Best school fundraisers

[ugadog99]

Fun Run (We actually did pretty well with this one, but the Fun Run people got 40% of the money)

We did this one year. After seeing how much the Fun Run people make, we then started doing our own version of Fun Run. That way, all money stays with us. It's one of the fairly easier fundraisers to put together on your own.

 

[Magic Mom]

I hate catalog sales, and would rather just give the money directly.

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I totally agree with this. I hate asking my family to buy the overpriced junk from the catalogs. Last year I just wrote a check.

 

[golfgal]

I think the best one I saw was for gift certificates. They weren't discounted, but the school received x% of each one sold (anywhere from 2-15%). This was a WONDERFUL idea around Christmas, because people are buying the gift certificates anyway! I heard that the school made over $10,000 from one recent campaign.

Our kids' old school had Scrip (that is what this is called). It was great. We would get grocery and gas gift cards every week and then whatever else we needed. Our kids' school raised about $50,000 each year doing that. There is some major bookkeeping and auditing that needs to be done with this but it is worth it.

We also had a huge magazine drive that raised about $90K each year. The sale has been around for about 20 years so everyone in town just renews magazines each year through the sale.

I agree that walk-a-thons are good. Our kids' old school did a Work-a-Thon where kids would rake leaves and pick up trash around town.

 

[Magic Mom]

Our school does really well with Market Day. I don't buy it, because its expensive and too processed, but people really like the convenience of it.

 

[Art 1]

The school just asks for money, who wants to be bothered selling things that few people want to buy.

 

[Mermaid02]

I love Innisbrook wrapping paper! Yes, it's expensive, but the paper is FANTASTIC! I never turn down a child selling Innisbrook! Whether it's family, someone bringing their child's catalog to work or a child who shows up at the door- you're selling Innisbrook? I'm buying!!

 

[Pigeon]

The only "fundraiser" I participate in is a direct appeal. I'm happy to write the school a check, but that's all I'll do. I don't buy crap.

 

[pyrxtc]

Pizza Hut cards cost $14 and sell for $10

Yankee Candle - 60% of what is sold, I believe, are yours.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Another Catholic school parent here:

Catalog sale - This always starts out the year. I only buy a small amount for myself and never sell to anyone else. (around $30)

Coupon book sale - It's like an Entertainment book (can't remember it's name now). I buy one for myself and that's it. ($20)

Candy bar sale - Mandatory that we buy a case. I buy the case, take out a few bars and bring the rest to work and hand out. My co-workers love this sale. ($48)

Spirit Wear Sale - depends on the merchandise they are offering. I hooked them up with the company and they give us really good prices. So I vary year-by-year. This year I ordered more but last year I only bought one t-shirt. ($100 this year).

Yankee Candle Sale - I do not support this. It helps to pay for the school field trips but I would rather give them an extra $10 for the trip then to buy another candle! I don't burn them anyway.

Easter Candy Sale - Self-explanatory. I only buy for us and do not sell to anyone else. ($40)

50/50 Raffle - This is mandatory. Need to sell $40 worth of tickets. I usually sell about $10 to family and buy the rest myself. ($30)

Gift Cards - Sold monthly. I don't support this. Every time I want to do it for the holidays I either miss the deadline or don't have the cash handy by the deadline. I usually end up buying my gift cards at the last possible minute because I really look for gifts instead of the cards.

Basket Auction - Tricky Tray, Chinese Auction - all the same thing. I work on/donate heavily to this event. The whole family ends up helping with this with either moving the baskets from place to place, soliciting donations or just help cleaning up the room as we go along. We put together some pretty impressive baskets and it's the biggest fund raiser of the year. We make over $30,000 on this event. I usually end up donating merchandise with a value of around $500. Then on the night of the event you need a babysitter as children cannot attend. I shell out money to help offset the cost of the food ($50) and then we participate in the auction itself by buying tickets, etc. ($200). So I easily drop $750 on this event. Wow!!! I just added that up!

And on top of all that, we pay a "fundraising fee" of $300 every year. I'm not quite sure what that fee is for as I do plenty of fundraising.

I hate fundraising!!!!! Oh yeah, and the priest threatened to start bingo up again. I heard this in church for the first time and went . I turned to DD and told her that I had no time in my life for bingo. We had already spent 12 hours at the school that weekend working on basket auction stuff and this was only Sunday morning. We were headed back to the school to do more. She innocently told me that others would help out. I just asked "Like who?" Unfortunately, it's the same 20 families that work all the events.

