing that you have a plan. If you can absolutely promise that you are only going to do two product sales this year and they’re going to be in October and May, the parents will be grateful for the advance warning and the consideration you showed them. This helps them plan. continue reading

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When I was employed at the summer camp, we worked very hard to raise enough money to supplement our annual operating budget. Like a vast number of non-profits, the revenue we generated by offering services and products (i.e. the money we “earned”) did not cover our yearly expenses. Therefore, we had to turn to fundraising events. This is pretty standard these days in the 501(c)(3) world.

And while we always seemed to find a way to make just what we absolutely needed, there was rarely a surplus of cash that we didn’t know what to do with.

At one point, we started asking ourselves where we “ranked” in the fundraising priority list that most families develop, either formally or informally. We got thinking about all the organizations that families are typically involved with during the year and tried to figure out how they decided which ones to fund. continue reading

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Having worked at non-profit organizations for years, I know from experience that product fundraisers can be very effective. There is a built-in sense of obligation for parents to at least “try” to sell to family, friends, and co-workers. If you hook up with the right company, you will get a quality product coupled with a respectable (50% or more) cut of the profits. Overall, product sales are safe, predictable, and reliable.

However, in recent years, there has been an increasingly vocal opposition to these product sales. Back in the old days, we simply sold the cookie dough and didn’t complain. We took it like men. We saw it as our civic duty to trudge from door to door, set up tables in front of the five and dime, and harass our aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas into dropping at least $20, so we could win a model car or some such grand prize.

Now, things are changing. A growing segment of our population has risen up and claimed that they don’t need the cookie dough. They don’t want the wrapping paper. They aren’t going to fork over hard-earned cash for gourmet popcorn. They have even started to express their grievances to school administrators and PTO leaders.

So, what is a school fundraiser to do? Although we don’t want to alienate a segment of our community, we just can’t give up raising money to cover those items the school budget misses. And, it’s not fair to give the nay-sayers a free pass and thus hang the entire financial burden on the families willing to play along. continue reading

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By now, many of you will have heard about the Red Paperclip Story. If, for some reason you haven’t, here’s the quick version. Back in 2005(ish) a 26 year old Canadian man wanted to buy a house, but he didn’t have the money. In a flash of inspiration, he decided to take an over-sized novelty red paperclip that he had been given and offer it up for trade, albeit for a somewhat higher-value item.

He put the paperclip on “craigslist” and within a few hours, he had his first taker. A person offered to trade him a pen in the shape of a fish for the paperclip. Then, the man immediately sought to trade the fish-pen for something else. And so on. Finally, after fourteen months and twelve items, he made a trade that brought him a house- free and clear. He started out with a trivial item that cost him nothing. He ended up with an asset that was valued near $100,000! What an ROI! continue reading

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