This attention is starting to turn toward our schools. With the vast amount of time that a child spends at school each year, this is a very important front in the battle for a building a healthy lifestyle.

Many schools are addressing the issues of soda and candy vending machines in the schools. And although candy sales have long been a successful form of fundraising, some schools are now looking for ways to integrate their desire for good health into their need to raise money to support vital school functions.

Here are a few ideas of physical activities that combine exercise, fun, and the opportunity to generate lots of income.

Golf and Walk
The golf outing has long been a staple in the fundraising world, used by thousands of non-profit organizations. However, many golf outings have focused solely on the golfer. While these events are great at generating camaraderie among those who participate, the very nature of the activity is exclusionary. If you don’t like to golf, you aren’t going to participate, and that limits the amount of money, as well as community spirit you can drum up.

However, there is a solution. The concept of the Golf & Walk event opens up the beauty of a golf course and the fun that comes from enjoying the great outdoors to everyone who wants to support your organization.

I have worked in the past with Champion Events and was very impressed by their customer service and organizational detail. They have great experience with the Golf & Walk. Here is a snippet from their website about this creative and inclusive event:

The Golf & Walk Event is a new event concept that combines a fundraising golf tournament with a unique “walk-a-thon” at the golf course. Walkers walk nine holes on cart paths at a beautiful golf course. They are kept separate from golfers in complete safety. Everyone finishes together at the end for an awards celebration.

All participants raise donations prior to the event. The Golf & Walk Event is planned on a 12-week timeline and mobilizes everyone in your network to raise money for you, not just those 15% of adults who can play golf. Because its foundation is “relational” fundraising in its most effective form, the Golf & Walk Event is currently producing the highest dollar results of the standard Big 3 fundraising events (banquets, auctions, traditional golf tournaments).

“Thons”
One of the most popular fundraising events that promotes physical activity is the concept of the “thon”. I have written about the “Thon” before on TSF, and you can review this information here.

There are so many great physical events that a school can engage in and collect pledges prior to the actual event. Of course, there is a walk-a-thon, but for a younger crowd, a trike-a-thon might be a good idea.

According to the Daily Times in Tennessee, Carpenters Elementary School in Maryville, held a walk-a-thon on May 21, 2008, and raised just under $25,000 for the day! Those are results that anyone would jump up and down about!

Leesa Taylor, a rotating physical education and wellness coordinator for Blount County Schools, and John Dalton, the school’s assistant principal, decided to have a walkathon fundraiser.

The students enjoyed the walkathon and the effort paid off. “We thought (the fundraising) was for a good-cause,” Satterfield said. “It was (also) good exercise for students who wouldn’t normally get much,” she said.

The walkathon coincided perfectly with the school’s physical fitness test and walking works program, Taylor said. The school’s wellness program emphasizes making healthy choices and is about “the total mind set of changing routines, lifestyles and eating habits to stop obesity,” she said.

Flamingo Flocking
Another fundraiser that can be a fun, physical activity is called “Flamingo Fundraising”. I have also previously written on this event, and you can check out the entire article here.

Many groups have used Flamingo Flocking to great success.

West Middle School in Andover, MA, is currently planning their first such attempt. The Andover Townsman newspaper reports on the event, and I have included a few of the highlights from the article below.

West Middle School parents have introduced a flock of 144 of the plastic lawn ornaments to raise money for the school. Local residents can make a donation to have the birds “migrate” to a lawn of a friend or neighbor in town. When the surprised residents wake up to find they’ve been “flocked,” and a group of about a dozen plastic pink flamingoes now reside on their front lawn, they’ll be asked to make a donation to have the birds removed. Or they can pay to send them to roost on another lawn in town.

Folks can also pay for “flocking insurance,” making a donation to West Middle to ensure the pink birds will never show up on their lawn as part of the money-raising effort. A flier explaining the flocking process will be left with the flamingoes at each house.

“It’s all in fun. I think people will be in good humor about it. You don’t see a lot of pink flamingoes around here,” said Tracy Callahan, Parent Advisory Council vice president, with a laugh. “We were looking to try something different that hadn’t been done around here (for a fundraiser), and flocking is popular in other parts of the country. It just looked like a lot of fun. We’re excited about it.”

Between 10 and 12 flocks of flamingoes will circulate on Andover lawns until May 23, and the PAC hopes to “flock” at least 100 different yards in Andover, said Callahan.

