Posts Tagged ‘school fundraisers’

Oh, No! Another School Fundraiser!

If you have children still attending school, then you probably know all too well the feeling you get when you receive a flyer stating the need for yet another fundraising event! That horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach that says you’re going to have to contribute in some way, either buying something you really don’t need and really can’t afford, or by donating hours of your time, hours that you don’t have either.

But do not despair. Life for fundraising people has got easier because of the Internet, and with computers in general, as you can use the computer to make your life easier in many ways. You can document the jobs needed to be done by volunteers, you can email volunteers to keep them all informed of meetings, jobs and the like, and computers can help you keep track of donors, donations, and so much more.

The trick with fundraisers is to find something that people want to buy from you, either a product or a service, and that you want to sell and promote. And of course, if the event is because you are fundraising for your school, ideally it should be something that will inspire as many students as possible to participate.

That rules out the good old favourite bake sale, as it is hard to devote the time to helping preschoolers bake for a bake sale, but with so many food allergies around, and fear of food contamination, I think those days are over. I remember how awful I felt when I baked for the school fundraiser, only to find that my daughters had bought the goods so they could see what mommy’s baking tasted like! I must admit, baking didn’t happen very often because of a shortage of time, but I didn’t realize my family felt so deprived!
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High School Fundraisers

High school—a constant hub of activities, studies, and events—and the last years of our school days shared with friends. High schools always hold a variety of events to raise funds for the many extra curricular activities that makes school fun.

High school students are old enough to realize that in order to have a successful fundraiser, a business plan should be in place. The plan should begin with the question, “what are we raising funds for?” What expenses will be incurred is also another consideration for your plan. Research the most successful fundraisers for high schools to produce. There are many Internet websites that have hundreds of ideas. Don’t use the same fundraiser year after year if profits have continuously declined. Recruit a lot of volunteers who are willing to work for the cause, and check your calendar to make sure there aren’t a lot of other charity events going on at the same time.

Once your plan is in place, think about the type of fundraiser you would like to hold. Successful fundraising ideas include scratch off cards, discount cards, car washes, bake sales, candy sales, seasonal gift catalogs and book fairs. You can find lots of information about any of these on the Internet.
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Being Creative With Your Fundraising Ideas

Have you realized just how much fundraising is going on these days? There is fundraising for little league, school fundraisers, and the college fundraiser, as well as church fundraisers. Day cares need more funds, hospitals need new equipment, and cheerleaders need to fundraise for their costumes. And to think up new fundraising ideas that will be successful is becoming more challenging every day.

On a good note, it shows that people do care how others live and cope with their lives. However, it also means that, because we are always being asked to donate to one good cause after another, we are not always able to help. Despite our best intentions, our own funds simply will not stretch that far.

However, if we request the donation of items instead of cash, that is often a relief to a potential donor. People will often gladly donate a can of food for a food drive, or a kitchen item they have never used for a sale, whereas they would not donate cash. And there are many kinds of fundraising ideas you can use to hold sales based on items collected.

For example, you could hold a toy drive that would give your organization toys to sell to support your work. Or what about a gardening sale? If you have some volunteers with green thumbs, they could easily grow some plant cuttings or start some seeds or bulbs growing ready for a plant sale in the spring or early summer, when the general public is looking to restock their garden after the winter.
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