The program success is directly related to two factors. The first was time and effort spend planning and soliciting motivational items which served as incentives for the children. The second was a reliable group of volunteers to handle the administrative aspect associated with the weekly recording of students’ individual level of sales and their prize distributions.

The approach and view was this was a program to benefit the community: businesses were asked to make donations. Donations were as varied as the businesses. These donations were packaged into individual gift for the each student in accordance with his weekly sales.

Historically, the sales activity level peaked during the first two and last two weeks of the program. In reviewing the activity level of previous years’ sales that the report showed sales doubling during the time that the vendor offered a double incentive. Hence the conclusion to keep the incentive for the duration of the program.

For every six items sold the student received a prize (all prizes were donated). Initially, we used the small trinket items ( such as a school supply item) and as the program progressed we began using the higher value donations (such as a complimentary large pizza or a menu meal from a local restaurant, or movie tickets). There were no limit on how many prizes a student could earn.

Additionally, there were special rewards and large ticket item prizes at the end of the program for top children in elementary, middle, and upper school. For the duration of the program the sales level remained at a consistently high level.

It was a great way to solicit the businesses support and participation while teaching the children a number of life and business skills. Simple but working as a team it was very effective.

There are a lot of things that need organizing in order to pull off a truly successful fundraiser, such as the products you are going to sell, to the budget you have to work with, to when and where your fundraiser is going to take place. All of this organization would be a lot easier if you had a team of helpers to lighten the load a little for you.

But sometimes you don’t have the benefit of extra helpers and you may have to go it alone with individual fundraising to get the job done. First of all, don’t panic. Individual fundraising is very easy to do once you know how.

The hardest part is getting over that initial problem of coming up with an individual fundraising idea that works. One solution that has proven time and time again to be successful for individual fundraisers is to sell products through the use of brochures.

Brochures make everything a lot easier for you, since you don’t have to carry around large cases of products on your own. You may like to go around door-to-door around your neighborhood and spread the word of the good cause you are supporting. With brochure products, such as our Flower Bulb Fundraising and Gourmet Cookie Dough Fundraising packages, you can take orders from people using the easy-to-use order forms that we provide. They can select the number of products they wish to order from the brochure, and then once you feel you have enough orders to reach your goals, we will ship out all of the products to your customers. It really is as simple as that.

The goal of this book is to scientifically explain some of the reasons why and how much people give to charities.

As a person who has working in the non-profit industry for many years, this topic was very interesting to me.

I had not heard of this book before, and when I heard the report I was driving, so I couldn’t jot down a lot of notes, but a few things jumped out at me right away, and I wanted to share them with you. I will be searching this book out in the near future, however, as it sounds fascinating.

The first thing that caught my attention is that the author reported that people are more likely to give to a single person or small group of people as opposed to a larger group with many members. This makes sense to me. It seems that donors feel like they are more able to impact one person’s life in a positive manner, as opposed to an entire population.

What does that mean in relation to the school fundraising world?

Well, it tells me that it might be smarter for a school to frame their fundraiser in a way that highlights the impact on individual children, as opposed to the benefits the whole school may experience.

So, if I were running a school carnival, for instance, (or any other important school fundraiser) I would write my promotional material in a way that showed parents how their individual child would suffer and/or benefit depending on how much money the carnival was able to raise. I’d actually list out specific items that would impact each student.

Of course, the impact would be felt by the entire student body, but by bringing it down to a student-by-student basis, you’re speaking more directly to parents. It’s just how you deliver the message.

Think about it. If you were the parent who was being asked to donate time or money, wouldn’t you be more motivated if you knew exactly what was at stake for your own son or daughter?

Go ahead, give this strategy a try.

Photo by: Rennett Stowe

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!

The restaurant gift card fundraiser is great for the tough economic times we are all facing right now. You’ve probably found that most of your fundraising customers are cutting back on their discretionary spending budget and not purchasing as much from you as before. That is to be expected in tough financial times.

But the restaurant gift card fundraiser taps into a different part of their household budget, the dining/entertainment budget. No matter what – we all still eat out occasionally. It never hurts to remind your customers that not only are they helping your group and its cause out but they are also saving 60% off their meals out that they would be normally buying at full price if it wasn’t for you and your restaurant gift card fundraiser.

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Back of Card (click to enlarge)

Sample Restaurant.com Partners

This fundraising program is so simple and risk-free! The cards have no expiration dates for you to worry about and unredeemed cards can be refunded if unscratched or damaged.