Service Projects
Although, this is technically another “thon” type activity, I believe the nature of the event, as well as the overall results, merits its own category on this list.

The phrase “win-win” may be in danger of becoming terribly over-used, but nonetheless, a serve-a-thon as a school fundraiser is certainly an event in which everyone comes out ahead.

Not only can a serve-a-thon raise much needs funds for any school, but it also engages students in a volunteer effort to help others in need.

I have two examples, one large and one small of recent serve-a-thons which can inspire your school to act.

The first is the 15th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon. This blurb is taken from their website:

What is the Serve-a-thon?
The Annual Serve-a-thon is the largest day of service in the city of Chicago AND the largest fundraiser for Chicago Cares. Thousands of volunteers will come together to improve our city’s schools and raise donations to support the 200+ volunteer programs Chicago Cares manages each month.

Is there a cost to participate?
Yes, a $30 registration donation is required if you are not a member of a team from a Serve-a-thon sponsor company. This non-refundable donation covers the basic cost for each volunteer to participate in the event, which is not only a massive day of service but Chicago Cares’ largest fundraiser. If you are interested in beginning a team from a non-profit group like a church, alumni association, AmeriCorps crew or block club, a donation waiver may be available.

The smaller version of a serve-a-thon is typified by the Sioux Falls Christian School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This information is taken directly from their website:

The Serve-a-thon is a fundraiser where the student body (grades 1-12) and staff serve at various locations in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area. This project gives our students and staff an opportunity to put their Christian values into action and to be a blessing to others. Funds are raised by asking friends and relatives to help support this project as a mini-missions trip to the community. The majority of the funds raised are used to help keep tuition affordable for more families desiring Christian education. Ten percent of the funds raised are donated back to a worthy community organization. Some serve projects include: making treats for firemen and policemen, raking leaves for the elderly, collecting items for The Furniture Mission, visiting with residents of nursing homes, offering to help other non-profit organizations and helping with church painting projects.

Car wash

An Exhaustive e-book full of tips, strategies, anything you ever wanted or needed to know about holding a car wash as a school fundraiser.

Erin over at USA Fundraising has some great ideas, as well, for adding a few twists to the average, run-of-the-mill car washes. Especially check out her tops about adding a snack bar to the event.

So says Erin:

On a nice sunny day, people like to get out of the car, stretch their legs, and chat with neighbors at a car wash. Make your car wash an extra special event by setting up a small snack bar for people to buy snacks and cold drinks while they mingle with friends and wait for their shiny clean car!

Here’s an interesting article on how a youth sports team raised $40,000 at their care wash in Utah.

However, there is a serious environmental concern associated with car washes that you should keep in mind and speak to the right local agencies about before you embark on this path. According the website of the Sonoma County (CA) Permit and Resource Management Department:

A car wash is a great way to have fun while raising funds for your school or community group. But did you know that if soapy water enters the storm drain system it will flow directly to the nearest creek? Soap (even if it is biodegradable) is a pollutant that can be harmful to fish and other aquatic life that depend on clean water for their survival. As well as soap, car wash water can carry pollutants such as dirt, oil, and other automotive fluids into our creek.

Conclusion
It seems that in recent years, we parents and educators have been confronted with a growing concern for both our children’s health, as well as their schools’ shrinking budgets. As we work to supplement the school coffers, so that the students have all the opportunities needed for a well-rounded education, we must do this in a way that promoted a healthy lifestyle both now and into the future.

If you have personal experience with running healthy fundraisers of your own, please get in touch. We’d love to hear and share your success!

“School Resorts To Over The Phone Fundraising”

Now, my immediate reaction to this headline was that something bad had happened. A fundraiser had failed and now the school has to “resort” to raising money by phone.

I even checked the dictionary to make sure the word “resort” had that kind of negative connotation I was imagining. And, indeed, old Merriam-Webster said that the definition of “resort” is “to have recourse”.  Sort of like having a “Plan B”.

The article itself, although very short, didn’t help to lessen the tone of desperation. Here is the text in its entirety.

A recent spending freeze at the Santa Barbara School District is already having an impact in the classroom.

Parents of students at Santa Barbara Jr. High are trying to raise money for programs the district can no longer afford.

Parents and Principal John Becchio will gather Tuesday night to call as many parents as they can. They’ll be asking for money.