Oh yeah and book fair twice a year and Christmas shop at the holidays. Okay, now I have to go back to work and earn more money.

Please...someone else post that has more fundraisers than me. I really need to know I'm not alone!!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I love Innisbrook wrapping paper! Yes, it's expensive, but the paper is FANTASTIC! I never turn down a child selling Innisbrook! Whether it's family, someone bringing their child's catalog to work or a child who shows up at the door- you're selling Innisbrook? I'm buying!!

Me too.I always buy some wrapping paper.

 

[cristit14]

Our elementary does Pledges. That way we don't have to sell anything we just send in our money at the beginning of the year. Some years they will also do a Silent Auction. That always makes a lot of money. Especially all of the Avs stuff that they have autographed to give away.

 

[rgf207]

my wife's school does a pancake breakfast. Always a huge turnout and they make a lot of money for the kids

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I would flip if our school asked us to do this much. That is overload.

I think you misunderstand - these are the events we hold - no one is required to attend any of them. Actually our parents love these fundraisers because they are much more "school community" events than just selling wrapping paper, frozen pizzas etc.

 

[MiniGirl]

I think you misunderstand - these are the events we hold - no one is required to attend any of them. Actually our parents love these fundraisers because they are much more "school community" events than just selling wrapping paper, frozen pizzas etc.

Actually, I don't think she did misunderstand you. The school we used to go to had tons of event fundraisers like you mentioned, and of course, they were all voluntary. Nobody was required to participate. However, we didn't want our kids to be the only ones not participating, so we would sponsor each one for a modest amount or whatever the lowest amount was for one of those "prizes." During our last year at the school, some other moms and I were talking about this, and we realized we all did the same thing and for the same reasons. LOL!!! So, yes, technically they are voluntary, but not really.

I do want to say though that I think it is great that you volunteer so much time and energy to make your school even better for your children and their classmates, so please don't take my post as a flame. It is not meant as such in any way whatsoever. I'm just the type of person who would rather make a one time donation and be done with it.

 

[Sparx]

Well, these are the ones I hate:
Wreath Sales
Plant Sales
Cookie Dough
Catalogs
magazine subscriptions
coupon books

I like:
candy bar sales
direct donations
jump rope/walking pledges
candygrams
relay for life type-events.

 

[JVL1018]

Another Catholic school parent here:

Catalog sale - This always starts out the year. I only buy a small amount for myself and never sell to anyone else. (around $30)

Coupon book sale - It's like an Entertainment book (can't remember it's name now). I buy one for myself and that's it. ($20)

Candy bar sale - Mandatory that we buy a case. I buy the case, take out a few bars and bring the rest to work and hand out. My co-workers love this sale. ($48)

Spirit Wear Sale - depends on the merchandise they are offering. I hooked them up with the company and they give us really good prices. So I vary year-by-year. This year I ordered more but last year I only bought one t-shirt. ($100 this year).

Yankee Candle Sale - I do not support this. It helps to pay for the school field trips but I would rather give them an extra $10 for the trip then to buy another candle! I don't burn them anyway.

Easter Candy Sale - Self-explanatory. I only buy for us and do not sell to anyone else. ($40)

50/50 Raffle - This is mandatory. Need to sell $40 worth of tickets. I usually sell about $10 to family and buy the rest myself. ($30)

Gift Cards - Sold monthly. I don't support this. Every time I want to do it for the holidays I either miss the deadline or don't have the cash handy by the deadline. I usually end up buying my gift cards at the last possible minute because I really look for gifts instead of the cards.

Basket Auction - Tricky Tray, Chinese Auction - all the same thing. I work on/donate heavily to this event. The whole family ends up helping with this with either moving the baskets from place to place, soliciting donations or just help cleaning up the room as we go along. We put together some pretty impressive baskets and it's the biggest fund raiser of the year. We make over $30,000 on this event. I usually end up donating merchandise with a value of around $500. Then on the night of the event you need a babysitter as children cannot attend. I shell out money to help offset the cost of the food ($50) and then we participate in the auction itself by buying tickets, etc. ($200). So I easily drop $750 on this event. Wow!!! I just added that up!

And on top of all that, we pay a "fundraising fee" of $300 every year. I'm not quite sure what that fee is for as I do plenty of fundraising.