View full list of restaurant partners »
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With 50% profit, free shipping, and a 100% risk-free guarantee, you’ve got nothing to lose! Supporters will love saving 60% on every meal. Start your Restaurant.com Gift Card Fundraiser today!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I return any unsold cards?

If you do not make a profit on this fundraiser, you can return any unsold restaurant.com gift cards as long as the back code has not been scratch off.
Do I have to pay for the cards upfront?

We have two different payment options for you:

1. You can pay upfront using a credit card, e-check, or by mailing in a check.
2. You can pay 10 days after receiving your cards. For this we will need a credit card to authorize or a purchase order from your organization.

You will be able to choose your payment option choice when you are placing your order online.
How do the supporters use the restaurant.com cards?

To use the card, your supporters will go to fundraising.restaurant.com. They will enter the code on the back of the card into the website and enter their zip code to see what dining certificate options are available in their area. The dining certificate options will range from $15.00 to $50.00 and it can be used all at one location or can be split up to be used at multiple restaurants. They would print out the dining certificate that they chose and present it when they go to the restaurant. *Please note that only one dining certificate can be used per visit and there might be a minimum purchase requirement. Any stipulations will be listed before your supporters choose the dining certificate.
Are these cards customized?

The cards will not be customized and so any unsold cards can be returned for a full refund within 60 days of getting the cards.
How many times can the card be used?

The cards is valid for up to $50.00 for restaurant.com dining certificates.
How much do the restaurant.com gift cards cost?

Each card costs $10.00 and is sold to supporters for $20.00. Your profit will be $10.00 per card.
Is there a minimum number of cards I need to buy?

The minimum purchase is for 10 restaurant.com gift card

I have a great deal of respect for the hard and important work that teachers do. I am still currently involved in working with students, and there are many days I wonder how the teachers cope with so many young people on a daily basis.

I also know that the hours between 8:00 and 3:00 are only a part of the day teachers put in. With staff meetings, extra-curriculars, mentoring, and grading papers, their work day is long.

However, there are many schools that are getting absolutely zero cooperation from their teachers when it comes to fundraising or spirit building activities put on by the parent-teacher group in the school.

This lack of participation, especially when the parents have repeatedly asked for their involvement, can be very discouraging to the parents who are giving their time to the same cause the teachers are working for.

Nobody is accusing the teachers of not working hard. And nobody is asking the parents who are volunteering to give more of their time. But, what is the solution? What is fair to expect from the teachers?

Basically, I think the answer to this problem starts in the principal’s office.

I firmly believe that the principal sets the mood for fundraising at the school. If the principal thinks fundraising is “beneath” the faculty, then the teachers won’t be very helpful. But, if the principal sets an example, by being involved him- or herself, if he or she gets excited by the fundraiser at hand and makes an effort to pump up the students, if he or she verbally affirms the teachers who do get involved, then there will be a much more active participation from the teachers.

Teachers are employees, just like everybody else in the workforce. For the most part, employees tend to value what their boss values. They often reflect the taste of their supervisor. For example, if a principal arrives early to work on a regular basis, then the staff will recognize that punctuality is important at that school. If the principal chooses to be very formal in his or her wardrobe, it’s likely the teachers will follow suit (pun intended!).

So, if you are having a problem in your school with lack of teacher participation in fundraising activities, I suggest you start working on getting your principal to be much more active and enthused about raising the money needed to provide students with the education materials and experiences they need.

Photo by: by dumbledad

I mentioned things like the popularity of the fundraiser, the amount of profit the school got to keep, the value of the item sold to the school families, the amount of volunteers it required to run the event, and the variety of the entire selection of fundraisers for the year.

I want to pick up the story now by offering some possible 1-2-3 combinations.

First, how about this:

1. School Carnival
2. Passive Campaign (collections of soup labels, grocery receipts, box tops, printer cartridges, returnable soda bottles, etc.)
3. Product sale (any product you sell that profits are split with the company providing the product.)