PTSA members say budget cuts are starting to impact students in the classroom. So, they stepped up their fundraising efforts to make ends meet.

Only 85 words. And some of these 85 words struck me: “… are trying to raise…”, “Parents and Principal will gather Tuesday night to call as many parents as they can.”

Oh, boy.  This does not sound good.

Obviously, I don’t blame the school for trying to raise much-needed revenue. I’m glad they are addressing the need. However, whenever I’ve been part of planning a fundraiser, we’ve always managed to muster a little more enthusiasm and put together more of a plan than what this article is suggesting.

So, as I read this and thought about it a little bit, I knew I had to write about it.

Obviously, I can’t know for sure what the mood around this particular school is. Maybe it’s just a lousy press release, and the school really does have enthusiasm and a solid plan. But, as I said, all I know for certain, is what I read in this short article.

Given that, I’m going to list all of the things I can think of that could go terrible wrong with a phone-a-thon fundraiser that’s been put together at the last minute, as a last “resort”. I’d love to hear any suggestions that you might have, as well. Just leave them in our comment section!

Eight things that could go horribly wrong:

1. This could come off as poorly planned and haphazard in execution. According to this article, the phone-a-thon is planned for Tuesday, which I’m guessing would be right away. And with the overtones that this attempt is something that has to be “resorted” to, I smell a rush job. And rush jobs never turn out well. Lots of room for mistakes.

2. With so little time to prepare, the volunteer phone staff would probably receive very little training. So, they would have little opportunity to work on a high-quality script. As a result, each person could have a different spin on what the school’s message actually is. I’m reminded of the children’s game “Operator” inwhich a message is whispered along a line of people, and the original message is completely changed around by the time it reaches the end of the line. For a fundraiser, this could be BIG TROUBLE.

3. This one is going to make me sound mean, but if you are scrambling to put together a last minute phone-a-thon, you’re invariably going to wind up with volunteers who have absolutely no business making phone calls to other human beings. And if you get one of these folks on your call team, you are likely going to end up causing more harm than good. I don’t think the families at home who get called by one of these nuts will appreciate it.  You know what I mean.

4. Another risk you take with having an untrained staff, is that asking people for money is not an easy thing. It takes preparation, experience, tact, sensitivity, patience, enthusiasm, and empathy. You can offend someone pretty easily if you say the wrong thing when asking for a donation. By holding the phone-a-thon “this coming Tuesday” there’s probably not the time to get the staff who have all these qualities. There is a real possibility that some of your potential donors will be offended, even unintentionally,  during this phone fundraiser.

5. I’ve participated in phone-a-thons before, and one thing that is very difficult to do well is keep good records of who’s been called, whether you got through to the person, if you had to leave a message, if there was just no answer at all, if the number has been disconnected, and so forth. With a whole team of people making dozens of calls at the same time, there is a huge risk of totally making a mess of all these notes. It’s highly likely that all kinds of errors will be made. And, of course, errors like these, make the folks placing the calls in the first place look stupid.

6. The next problem is that millions of people in this country do not like getting unsolicited phone calls at home in the evening. That’s why there is a national “Do Not Call” list. I understand that these calls being made are for their children’s school, but it’s still a call that can interrupt a family’s evening. Therefore, there will be a percentage of the school’s call list that will be angry.

7. Building on this last point, I think that the results from a phone-a-thon could be negatively skewed because so many people have caller ID functions on their phones. It would be very easy for them to just not pick up the phone and not return the call.

8. A possible unintended side effect of a last minute phone-a-thon is that all of the possible anger coming from the people being called, the overall disorganization of a haphazardly planned event, and the general ineffectiveness of the method could actually turn the volunteer callers off of volunteering in general. You could lose some really devoted helpers because they had such a terrible experience working the phone-a-thon. Be careful.

Conclusion

Did I forget anything? Can you think of any other ways a phone-a-thon of last resort could go wrong for this school? I certainly hope none of what I wrote above comes to pass and that this school makes all the money they need. My only goal with writing this article was to point out that fundraisers need to be well-planned and thought-out. Let me know what you think!

Photo by: Trace Meek

They set a new fundraising record this year, raising $162,275 to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network of Greater St. Louis. The Children’s Miracle Network supports both the St. Louis Children’s Hospital and also the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. Funds are used to purchase equipment, pay for renovations and hospital programs to help local children.

