Fundraisers, a necessary evil

[sebandg'smama]

So, please, let me know what was the best fundraiser your dc's school ever had!

I am hoping to find "The Perfect Fundraiser", one that brings the school and kids and families together, having fun, raising much needed money for the school.

Anyone?!?

[2lilsweetfoxes]

I dunno. They always get the packets of stuff to sell. Straight to the trash those flyers go. Ethics regulations mean that I can't take it to work. My kids are not going door to door (besides just about every house contains kids selling the exact same stuff). Our nearest relatives are 1000 miles away. My husband works at home as a freelancer. I don't need the junk they sell. I'd rather just write the school/PTA a check because the school gets such a small percentage of the total sold.

The fundraisers I like are the "homemade" carnivals and such run by the school. Each class or grade does a booth and the families and neighborhood is invited.

[Thalia the Muse]

I hate the professional fundraiser company stuff -- so much of it gets skimmed off by the company, they sell overpriced junk, and the pressure on the kids is ridiculous.

Some great fundraisers our school has done, or that I've heard of:

Barnes and Noble bookstores will arrange to have a fundraiser night for your school -- a percentage of every sale goes to your school (you have to bring in the flier and request it), it's real books you'd buy anyway, and they will host a "read-aloud" with teachers from the school in their children's department that night. I loved this!

Our school had a Halloween pumpkin sale.

Carnivals are great -- ours includes a silent auction, but honestly I think that is a lot of trouble for not that much return. One thing at our carnival that has been a hit is that the kids in the afterschool program make craft projects in the weeks beforehand, then they're sold at a booth. Of course, everyone has to buy the adorable leaf-shaped soap dish or beaded pin or laminated bookmark their kid made, because AWWWW! They make a killing, and the kids are really proud of their stuff.

[zinemama]

The one that worked really well at our school was Run/Walk for the Arts. The kids signed people up to sponsor each lap around the field that they ran or walked, or folks could pledge a set amount.

Advantages were:

1. Not much administrative work (kids did all the pledge-getting)
2. Kids got excercise!
3. Raised a lot of money
4. Parents felt really good about standing on the sidelines and cheering for everyone.

[SunshineJ]

I like the ones where the kids are actually involved in raising the money. It just seems like they get more into it and more out of it when they can point and say "WE worked to get the money for xyz!". In the warmer months, a car wash is always good. One thing they did back in our old district that was VERY well received and successful was to arrange with the local grocery store to have the kids sack groceries and carry them out to the cars. There were signs and tip jars at every checkout and seriously, the supervisors couldn't empty those things out quick enough!

[mojumi]

I am *not* a fan of school fundraisers that involve making the kids into salespeople ... for anything.

A very reliable and almost totally painless fundraiser for our school is a monthly 'pizza night' at a local pizzeria. A percentage of every purchase between certain hours one night a month goes to the school. It's an easy couple of hundred dollars a month, and nothing to do but remind everyone.

Seasonal festivals with lots of 'events' and vendor tables, bake sale, music, etc, seem to be great for community spirit and bring in a good amount of money -- but they are a lot of WORK! I think the success of those really depends on the team of people putting it all together.

Maybe one way to think of it is how much money to you want to raise? Hundreds you could do with a bake sale. Thousands you need something more complicated!

[EFmom]

The only thing I'll do is make a direct contribution.

[elmh23]

My kids attend a Catholic school and the Home & School Association (basically our PTA) puts on a pancake breakfast that is always enjoyable. They serve typical breakfast fare and invite all the school families as well as the whole parish for a feast. Almost all the food is donated, so they really turn a profit.

Parish breakfasts and holiday things (we had a huge Halloween thing that was great) are the only things I really do fundraiser wise. I'd really just prefer they raise tuition by a couple hundred dollars but I understand that even that much could prevent a lot of our families from being able to attend (our school serves a pooer area.)

[blizzard_babe]

I think something that brings the school TOGETHER (like a pancake breakfast, or a spaghetti dinner, or a carnival) is preferable to a "sell some crap" kind of activity.

Or an "open gym" kind of activity if you can get your administration to agree... opening the gym up for rollerskating/in-line skating is a big one here where there are no roller rinks (kids have to be properly attired and sign a waiver, etc)...

[Leta]

I went to an auction that was good. All homemade stuff- hand knitted dishcloths and mittens, paintings, a huge pumpkin, some baked goods, a wooden dollhouse- donated to the school, which then auctioned it off.

I also went to a "Buckwheat Pancakes and Real Maple Syrup" supper once that was a blast. IDK how much money they made, but it was a lot of fun.

[ecoteat]

My students are just starting a fundraiser organized by parents that I think is going to be pretty cool. We live in an area where holiday greens (wreaths, centerpieces, etc) are a HUGE cottage industry. The kids are buying plain wreaths wholesale from one kid's grandmother, who makes them in her home. Then they will take orders and decorate them to sell. There's already a huge amount of interest and I think it will be fun. Tomorrow afternoon I'm taking the kids out on the nature trail to collect cones and moss and other pretty decorations.