Or this:

1. Walk-a-thon (or any kind of pledge drive “a-thon”)
2. Scratch card/gift cards/coupon books
3. Letter solicitation (asking for straight out cash donations)

Or this:

1. Auction (Silent or live or both)
2. Car wash
3. Drive 1 4 UR School (Ford)

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Or this:

1. Bake sale
2. Catalog sale
3. Script sales

Or this:

1. Raffle (tickets for cash or a grand prize)
2. Garage/Yard sale
3. Flamingo Flocking

Or this:

1. Basket raffle
2. Spaghetti dinner
3. An adults-only Oktoberfest (beer and wine tent event)

Or this:

1. Recycling drive (scrap metal)
2. Store or restaurant donating percentage of one day sales to school
3. Texting fundraiser

Now, maybe you have looked over this list and found some combinations you really like. Or maybe you like two of the three, but want to substitute something else for the third. That’s ok. Feel free to mix and match, as long as you keep the priorities we talked about in mind. No one fundraiser is perfect and each one of the different kinds of fundraisers I listed has its own advantages.

However, I do believe that it is very important to mix and match them properly. The first step in making this decision is to know your school’s priorities. Once you know who you are and what you want, you can make this choice more easily.

For my part, after I made these combinations up, I’m realizing that truthfully, I’d have a hard time picking just three.

Here’s a cheat: If you pick the carnival as one of your three, it’s like asking the genie with the magic lamp for more wishes. That’s because with a carnival, you can add anything you want in to it. At your carnival, you can easily work in a raffle, a car wash, a bake sale, a mini-flea market, a 5K fun run, a spaghetti dinner, a silent auction, and a group texting fundraiser, for instance.

I would love to know what 1-2-3 combinations you would make for your school. Please share your ideas in our comments section. Thanks!

Photo by: ponchosquealº

If you are the person or if you are on the team of people that decides which fundraisers your school will be running during the year and you haven’t developed a complete plan by now (late October), you are doing a great disservice to your school.

I say this, because for the most part, parents don’t like having fundraisers just thrown at them without notice. If you are guilty of this, you should know that this kind of a haphazard plan doesn’t inspire much confidence in the minds of the people you are asking to give.

Therefore, you should be planning your fundraising strategy well ahead of when you will spring anything on your community.

But that means making some decisions about what you are going to do months from now.

So, what will they be? You can only pick three.

Click here to enroll in Jim Berigan’s FREE year-long school fundraising e-Course!

(Why only three? Well, in addition to not liking fundraising surprises, parents also don’t like one fundraiser after another after another after another. If you ask them to donate more than three times in a nine month school year, you are going to risk alienating your audience.)

Well, let’s see. How should we pick ‘em?

• Popularity is a good criteria. After all, we want people to like what we’re asking them to do, so we can raise the most money.
• Keeping a high percentage of the profits for the school is also an important factor. We don’t want to send all our revenue off to some company somewhere, right?
• Value is also critical. Whatever we try to sell or provide to parents has to be a worth their money, right?
• What about volunteers? We can’t keep asking people to give time they don’t have, so we have to be smart in how many times we ask people to volunteer.
• I also think that variety should be considered, as well. We don’t want to do three product sales or three “-thons” or three golf outings. That would be really annoying.

So, here are some possible combinations:

To Read the conclusion of this article, please check back soon!

Photo by: striatic

Click here to enroll in Jim Berigan’s FREE year-long school fundraising e-Course!

Are you looking for a school fundraiser that is easy to manage, simple to plan, fun to run, sure to make money, and popular with parents?

Do you want to be sure that your new fundraiser has been proven successful by other schools?

Do you want to hear positive feedback from the students’ moms and dads?

Well, here’s a fundraising activity that answers all of these questions.

Ford Motor Company has come up with a terrific fundraising opportunity that your school should be looking to take advantage of.

Here is a description I took from their website that tells you a bit about what they are offering.

The Drive One 4 UR School program was developed as a fun, engaging way to help schools raise money to support their sports and extracurricular activities. Ford and Ford Lincoln Dealerships partner with a local high school to conduct a test-drive fundraising event. For every valid test-drive completed, Ford Motor Company will donate $20 to the participating high school, up to $6,000! So, the more people who test-drive a Ford or Lincoln vehicle at the event, the more money can be raised!

Could your school recruit 300 people over the age of 18 to spend a few minutes to drive around the block and then fill out some simple evaluation forms afterwards?

This is a great idea for those schools who don’t want to rely on product sale fundraisers and would like to do something different than the age-old walk-a-thon.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please check out the Drive One 4 UR School Facebook Page.

Here are a few news reports about school that have jumped on board this excellent fundraising opportunity.

