Fundraising ideas for 8th grade?

[lovin'fl]

A car wash is another easy one that the kids can do a lot of the work themselves. But it doesn't bring in a whole lot of money and I suggest you do it before the weather turns too chilly.

 

[McKelly]

My son's 8th grade class did a day trip last year. They sold Market Day all year long, and ended up with enough money to pay for every child's trip, and each child got $80 back! Ther were only 60+ kids in the class, so we aren't talking a huge number of kids selling, but the families of the school really support the sale. Each 8th grader was assigned a month to work to distribute the items sold. I didn't even buy that much myself. we had 2 moms who coordinated the whole thing. People can order and pay online and they sent emails and paper order forms home each month. Totally successful and profitable.

If the families did not want to commit to an all year long fundraiser, I believe Market Day will do a one time only cookie dough sale as well. Our school did that one year and raised close to $5000.00, about 300 kids in the school.

 

[4MCMICKEY]

We would do 2 fundraisers to pay for their entire trip...cookie dough and flower sales...both made 50% profit....both very easy to sell.

 

[poohguys]

Our school is k-8. The 8th grade class does a birthday board. They charge $5 for a frame you provide a picture and they put a little and a one line message on it. They post it on the bulletin board in the main hall at school for 1 week. They also sell Kids Stuff books or Entertainment Books.

 

[rdsx28]

I LOVE these ideas THANK YOU all! Just curious if anyone has sold Poinsettias for the holidays. I was told you can purchase them through Sam's Club in large quantities to sell. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking a small event/month would be a good idea. Small amount of cost to families but a way to make good profit for students.

 

[Lisaren]

As a parent, I hate the professional fund raisers that sell overpriced items with a percent profit back to the schools. You just know the prizes they offer to get the kids to sell that stuff, plus the amount they need for profit to continue to operate reduces the profits.
Therefore, I prefer raffles, bake sales, chili cook-off, car wash, etc.
As a matter of fact, my son just brought home a fund-raiser for a school trip - selling $15 boxes of cookies that were only 12 ounces. I just sent the package home and told him I would find a way to pay for his trip rather than hit up friends and family to buy overpriced stuff they don't want.

 

[Shmily1]

Check with a Thirty One representative. They usually have some beneficial fund raisers.

 

[Colleen27]

I LOVE these ideas THANK YOU all! Just curious if anyone has sold Poinsettias for the holidays. I was told you can purchase them through Sam's Club in large quantities to sell. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking a small event/month would be a good idea. Small amount of cost to families but a way to make good profit for students.

My son's band does poinsettias and live wreaths, and they sell incredibly well. I'm not sure who the boosters use as a supplier, but I know it is a nursery rather than a retailer and the quality is just beautiful... Healthier, fuller plants and fresher wreaths and roping than you can find at any of the big boxes around the holiday, at prices on par with getting comparable quality from a nursery or tree farm in our area.

My family opts out of the "professional" sales - the overpriced candy and cookie dough and wrapping paper sales that basically involve people buying out of obligation and overpaying significantly for the school to get a tiny percentage back. I will only sell/allow my kids to sell products that I'd buy on their own merits. So we do the wreaths, which people seem to love, Girl Scout cookies, and the community discount cards the football team puts together. We also do Entertainment books, though now that they sell through retail outlets as well those don't sell the way they used to - why pay full price from a band member when you can get one on sale or with Extrabucks at CVS? And my girls' school has a scrip program, which is probably my all time favorite fundraiser because it only takes time - no one needs to spend money they wouldn't otherwise spend to support it.

The fundraisers I'm the most fond of are the ones where the kids work for their funds. In high school, my band got permission to set up a wrapping station at a busy strip mall before Christmas. One of the boys' sports teams here hires themselves out for yard work during fall clean-up season (they work in pairs and this is a very small town - that idea might not fly out of safety concerns in the city/suburbia). Many sports teams host summer clinics for youth players, with a portion of the registration fees going to support the team. Not only do those offer something of value rather than overpriced goods, they also teach the kids to put the time in - too many of the sales fundraisers are handled almost entirely by parents rather than by the kids themselves.

 

[Suz333]

We purchased a wreath last year from a hs fundraising event, and it was gorgeous! It was a noble fir wreath, and lasted far longer than the fancy one I ordered from QVC, and cost a lot less. Unfortunately, that coworkers child graduated (well, good that he graduated, obviously !), otherwise we'd be buying several this year.

I think it's good to avoid any overpriced stuff that people only buy out of a sense of obligation. I work for an organization that has express rules against soliciting for funds. I actively will seek out people selling GS cookies, those candy bars will be bought if I see them, and I'd love to find another wreath supplier. All of the rest ... popcorn buckets, sports team mugs, wrapping paper, etc, I disregard without a 2nd thought.

The gift wrapping in a mall before the holidays sounds like a great idea ..I' m always surprised by how many people hate to wrap presents.

Good luck!

 

[marthachick]

Cornhole tournament?

 

[TXMouseChaser]

My friends daughter's school did an online auction for baskets and other items. It was open for bids for 10 days and they sent out tons of emails, flyers, etc about it. I donated a basket of the energy/appetite suppressant supplement I sell (plus a couple shaker cups, workout towel, etc) and all I had to do was take them the basket and a basic write up of what was in the basket (I used my before and after photos from losing 49 lbs on it). I told them the retail value was $80 dollars so they started it at $8 dollars. It ended up going for $110.