A few years ago my school did a really cool fundraiser in conjunction with the local garden club. They turned the gym into an art gallery. The art was all the kids and there were floral arrangements made by the garden club. They had a jazz combo from the high school play and I think they served snacks or something. They charged what seemed like I lot for admission (I can't remember how much), but lots of people came and they made thousands of dollars.

To support my class' garden program, we sold the pumpkins they grew in the school garden. I haven't added it all up yet, but I think we got around $200 for very little work at all beyond the gardening which we were doing anyway.

[Laurel]

Our school does a holiday craft fair and a spring carnival that are both very well attended/supported.

But my favorite thing that they have just started doing this year is a 50-cent day once a month. One Wednesday a month, every child in the school is encouraged to bring 50 cents from home to donate to the PTA. Of course some kids don't, but many bring more than that. My friend is on the PTA board, and when she told me about this new plan, I wrote her out a check for $20--I was so thrilled! She said as long as they can get a certain amount of money yearly from this they won't do anymore door-to-door sales type fundraisers, but if they can't make their budget, they'll have to go back.

[MCR]

The only one I've ever liked was a discount card, it cost $10 the first time I bought one (many years ago) this years was $20 from the football team.
It gives discounts to local stores. I get 10% off at the health food store, free medium one topping pizza when I buy an XL at the local pizza place, etc etc. It's covered in deals from stores and is like a plastic Credit card so easy to slip in your wallet.
Everything else I have hated and just send in a check in lieu of buying rubbish.
Edited to add my boys liked the penny drive better than the other stuff, collecting the loose pennies and rolling them at school the PTA got a lot of money that way.

[waiflywaif]

If a school must sell stuff, Pampered Chef is pretty cool. My neighbor's kid sold that for her school orchestra around the holidays, and there are a lot of good, well-priced gifts in their catalog.

[SunshineJ]

Originally Posted by Laurel

Our school does a holiday craft fair and a spring carnival that are both very well attended/supported.

But my favorite thing that they have just started doing this year is a 50-cent day once a month. One Wednesday a month, every child in the school is encouraged to bring 50 cents from home to donate to the PTA. Of course some kids don't, but many bring more than that. My friend is on the PTA board, and when she told me about this new plan, I wrote her out a check for $20--I was so thrilled! She said as long as they can get a certain amount of money yearly from this they won't do anymore door-to-door sales type fundraisers, but if they can't make their budget, they'll have to go back.

Sheer genius. Most everyone can spare 50 cents a month!

[cedoreilly]

I like the event type fundraisers and the fundraiser which are bring in your returnable cans/boxtops and the type of stuff I was just going to throw out anyways.

[Teensy]

My favorite PTA event is a one-mile fun run/walk at the local primary school.

There is a charge of about $12 or $15 to enter. You get a t-shirt (which I think costs about $5 to have printed). Sponors, such as a grocery store and sporting goods store, are obtained by the PTA planners which donate funds to pay for the event in exchange for their logos on the t-shirts and signs at the event. The grocery store also donated bottled water and fresh fruit at the finish line.

The fun run/walk is held on a Saturday morning in the spring. I like the event because it is healthy, family oriented (parents and grandparents sign-up for the run/walk, not just the kids), any does not involve selling any stuff.

I think the school ends up with a number of participants about equal to the number of students (950). They net $5 to $7 per participant. I am not sure about all the costs (paying traffic officers, ribbons for fasted finishers, etc.).

It may not be the highest-grossing fundraising event, but it is one that gives a postive message for the students and is fun too.

[ollyoxenfree]

My favourite so far was a student's art sale. The students each worked on something individual and also each class did a group project (painting, sculpture, etc.). They worked on their pieces for a few weeks. Local artists lent a hand with some instruction and guidance. Then one Saturday, the school held an art exhibition, and auctioned off the art work. There were refreshments sold and the school orchestra played.

I can't recall now if each student's individual artwork was auctioned - I imagine the parents made a donation to get their own kids' work. The real money was raised by the larger works. Some were quite beautiful.

[swisscanmom]

My favourite fundraiser at our school is a Christmas card one.
They have each child draw a Christmas (or other holiday they celebrate) picture at school. They are taken to a local printer and they make a sample Christmas card, You can then order packs of 12 or more Christmas cards with your child's artwork on it.

Another one that brings loads of income is a magazine subscription fundraiser through QSP. It does involve selling, but it's an easy sell. You can even renew current subscriptions with it and the selection is great. This year our school of about 400 sold $37.000 worth! The school council gets a percentage of the sales.

[Peony]

DD1's school does 3, I haven't done the river clean up yet so I can't comment on that one but I love the others. They sell peaches in the parking lot in the late summer. We get them from an orchard every weekend for about 2 weeks, just put signs out on the road and sell! It makes very good money.

There are 1-2 soup and song nights. Parents make soup and bring it. The school charges $8-5.00 a head, after dinner is music.

The last one is a river clean up. People sponsor the kids on how trash they will pick up. I really like the sound of this one, the school has been doing it for years.