Test-driving a new fundraiser

By Danielle Portteus

August 03. 2011

In order to get money for a new wrestling room, Bedford Wrestling just needed to get people to test drive cars.

On May 21, the group was able to get 250 people to test drive vehicles provided by Grogan’s Towne Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. On Monday, the group received a $5,000 check for their efforts.

The Dodge Corporation provided the funds and Grogan’s Towne supplied the vehicles and sales staff for the fundraising event. Each test drive received a $20 donation from the automaker.

“Anytime you can get funds donated by just giving a little bit of time is a big deal,” said Dennis Brighton, head wrestling coach. “At first, we thought we needed just 100 people, but on the day of the event, we learned we could have 250 people, so we brought in an extra 150 people on the day of the fundraiser.”

School clubs plan test drive fundraiser

By Lois Westermeyer

Pontiac Daily Leader
Posted Sep 22, 2011
Streator, Ill. —

Schools facing funding shortages are reaching out to develop unique fundraisers and this Saturday Woodland and Streator Township high schools are hoping community members will test drive new cars to raise money for both schools.

Woodland High School staff member and Key Club adviser Tara Miller said the two schools are teaming with Star Ford in Streator, where every test drive taken Saturday will provide at least $20 to the designated school.

“Ottawa (high school) did this about three weeks ago with their Ford dealership and raised $8,000. Ford is providing a maximum of $6,000, plus any bonus money awarded. Certain vehicles that are test driven will provide a bonus, but I don’t know which vehicles those are,” Miller said. “There is no commitment to buy a car, people just need to take a test drive. Participants need to be age 18 or older,” she added.

Both high schools will have food and craft booths set up at the test drive site, which is the parking lot at Streator Township High School, located along Route 23 (Bloomington Street.) The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Connellsville car dealership holding fundraiser for Falcon Foundation

By Nancy Henry, FOR THE DAILY COURIER
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Jim Davies, owner of Davies Ford in Connellsville, chose the Falcon Foundation.

“There are hundreds of organizations all over the country that are taking advantage of this generous program offered by Ford. I’m glad Davies Ford can take advantage of the program to contribute to the Falcon Foundation. It’s a good group of people who are doing positive things for students here. This is a way for us to give back to the community that has helped us be successful here in Connellsville,” said Davies.

Davies is hoping to get at least 300 people to test drive cars in one day.
“Six thousand dollars — that’s the top number Ford will donate so that’s what I want to achieve. We want to get the maximum donation,” said Davies.

Davies Ford will have 10 or 12 cars and trucks available to test drive. Sign up will take place at Saturday’s Mum Festival in Connellsville. The event will be held Saturday.
Vehicles available to test drive will include 2011 or 2012 Ford Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, F-150s and several SUVs.

Davies stresses this is not a sales event.

“It is a way for Ford to expose their vehicles to the public and in turn give a financial boost to a worthy organization. I contacted the Falcon Foundation as soon as I heard about the program because I know they do a lot of good projects for the schools here. I hope that when people test drive a vehicle Saturday they’ll like it and keep it in mind for the future. We hope to see new faces as well as all of our loyal customers. It’s a no-pressure event that brings in money to benefit the Falcon Foundation. It’s a pretty basic program,” said Davies.

Our Fall Mossy Ford Fundraiser on October 13

On Thursday, October 13, Mission Bay will be hosting the Drive One 4 UR School Event, by Mossy Ford. Most people might be asking, what is this fundraiser about and didn’t we have one just like this last year near the end of school? Yes, we did, and Mossy Ford and Mission Bay decided to do it again this year, but early in the year. Our school and Mossy really enjoyed the event last year, so they didn’t want to wait.

So just to sum it up nicely how do we raise funds at this event? When your family drives a brand new car in the Grand Ave. parking lot, our school gets $20 as a donation for every car driven! Half of that can be designated to the family’s choice of school club. Talk about a win, win situation!

We’ve also received information that many of the clubs from the school will be there, so keep an eye out for their booths, like the A.S.B. one, where members will be selling Buc Pride T-shirts. Other clubs, like Key Club and Surf Club, will be selling food and beverages to enjoy while families attend the event.

The Mossy Ford Fundraiser runs from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and each car test drive lasts 15 minutes. Be there to support our school!

