Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

The San Mateo County Times has a nice article about an elementary school that held an environmentally-friendly fundraiser in honor of Earth Day.

Gail McCarthy of the Gloucester Daily Times reports on a very creative mix of fundraising and drama at a local school auction that resulted in a tidy profit.

Jason Claffey of Foster’s Daily Democrat posted an article about a school fundraiser that brought back the music and styles of the late, great 1980s. Maybe I’m feeling nostalgic about my 20th High School Reunion coming up this summer, but this sounds really good to me!

Erin over at USA Fundraising helps us remember Earth Day this year with a number of great eco-sensitive fundraising ideas.

Joy Underhill of PTO Today has a terrific article called “Teacher Appreciation Done Right”. Check it out!

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As I have written in the past, one sure-fire way to increase your fundraising results is to boost the level of your school spirit.  The more people love and identify with their school, the more likely they will be to open their wallets for it. 

Here are a few links to articles that tackle the issue of school spirit from a number of different angles.  Enjoy!

The website My Clay Sun, has a fun article about building school spirit in a school-wide dodge ball tournament.

From the Education World web site, here is a great collection of ideas from principals on how to use year-long themes to boost school spirit.

The blog Cheer4Life, posts a number of school spirit week activity ideas. From a young person’s perspective. Totally.

Here is an interesting article by Chris Ellis posted on the Business Ideas blog about the importance of branding your school.

Here is a sarcastic view of school spirit from the perspective of a student on his blog. Good for a quick laugh. The title of the post is “You Are Now Required to Show School Spirit”.

This is another list of school spirit activity ideas. This one is from the Teens page of Lovetoknow.com

From Christy Forhan at the PTO Today website, here is a terrific, in-depth article on building school spirit.

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For today’s Resource Round-up, I’m pointing you toward a number of articles that highlight some of the more interesting “thons” that are out there. Although not all of these articles involve school fundraising in particular, the ideas can certainly be adapted and used in any kind of non-profit situation. Be creative!

In Canton, Illinois, students have organized a Math-A-Thon as fundraiser for a hospital. From the Canton Daily Ledger.

Each year, hundreds of Christians gather at the U.S. Capitol to undertake a 90 hour continuous Bible Reading Marathon. This year the event happens from Sunday, April 27 through May 1, 2008. Check out the web site for more info.

In Houghton, Michigan, the Mining Gazette reports that the Bay Cliff Health Camp sponsored its second annual Stand-a-thon.

Found at the Online Athens website: The University of Georgia Rec Club will host a “Kartwheels for Kids” cartwheel-a-thon Saturday to raise money for the Interplast Foundation, which provides free surgical care for children in developing countries.

UDaily, the student newspaper for the University of Delaware, has an article about the third annual Erg-a-thon, which raised $8,000.

And in Olympia, Washington, an elementary school is hosting a Moustache-A-Thon. It’s true, I couldn’t make something like that up!) Read more in The Olympian.

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Here’s an interesting article that deals with some of the frustration tied to the “old ways” of fundraising and looks toward some intriguing new solutions. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

This is a “shake your head” piece about a school in Connecticut that forfeits state funding in order to maintain its candy fundraising sale each year. From the Connecticut Post.

It had to come to this, huh? Here’s a story about a new kind of playground for schools. With a price tag like this, though, I wonder how soon we’ll be seeing them pop up around the country. From the Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

Once again, Erin over at USA Fundraising has written a great article on 5 ways to stretch your fundraising dollar. A must read for anyone involved on your leadership team. Read it here.

Marc Pitman, otherwise known as the Extreme Fundraising Coach, offers some interesting insights from a professional fundraiser’s perspective on Oprah’s new television show, “The Big Give.” Check it out here.

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I’ve always said that fundraising is a hard game. One minute you’re up, the next your down. I realize that’s a cliché, but we all know it’s true. The following stories fall into that “But for the Grace of God, go I” department. We at Top School Fundraisers wish all these folks the best of luck in meeting their goals.

Here’s a sad story about a high school in Ohio, whose latest effort to raise money for an after-prom party have not gone as they had hoped. From The Advocate.

Read the story of a Connecticut school that is struggling to comply with bureaucratic red tape when all it wants to do is hold a little game of bingo. From Newsday.com.

Public schools in Tennessee try to cope with a new state law that could make fundraising harder than ever. From WSMV TV.

This just breaks your heart. Read about a Sarasota, Florida, school that had its auction items stolen, right before the big event. From WWSB TV.

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Read about a Maryland school board that’s unhappy with the PTA’s decision to hold a fundraising event at McDonald’s. From The Washington Post.

Here’s an intriguing article that could be signaling new trends in school fundraising.
From the St. Cloud Times.

A reminder about school safety during fundraisers. From The Gillette News-Record.

Read about a “Chocopalooza” that a school in Michigan is holding as a fundraising event. From the Daily Telegram.

Sad to report that the smallest school in the United States is likely to be closed this year. From the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Here is a very interesting and thorough article on helping our kids get the most out of the fundraising experience. From Jennifer Anderson’s Experiential Fundraising blog.

This is a great new twist on an old fundraising standby: The Coupon Book. Read how a school in Canada has been able to combine an active lifestyle with awesome fundraising opportunities. From the Black Press of British Columbia.

Heidi over at USA Fundraising gives us another informative fundraising article. Learn How Special Olympics Delaware raised $85,000 on the Internet!

Marc, the Fundraising Coach (and all-around nice guy), is cracking me up over at his blog with the latest installment of his Fundraising Secret series. From one of my favorite movies of all time- Groundhog’s Day.

If you haven’t already checked it out, you might want to click on over to the PTO Today website. They’ve totally redesigned it, and it looks terrific! PTO Today is always a great resource to learn more about what’s going on in our kids’ schools. I highly recommend it.

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