Last year the St. Louis Area Dance Marathon held by Washington University in St. Louis raised $123,00 for charity.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis Record

The event is held for 36-hours. It includes dancing, socializing and guest speakers.

“The measure of the health of a society is how that society cares for its children. Through (the) dance marathon you have showed that this is a very healthy society,” said Michael McRobbie, president of Indiana University, in a news release. “You have all been dancing for the treatment of children at Riley Hospital for Children. I am very proud of you all and the university is very proud of you all.”

The Indiana University Dance Marathon is directed by a student-run member council of 20 participants. They plan fundraising activities year-round to benefit and support the dance marathon.

Source: Indystar.com

Funds raised will benefit PTA programs like author visits and school assemblies. The PTA will also fund 100% of entry fees for field trips. The school raised $6,000 more than the average that was raised in previous years.

The school made their walkathon fun with unique fundraising prizes students found appealing. One student, Taylor Wilson who raised $349.46 gets to be Principal for a day. Principal Welch has other challenges based on how much was raised. If the school raised $9,000, she would dye her hair and also wear roller blades on Friday, October 26th. If the school raised $11,000, she would jump in the pool with all of her clothes on at the $200 club pool party. If the school raised $13,000, a student would get to throw a pie in her ace at an upcoming awards assembly.

Source: DailyRecord

The read-a-thon is the school’s main fundraising for the year. The
goal is to raise the PTO’s annual budget of $15,000 with the
read-a-thon. The read-a-thon recieved lots of support from school
staff and parents.

Lots of ideas were presented as we tried to come up with something that we felt would work for the parents, teachers, kids, everyone involved. We were looking for something that fit in with the wellness plan, plus we were discouraged by the thought of giving up 60 percent of our profits as we had in years past. The group liked the idea of a Read-A-Thon and we also like the idea of having 100 percent of the funds we raise stay here to help our kids and our teachers in the classroom.” said Sandy Shirley, PTO Co-Chair.

The Lead-Deadwood Elementary School Principal, Tim Kosters agreed the read-a-thon was an excellent idea, “This is great for the kids as well as the staff. Our teachers will also benefit from the fundraising this year, as each will have the opportunity to submit a wish list to purchase things to use for their students and their classrooms. Most importantly, the kids will expand on their reading ability in the most critical learning years.”

Children that participate in the program will receive a complimentary
book appropriate to their age and reading level. As each child
raises $10, they “earn” $1 in “book bucks” that they can spend at the
November Scholastic Book Fair. The top fundraising class is awarded a
pizza party. The top fundraiser from each grade level is awarded a
prize that meets the Health and Wellness plan’s guidelines.

If you liked this article, you may want to read about this school
read-a-thon library fundraiser!

Source: Black Hills Pioneer

A number of the teens were skating in honor of people in their lives who had battled cancer.

“My grandmother had cancer, “Randa Tolar said.

Skaters that raised $25 in donations were given a t-shirt and lunch. They participated in four hours of skating. The event raised at least $500 just a few hours into the event, but more funds were expected to be raised throughout the day. This is the first time they held a skate-a-thon event.

Source: hattiesburgamerican.com

“This is a great event that allows our parents and fans to come show support for our team,” Western Illinois head swimming and diving coach Nathan Mundt said. “We encourage everyone to come out and spend some time with us as a pre-tailgate to the homecoming football game.”

The event was open to the public and after the event, a reception with the team was held. The funds raised will be used for various team expenses for the Swimming and Diving Team.

Source: WIU Athletics.com

According to Cincinnati.com students walked two miles around the school’s campus. They stopped along the way at stations to participate in fun events like a tug-o-war and a water balloon toss.

To read about more fundraising walk-a-thon events, visit our sites: Step by Step Fundraising and CharityMile.com.

It allows the kids to see that participating in physical activity can be fun and they’re still raising money for it,” says Barbara Maitre, parent council president. “It gets them outdoors and … it reminds them to get outdoors and have fun as opposed to selling chocolates and cookie dough.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit in Windsor, Ontario last year sent out parent advisory council information offering ways to add health and wellness into their activities. Their goal was to reinforce the efforts schools were already making.

The Fitness-Fun-A-Thon at Stella Maris Catholic Elementary School raised $6,700 last year. The previous year’s event raised $6,000. Funds were used to purchase sports team uniforms and subsidize field trips.

Source: The Windsor Star