Test drive fundraiser nets $3,000 for Redmond High football program

By TIM WATANABE
Redmond Reporter Sports Reporter
Jun 09 2010

The Redmond High School (RHS) football program came out the big winners after last Saturday’s “Test Drive a Ford, support the Mustangs” fundraising event, put on by the RHS Football Booster Club at RHS.

At the unique fundraiser, Ford Motor Co. brought a wide selection of new cars and trucks to the high school, and offered to donate $20 for every test drive taken during the event, held under rare bright and sunny skies.

In total, 155 vehicles went out for a spin, equaling a $3,100 donation. After expenses, the amount raised was almost exactly $3,000.

“We expect to do this again next year,” said booster club president Lee Klepinger. “The folks at Ford were fantastic with their support of our program.”

According to Klepinger, the money will be prioritized to three specific points in the program.

“First and foremost are scholarships for kids that can’t afford the ($275) pay-for play,” he noted. “Secondly, the money will go towards our (year-round) strength and training program, and third for conditioning equipment for the team.”

Klepinger estimated that 300 people attended the fundraiser in total throughout the day.

In addition, the RHS cheerleading squad operated a concessions stand to help raise funds for their 2010-11 team.

Therefore, I think you’ve got to come up with creative ideas that will capture the students’ imagination, so that they will badger and pester their parents until they agree to show up.

In this case, I have a few examples of an idea that will definitely get your students’ attention: a Zombie Fundraiser!

This is a perfect idea as Halloween is right around the corner.

Over the past few months, I have come across a few newspaper articles that have reported on different kinds of zombie-themed fundraisers.  These articles haven’t explained exactly how they would raise money, but that’s ok. That really isn’t the point. The point is that however you are going to raise money, you should figure out a way for people to dress up as zombies while doing it.

Planning a walk-a-thon?  Make it a Zombie Walk-a-thon! Car wash? Zombie car wash. (That could be freaky…) How ‘bout a bake sale? Yep, buy your Halloween themed snacks from zombies in front of the grocery store. You get the picture.

Everyone’s going to have fun dressing up and playing dead. Therefore, you’re certain to get more parents and kids to show up for whatever your event it.

Here are some excerpts from the articles I have found…

Fundraising zombies to roam Michigan communities

IT’S A ZOMBIE FUNDRAISER!

Here’s a great suggestion for a small to medium sized fundraising event. It’s a twist on the old “lock people up in a fake jail, and they have to get their friends to pay their bail in order to get out” fundraiser.

That was so 2000’s. Now, the Artwell Gallery in Torrington, Connecticut, has added a creative touch that plugs into a national preoccupation- Zombies. According to the Republican American online newspaper, the non-profit Artwell Gallery conceived an idea to recruit volunteers to dress up as Zombies and kidnap their town’s mayor. The goal was to raise money to offer scholarships for their summer art classes.

So, the group contacted the mayor, told him of their idea and got his permission to “abduct” him. They then collected pledges from the community for their operation. In all, they raised $1,500 for the scholarships, which the group was very happy about.

Here a few things I really like about the what this group did.

First of all, they did something unique. I can guarantee no other local group had conducted a “Zombie” abduction of a political figure for a fundraiser in recent memory, if ever! These days, in order to get people’s attention and their participation, a non-profit organization needs to do something noteworthy. If a group settles for the same old boring car wash or silent auction, the public is going to issue a collective yawn. But a Zombie abduction? This got people off their couches to see what was going on. Everybody loves a Zombie parade down Main Street!

Second, if you look at pop culture lately, there seems to be a national obsession with Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, and the like. You can’t go down to the local Cineplex without seeing at least a couple of these movies on the screen at any given time- usually in 3D, to boot! So, to add that popular twist to a fundraising twist was a brilliant idea and great marketing of their fundraiser!

Third, due to the creative nature of this fundraising event, it was bound to get serious media coverage. Dozens of zombies parading down Main Street on their way to kidnap the Mayor? That’s a lead story on every television station, radio station, and the front page of the paper. All free. What non-profit wouldn’t want that kind of publicity?

And the last thing that impressed me about this event, was that now, this non-profit has a reputation for serious creativity. Their event has set the bar for every other non-profit in their town- as far as originality and fun. They shot themselves straight to the top of the non-profit heap. This kind of positive attention will pay off for them well into the future.

If you are thinking about ways to hold a creative fundraiser for your organization, be sure to put this kind of creative thought into the planning process.

Zombie photo by: Sheba_Also