Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Sports Illustrated is one of the most popular magazines in North America. This weekly magazine features news articles about all sports - college and professional, men’s and women’s.  It often runs features and cover stories about the current sports season such as football season.

Sports Illustrated has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the country. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice.

There’s also a Sports Illustrated Magazine for kids. It includes interviews with sports heroes, sports comics, action photos, and more.

Since Sports Illustrated magazine is one of the most popular magazines on the checkout stands it is great that it is available as a fundraiser. In fact there are Over 650 magazine titles available in the school magazine fundraiser program.

Many people already subscribe to one or more magazines such as People, and often times your school supporters can just renew their subscriptions.

Click here to find out more about magazine fundraisers

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Here’s a great idea for an extra fundraiser to get in before the winter holiday break. Red, Green and White lollipops in kid’s favorite holiday shapes.

These one-of-a-kind seasonal lollipops come in a variety of festive shapes including snowmen, Santa and even Christmas trees. They are available in the following flavors: Bubble Gum, Candy Cane, Cherry Cheesecake, Cherry Limeade, Cherry Snow, Green Apple, Strawberry Shake, Watermelon Slice, and Wild Cherry.

This is fast fundraiser item could be sold at a school play, winter festival, open house night, or just about anywhere.

• 9 flavors available
• Retail price per pop = $0.50
• 576 pops per case (8 inner cases of 72 pops)
• Minimum order = 1 case
• Your group earns 50% Profit

There’s lots of other shapes and flavors of gourmet pops available. You can view all the available pops and even order online here If you have any questions or want to order over the phone just call 1-866-249-0089 for more info.

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If you are the PTO/PTA president or school principal, you may be all too familiar with the phrase “fundraising fatigue.” Or you may have felt this syndrome for yourself at one point during the school year.

So many organizations, schools and various causes are now fundraising. They also seem to be fundraising more frequently during the year, or running year-long fundraisers. It is important to keep your fundraising efforts motivated and focused so people do not feel burned out and tired.

Although some may feel fundraising fatigue, many Americans support their schools’ efforts enthusiastically according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers. In the 2005-6 school year, 8 out of 10 Americans purchased a consumer item to support a school fundraiser. 9 out of 10 parents purchased a consumer item to support a school fundraiser.

One suggestion for fundraising according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers is to do less fundraisers and to do them more effectively. Many fundraisers are a strong cause of burnout. Setting a time limit for your fundraiser is also important. This encourages full participation during the time limit, along with the guarantee that there will not be another fundraiser within a certain amount of time. The Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers suggests two to three fundraisers a year for a school’s strongest fundraising success.

Source: AFRDS.org

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Many school groups over the years have used the “world famous” chocolate bars from the World’s Finest Chocolate company to raise funds. These chocolate bars have been a staple for many school PTA groups, marching bands and other school groups.

There are so many different varieties available - milk chocolate, chocolate with almonds, chocolate crispy, and so much more. Each of these chocolate bars are made with the finest ingredients.

Your group can raise funds with the famous $1 bars, the chocolate bars that have been used by many groups to raise money. There are also $2 King Size bars in many of the same flavors. World’s Finest Chocolate also makes $5 bars and boxed chocolates which are also great . The $2 and $5 itesm bring in even higher profit percentages for your group. No matter which one you choose you will sure to be creating a winning fundraiser when you choose the bar that has been made famous simply because of its great taste and its great fundraising potential.

> Find out more about World’s Finest Chocolate

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Getting ready for basketball season? Here’s a tasty basketball fundraising idea that’s easy to start and no hassle.

These specially shaped lollipops are great for junior high, high schools and even youth league basketball teams. They are an easy addition to your concession stands, can be sold at the ticket booth or at pep rallies.

These one-of-a-kind basketball lollipops come in 12 flavors! ~ Blue Raspberry, Bubble Gum, Cherry Snow, Cotton Candy, Grape Delight, Green Apple, Juicy Orange, Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Shake, Watermelon Slice, Wild Berry, Wild Cherry.

• 12 flavors available
• Retail price per pop = $0.50
• 576 pops per case (8 inner cases of 72 pops)
• Minimum order = 1 case
• Your group earns 50% Profit
• FREE Shipping

There’s lots of other shapes and flavors of gourmet pops available. All the pops can be ordered online for fast ordering and fast delivery. If you have any questions or want to order over the phone just call 1-866-249-0089 for more info.

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Halloween candy treats are a must have for any school halloween carnival. Parents also need to have candy on hand for trick or treaters who come by the house. Some families sponsor parties on Halloween night instead of or in addition to kids going door to door and candy is needed there too.

