Many schools rely on their fundraisers for a vast array of activities, projects and outings. However, it can be extremely frustrating for the students, parents and school faculty when trying to come up with fun and unique ways to raise money. When planning a fundraiser there are several factors to consider which will help to increase the amount of money raised. For example, it is important to make sure you tell the donors how the money will be used. When people know their donation will be used for sending children to summer camp or buying the football team new jerseys, it lets them know the money is going for a good cause and it will be something they can feel as though they were a part of. Here are a few fun school fundraising ideas to help get your creativity flowing:
Bake Sales
Bake sales have been used as school fundraising ideas for years and they typically do well at raising money. Volunteers usually bake and donate the cakes, cookies, brownies and etc., so there isn’t money being spent on the items being sold. However, to increase the sales of your baked goods, try doing something unusual for the sale. For example, make it a themed bake sale where all of the baked goods are decorated or represent the theme and the volunteers working the bake sale are dressed in character to match as well. Anything that is eye catching, fun and unique will draw people to the bake sale, simply so they can see what is going on and of course… to buy sweets.
Bingo
Bingo is a fun, sociable and easy to organize game, which makes it a great school fundraiser idea. The bingo game can be held in the school gymnasium, so there is no cost for a location. Volunteers can make the food to be sold, such as hot dogs, chili or sandwiches and you can also buy snacks and beverages at wholesale prices to sell at the event. There are several ways to make money at a bingo fundraising event, such as charging an admission price (a set price for each bingo card), sell raffle tickets for drawings during breaks and through selling food.
Selling Products
Selling products through catalogs has been one of the favorite school fundraising ideas for generations. Many residents of their school district look forward to certain times of the year when the school kids come door to door selling items such as wrapping paper and small Christmas items. These ideas are great and they tend to do well at making money, but to go a step further with this type of fundraiser, consider themed sales. For example, Mixed Bag Designs has fundraising incentives and offers a range of eco-friendly products, so you could consider grouping a couple of environmentally friendly themed sales together.
Additionally, during the weeks when the catalog products are being sold, hold a car wash and only use environmentally friendly products or offer to teach a class at the library for residents who want to learn how to make their home environmentally friendly.
The goal is to use some of the original fundraising ideas and simply add a twist to them. Hold a contest to see who can come up with the best fundraising ideas for your school. Schools rely on this fundraising, so get out there, get creative and see how much you can earn for the school!