I hate fundraising!!!!! Oh yeah, and the priest threatened to start bingo up again. I heard this in church for the first time and went . I turned to DD and told her that I had no time in my life for bingo. We had already spent 12 hours at the school that weekend working on basket auction stuff and this was only Sunday morning. We were headed back to the school to do more. She innocently told me that others would help out. I just asked "Like who?" Unfortunately, it's the same 20 families that work all the events.

Oh yeah and book fair twice a year and Christmas shop at the holidays. Okay, now I have to go back to work and earn more money.

Please...someone else post that has more fundraisers than me. I really need to know I'm not alone!!!

We have 2 book fairs, 1 gift fair, 1 plant sale, 1 catalog sale, 1 catalog chocolate sale, 1 spiritwear sale, the scrips, the coupon book(KidsStuff-that sells out-people love it-it's a GREAT deal), crazy hat day and the Tricky tray, so 11 fundraisers as of now this year..BUT we are thinking of having a school bbq, which would be fun for the kids and could bring in a few bucks.
Oh and we do the ice cream every week and a pizza lunch once a month. Plus the 5th grade runs their own fundraiser-this year they sold candy bars and made $2000, not bad for a grade with 75 kids. My daughter will be in 5th next year and we're definitely doing the same thing. So about 15 fundraisers per year.

I don't ever buy anything from the catalog sales because it's so junky(and I am the treasurer of our parents association, so I don't judge-or even notice if truth be told-anyone who doesn;t participate in any of the fundraisers, when I don't participate in all of them myself), but the rest I do because it's stuff I want and/or need. Books, gift cards to places I go to already, the coupon book more than pays for itself, pizza-love not having to pack a lunch-ice cream, I just don't pack a dessert that day, got easter candy that I would have bought anyway, the candy bars were a nice treat and the tricky tray is tons of fun-plus I've won some cool stuff.

It would be a lot easier if we didn't have to do all these fundraisers, but Field Day and assemblies and Weekly Reader and field trips and on and on and on need to be paid for somehow and the schools won't do it.

 

[themilesfamily]

Our DD's preschool gave everyone an envelope and asked for a monetary donation. The recommended donation was $100 per child, but you could put in whatever amount you wanted.

I liked that one and they raised a ton of money.

That was their only fundraiser for the year.

 

[Miz Diz]

Smencils are a big hit at my DD school. Plus we do Yankee Candle at the first of the year.

Also for free money and school products, tyson label, campbells,ink cartridges,
cell phones, capri sun pouches and box tops.

Can you give me more info on the capri sun pouches? You can pm me if you want. Thanks!

favorites are the Chinese auction and also Spiritwear...

I did suggest an auction because the company I used to work for did this every year to raise money for a charity and did very well. What is a Chinese auction? Also what is a Tricky Tray?

 

[JerseyJanice]

Been through a lot of fundraisers over the years. The ones I hate are:

1. Cases of candy where you have to buy what you don't sell. (Need I say more?)
2. Pizza and cookie making kits. (Expensive and not very good)
3. Any "fun run" or Walkathon. (Why not put your kid on a street corner with a tin cup?)

What I like now as a band parent:

1. Wreaths and grave blankets. We have a deal with a wholesale florist who sells us the greens and loans us a room with professional tools for decorating. Some parents prepare the decorations, others do the actual decorating, and the rest help clean up or do deliveries. It's a collaborative effort, which I enjoy, and the wreaths/grave blankets turn out very nice. The people who buy them really get a great value. In fact, I don't even have to ask anyone to buy them anymore. People who bought them in the past like them so much, they look for them now.

2. Yankee Candle. I like candles and so do a lot of my friends and family. I buy them in the fall fundraiser for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers; in the spring, they make nice Easter and Mother's Day gifts. The Yankee Candles themselves are IMO a much better quality and value than Party Lite. I really like a lot of their scents too.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

My girls attend a private Catholic school. We have several fundraisers throughout the year. I hate anything CANDY related-I simply won't buy it. My kids make healthy choices, and I don't think trying to sell candy is the answer to our budget shortfalls.
I prefer *events* as opposed to selling items. Events include a youth fun night, lock-in, spaghetti dinners, etc. One hit wonders

I am also one of those people who prefer to just write a check. Tell me what you need, and I will gladly help when I can. We both work full time so we don't have time for many of these sales that are asked of us.