So what kind of candies are available for Halloween? You can pick up mini candy bars or other candy at the grocery store. But if you plan ahead a bit you can order candy in bulk online. You can also get more unusual candy treats than you would get if you just went to the local store.

Oriental Trading Company - Lots of Variety, Great Prices

Oriental Trading Company has some of the best selections online of Halloween candy They have a lot of Halloween novelty candies like gummy teeth, bubble gum shaped like pumpkins, Halloween PEZ dispensers, and Halloween printed jelly beans like the ones shown here. You’ll make a big impression with those kind of candy treats!

If you’d like to give out traditional mini chocolate bars, smarties or other candy, they have that in bulk. You’ll find great prices on all the Halloween bulk candy.

Visit Oriental Trading Company to browse their selection and to get free shipping, just enter code RLS100 at checkout.

Halloween Shaped Lollipops - a Tasty Treat

Halloween shaped lollipops are fun treats for your school kids. They can be used as a fundraiser, sold at a carnival booth or given out free as treats. They are just 25 cents each you decide!

This photo just shows three pops, but they really come in lots of flavors: Black Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Bubble Gum, Caramel Apple, Cherry Snow, Cotton Candy, Grape Delight, Green Apple, Juicy Orange, Strawberry Shake, Watermelon Slice, and Wild Cherry. There’s lots of other shapes and flavors of gourmet pops available. You can view all the available pops and even order online here … or Call 1-866-249-0089 for more info.

Healthier Treats - Sugar Free and/or Organic

An alternative to sugary snacks are sugar free and organic candies. Serendipity Sugar Free™ comes in a 1 lb. bulk bag with approximately 96 pieces per bag. They come in a wide variety of flavors. Since they are sugar free, these candies are just 12 calories per piece! Plus great for kids with allergies, they are vegetarian, Kosher, with no gluten, no trans fats, no Nuts, no dairy ingredients and no soy!

Organic Naturepops come in modern, cool flavors like Citrus Blast and Chocolate. Ingredients include organic lime extract, organic orange extract and vegetable colors. The lollipops have organic evaporated cane juice, which is a natural form of sugar.

These sugar free and organic candies are available at Simon Candy Shop.

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For anyone who’s into online fundraising, you know how important those emails are. Most importantly, your emails need to have a strong first paragraph because this is where you grab your reader’s attention, and where many will make the decision to support you or not. That’s why it’s key to make your first paragraph as strong and persuasive as possible. The best way to accomplish this? Personalization!

With the Online Magazine Fundraiser, half the work is already done for you. You don’t have to do the work of putting links into the main body of your emails.

The first paragraph of the emails, however, can be edited. This is your time to shine, and you should be taking advantage of the opportunity to personalize that first paragraph with your own words and sentiments, which will make it a much stronger approach to garnering support.

If you have already kicked off your group’s Online Magazine Fundraiser, you know that the first paragraph of the email invites goes like this:

My group, [Group Name], has just kicked off its fundraising campaign and this year, we’ve found a new way to raise money. It’s fast and easy for you to help support our cause!

That’s a great start, but it doesn’t convey the personal and heartfelt nature of your cause that only you can provide. Using the above paragraph as a base, here’ss an example of a much more personal opening paragraph:

Our group, The West End Youth Center, has been helping children realize their dreams, and grow into happy, successful adults for over 15 years. It is the care and support of people like you that makes this possible, and gives these children hope for their future. We have just kicked off our fundraising campaign, and this year, we’ve chosen a new way to raise money that makes it easy for you to support this great cause, and bring joy to the hearts of children.

Doesn’t that make a much stronger appeal for support? Imagine how persuasive and encouraging it would be for your supporters to hear directly from you!

Of course, you aren’t confined to this outline, and the suggested text generated by the Online Magazine Fundraiser is only meant as a guideline. It’s up to you to create a truly unique paragraph that speaks from the heart. The key is to make it personal, make it clear that this message is about fundraising, and keep the tone of your organization. If your group is all about fun and excitement, then go ahead and let that shine! You’re sure to get a much higher response (and much higher profits!), with personalized messages that take a heartfelt and sincere approach to asking for support.

If you haven’t started your Online Magazine Fundraiser yet, I highly recommend you give it a try. The program is completely free, so there’s no risk involved. It’s easy to set up and maintain, and excellent customer support is available if you run into a snag. Once you’re all set up and ready to start raising funds with your very own online magazine store, don’t forget to personalize those emails, and you’ll be on the path to fundraising success.

Click here to learn more about the online Magazine Fundraiser or Call 1-866-249-0089

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