I know, I know. Writing for this school fundraising blog, I should be right on top of it. Scissors in a holster, ready to clip at a moment’s notice. Right?

Well, sadly, I am not that guy. Sometimes I remember, but usually only when my kids notice one and bug me to cut it out.

So, I need to get better at this. I know how important these little box tops can be when they are all combined together with everybody else’s box tops. I should be doing my part.

Then I thought that it might help to go to the Box Tops 4 Education website and see what kind of inspiration they can give me. They actually have all sorts of great information that can get folks like me fired up to start cutting out every box top in the house. They even suggest going to other people’s houses (like grandma or Great Aunt Sue) to clip out their box tops, too!

If you don’t believe in the power of box tops, here is a success story I found on their site.

A New Jersey elementary school’s creativity engages parents and raises cash

The kids had a choice: Would they prefer to see their principal and their gym teacher race down the hallway on scooters or fight each other in inflated sumo wrestler costumes?

Sumo wrestling prevailed. Kids were admitted for free (but getting a racing-or-wrestling ballot required turning in 25 Box Tops), and their parents—hundreds of them–paid a $2 admission fee. Adding in concession sales, the evening netted $1,000 to buy educational equipment.

It’s one of many ways in which H & M Potter Elementary School in Bayville, N.J., has kept the community actively involved in the Box Tops program. They hold monthly contests—some suggested by others, some of their own design. (“We like to keep it new, not do the same thing over and over again,” says the principal, Jeffery Z.) Contest winners are lavished with attention, as are the advanced teaching tools bought with Box Tops earnings—interactive whiteboards, digital projector systems, etc.—in the school newsletter as well as at PTA meetings and other school events.

Bayville is a low-income area, and the parents have embraced the chance to contribute to their kids’ education through Box Tops. They hand in bags stuffed with Box Tops, and once a contest has ended they seek out Principal Z. for details about the next one. A parent employed by public works is known to Dumpster-dive to retrieve unclaimed Box Tops. The school has gotten senior centers and other community locales collecting Box Tops on its behalf. In 2008-09, the school earned more than $7,800 from its participation in Box Tops for Education.

“In an era that we’re losing funding for programming,” Principal Z. says, “this is really critical for keeping the school afloat.”

This could happen at your school. All you have to do it have some passion, a vision, and a will to inspire everyone to keep clipping!

If you’ve never been to the Box Tops 4 Education website, I highly suggest you give it a look. They have a great forum section, with all sorts of advice for those interested in school fundraising.

Therefore, you have to start out the right way. You want to build quality relationships and take things slowly. If you push too hard, right off the bat, you can easily lose the people you are trying to win over.

Because of all this, the fundraising activities you chose to start off with in the fall need to be easy for people to get on board with. They need to be low on the commitment scale, not as ambitious monetarily (which means a greater chance for success), and high with the fun factor.

I would strongly recommend staying away from the fundraisers that require large amounts of volunteers, lots of planning time, and a significant financial investment.

Here are some ideas for fundraisers that are just right for starting off the year.

Bake Sale- Bake sales are great for the start of the year, because, in my experience, so many people will volunteer to bake and donate cookies, brownies and the like. Most people have the ingredients lying around at home and it’s not a big deal to knock out a couple of dozen treats for a school bake sale. I’ve always had the most success with bake sales on Saturday mornings before big college football games. Reserve a spot outside the most popular supermarket in your town right before the big game, and you’ll turn a great profit.

Flamingo Flocking- Flamingo Flocking is a great way to raise some money for your school, have a lot of fun, and build a bunch of friendships. For a complete description of how to run a Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser, click here. But you should know that this type of fundraiser can tick all the boxes when it comes to low commitment and high fun.

Box Tops/Soup Labels – While these two items may seem to be old hat, they are still a great way to get parents into the good habits of thinking about school fundraising. Set up a good receptacle system, get teachers on board with reminding kids to bring them in, and send letters home to parents telling them about the ongoing program. Create monthly contests between classrooms to keep the box tops and labels coming in all year long. Start the good habits in the fall, and they will continue to produce revenue.

Fundraising cards- Another way to get parents working for you in a relatively easy manner is through fundraising cards. Here is a great video description of such a program offered by FastTrack Fundraising:

Find out about this and other Box Tops promotions

Find out more about this special offer

From the Official Rules:

How to Enter: Online sweepstakes only. To enter, go to: www.boxtops4education.com/CouponsPromotions and click on the Chex Mix Bonus Box Tops Sweepstakes link in the Box Tops Coupons and Promotions section, complete and submit the online sweepstakes entry form during the sweepstakes period which begins at 12:01 A.M. (central time) on Wednesday, August 1, 2007 and ends at 11:59 P.M. Monday, September 3.

Sweepstakes entry limited to one entry per person per e-mail address. Sponsor will not verify receipt of entries. Automated entries are prohibited, and any use of such automated devices or programs will cause disqualification. Sponsor and its advertising and promotion agencies are not responsible for lost, late, illegible, misdirected or stolen entries or transmissions, or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human or electronic. Sweepstakes entries are the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Sweepstakes ends on September 3, 2007.

Prizes: Five (5) Prizes of twenty thousand (20,000) Bonus Box Tops will be awarded to winner’s designated school. Retail value of prize is $2,000 to designated school. Individuals cannot redeem Bonus Box Tops certificate for cash.

Enter now »

Of course with any big blockbuster like Spiderman 3 there are many promotional tie-ins. Besides the required action figures and other toys, there are many other promotions. One of those promotions can help earn money for your school through the box tops program.

Old El Paso taco kits featuring Spidey on the cover include a Spiderman 3 the movie bookmark. Old El Paso dinner kits come with taco shells, seasoning mix and taco sauce—just add meat and your favorite toppings. All Old El Paso dinner kits, taco shells and tortillas packages carry the Box Tops logo for you to clip, save and redeem.

This year the company has donated 100,000 copies of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle to First Book. You can vote to help decide which community these books will be donated to! Just go to the back of specially marked Cheerios boxes to find out how you can place your vote.

During the month of March you could win 5,000 Bonus Box Tops from Cheerios. There’s no purchase necessary – enter for your chance to win today!

Over the years General Mills Box Tops for Education has helped schools earn over $175 million dollars.

Now in addition to earning cash back for local schools through buying groceries and clipping Box Tops symbols, the program also includes shopping online and making purchases with a credit card. When you shop online at the Box Tops Marketplace your school earns cash on every qualifying purchase made, up to $20,000, at no additional cost to you.

Find out more about Box Tops for Education