Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

I am very happy to announce that Top School Fundraisers is holding its very first blog contest.

Topic
In honor of National Teacher Appreciation week May 4 to May 10, we invite you to write a blog entry on the topic of “My Favorite Teacher”. This is a broad topic, meant to include a wide variety of educational experiences and relationships. Also, this could apply to a teacher you once had or one that your child has had.

How it works
Anybody with a blog can participate. Just write a post on your own blog about the topic of “My Favorite Teacher”. Once you have published your new post, contact me to let me know about your entry. We will then place a link on our site to your post. Only one entry per person.

We would greatly appreciate it if you would likewise link back to us in your blog post. You can link to this contest page or just link to our homepage: TopSchoolFundraisers.com.

Prizes
Best Blog Post: The winner will receive a $50 cash payment via PayPal. Second and third place will receive a cash payment of $25 each, also via PayPal.

Entry Deadline
Post your entry and email us the link by Saturday May 3rd at Midnight CST.

How to Vote
Click here to see the list of all of the entries, check out their sties and then vote. One vote per person, but writers be sure to encourage your friends to vote for you too!

Voting Deadline
Thursday May 8th, Midnight CST. Winners will be announced on Friday May 9th.

If you have any questions, just post a comment below or contact me. I’m looking forward to reading some of the entries. Good luck to everyone!

This contest has now ended.  You can see a list of the winners here.

2 Comments »

2008 Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant Program

Here is a great opportunity that came to my attention recently for a $1,000 grant. There is an application deadline of May 1, 2008, so if you are interested in pursuing this possibility, keep that in mind.

This grant originates from the national offices of the Parent-Teacher Association- The PTA. The program is designed to help local PTAs develop student-centered programs focused on arts education. Schools that have large populations and a significant number of “at-risk” students are given special consideration. Areas of study could include: visual arts, photography, music, dance, literature, and theater.

The award may not be used to cover overhead expenses or capital improvements. The funds must be spent on the actual development and implementation of the proposed program.

For more information, including a printable application form, please visit the PTA website.

No Comments »

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.

1 Comment »

Tuesdays are the day that I highlight a particular fundraising event, sale, or process. Today, I am thrilled to bring you “Flamingo Flocking”! I have to admit, this is a variety of fundraiser that I was completely unaware of just a couple of days ago. But, in my pursuit to bring you creative options, I was struck by the audacity and simplicity of this idea and had to share.

We are all familiar with the pink flamingo yard ornament. One of the prime examples of American cultural kitsch, this plastic bird with metal legs has for years marked its owners as well… interesting. I think there are probably two types of people in the world: those who take the flamingos seriously as quality yard art and those who wouldn’t be caught dead with even one adorning their lawn.

For the purposes of this fundraiser, we are banking on the hopes that there are more of those in the latter category.

The fundraiser begins with the formation of a team of people who love to have a good time and make a little harmless mischief. These folks all need to be available to convene and operate under the cover of darkness.

continue reading

No Comments »

Today I want to discuss the topic of leaving comments on this blog. Guess what! I’m all for it!

As I mentioned in my first post, the stats on this site are amazing. There are a lot of people out there reading our regular entries. And that’s great! But unfortunately, we don’t know who you all are.

For Christmas, my son received the board game “Guess Who!” That’s the one where you have to ask your opponent questions about his characters’ physical appearance to eliminate suspects and discover the hidden person.

I’ve played a lot of “Guess Who” in the last couple of weeks, so allow me to use my finely-honed deductive reasoning to try to determine who’s reading this blog.

First, I would guess our readers are adults. I told my kids I was writing for a fundraising blog and their eyes glazed over and a couple of them fell instantly to sleep. (I’ll have to remember that trick for future use…) So, I guess I’m not a favorite of the younger set.

continue reading

No Comments »

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about the amazing collection of fundraising resources here at Top School Fundraisers. Having worked myself for a number of non-profit organizations, all of whom relied heavily on fundraising dollars, I can’t begin to overstate how valuable this information is. Taking the lead on school fundraising can be a tough and a lonely job at times; having a guide such as this can truly be a lifesaver.

Today, I’d like to look ahead for a little bit in order to give you an idea as to how this blog will continue to develop on a daily basis. As I mentioned previously, I am a big believer in consistency. I think having a plan and sticking to it is very helpful in achieving success. I do, of course, allow room for spontaneity, realizing that oftentimes, the best ideas come from these mental wanderings. However, the mission, the ultimate goal of this site is to “connect schools with great fundraising ideas” (see blog masthead for proof!), so I want to make sure we remain focused on this stated premise.

By and large, I think people like to know what to expect. I know that I, myself, am a creature of habit. I am much more likely to be a return customer, if I know that every time I come back, I’ll receive the same level of service, the same quality of product, and the same sense of satisfaction from the experience.

So, in providing you with this blog, I desire to live up to these expectations. That means I will do my best to post at a consistent time each day. It also means that I will set a plan, so you know what you can look forward to reading.

continue reading

No Comments »

Welcome back to Top School Fundraisers! On Monday, I took a few minutes to introduce myself as the new host to this community. One of the things I mentioned is that I’ve spent the last few weeks familiarizing myself with the archives of this blog. I figured that if I were going to come up with regular content going forward, I should really have a thorough understanding of the information that has established this very useful website.

To summarize my general impression of this blog catalog, I have one pithy word for you- WOW! I actually got the calculator out and counted up the number of posts that are sitting there, free of charge, just begging you to read them and learn. Want to guess how many?

159! That’s right. There are 159 (160 actually, if you count this one) insightful and meaningful articles about how to raise money for YOUR school. Whether you are interested in running a modest product sale or organizing a full-scale silent auction, this site has you covered.

continue reading

No Comments »