It was easy for me (the donator) and easy for them since they didn't have to have an actual physical event. Just someone who knows how to run the online auction site... . They had over 200 items donated and I think everything sold.

 

[TLuvsD]

If you have a Barnes and Noble or Toys R Us nearby see if you can wrap gifts for donations. This a very successful fundraiser around here.

 

[3boymthr]

some chain restaurants, as well as some local ones (in our area) will often host "fundraiser nights. As far as the chains - Noodles, Panda Express and Qdoba will host nights where your group will get a percentage of sales for the evening. I'm sure there are others - but those are the ones in my area that offer this.

Uno's Chicago Grill also does this as does Friendly's (but I'm not sure how many of them there are anymore. We also have some local chains that do this.

If you someone who's willing to approach a local place though, it's actually better, we have found this is VERY successful and have done it with a local pizza joint and with the local BBQ stand. It's especially popular in the middle of soccer, football or baseball seasons. We send out a coupon via e-mail to everyone in the school (and via e-mail and facebook chains) and people bring it to the restaurant and the restaurant usually gives us 1% of all sales with the coupon or sometimes if they're generous, without the coupon. Our local pizza joint was SLAMMED when we did this on a Wednesday night. The same thing happened to the BBQ place.

If you decide to go the silent auction route, I found out Saturday that Crackerbarrel doesn't do the percentage of sales donation, but they will donate either a gift basket or "gold card" for a silent auction or possibly for a yard sale.

Another idea that our PTO uses as a fundraiser - Teachers vs local police or fire dept basketball game (one time we had a basketball game against former Patriots players). They sell tickets for $4/person and then they hold a basket raffle. This usually make a couple of thousand dollars doing this.

 

[3boymthr]

I LOVE these ideas THANK YOU all! Just curious if anyone has sold Poinsettias for the holidays. I was told you can purchase them through Sam's Club in large quantities to sell. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking a small event/month would be a good idea. Small amount of cost to families but a way to make good profit for students.

Our scout troop does do a holiday fund raiser but not poinsettas - door wreaths. They pay $4 each and sell them for $12. They usually sell 800 wreaths.

Another holiday related fundraiser if you have parents with trucks and a town compost pile (or a local landscape place that's willing to lend you a chipper) and some sturdy kids - Christmas Tree pickup! Our scout troop does this as a second fundraiser. We ask for a $10 donation/tree. In one morning they make a couple of thousand dollars. No cost to the parents beyond the gas to drive the trucks. Fliers for the tree pickup are placed at all the local places that sell trees at the holidays. Trees are picked up the Saturday after New Year's. There's a bit of logistics and planning and some rules for the trees we'll take (like no metal bits that could cause harm in a chipper - so no fake trees) with this one but it Works Great!

 

[v.t.]

We purchased a wreath last year from a hs fundraising event, and it was gorgeous! It was a noble fir wreath, and lasted far longer than the fancy one I ordered from QVC, and cost a lot less. Unfortunately, that coworkers child graduated (well, good that he graduated, obviously !), otherwise we'd be buying several this year.

I think it's good to avoid any overpriced stuff that people only buy out of a sense of obligation. I work for an organization that has express rules against soliciting for funds. I actively will seek out people selling GS cookies, those candy bars will be bought if I see them, and I'd love to find another wreath supplier. All of the rest ... popcorn buckets, sports team mugs, wrapping paper, etc, I disregard without a 2nd thought.

The gift wrapping in a mall before the holidays sounds like a great idea ..I' m always surprised by how many people hate to wrap presents.

Good luck!

You could call the school and let them know you were interested in purchasing again. I am sure they would find a student or two to sell to you.


We have a candy cafe that sells candy and drinks after school, that does well. We also have special days, talent schools, teacher vs. kids basketball, volleyball, etc. that the students pay $2 or $3 to get into during the school day. We also have a jean day where teachers pay $2 to wear jeans to school.
Good luck!

 

[bellebud]

You could call the school and let them know you were interested in purchasing again. I am sure they would find a student or two to sell to you.


We have a candy cafe that sells candy and drinks after school, that does well. We also have special days, talent schools, teacher vs. kids basketball, volleyball, etc. that the students pay $2 or $3 to get into during the school day. We also have a jean day where teachers pay $2 to wear jeans to school.
Good luck!

these ideas are great! the kids don't have to bother family, friends, neighbors to buy things out of guilt or obligation. Also, the kids and the families are supporting themselves, not asking others who aren't involved to support them.

 

[v.t.]

these ideas are great! the kids don't have to bother family, friends, neighbors to buy things out of guilt or obligation. Also, the kids and the families are supporting themselves, not asking others who aren't involved to support them.

Exactly! I do not participate in professional fundraisers, so neither do the groups in volunteer for. Just limit how many you do a year, if you do too many parents get tired of 'another $3 day' at school. We also have activity nights that are $3 - $5 where the kids set up a dance in the cafeteria, shoot baskets in the gym and play video games in the choir room. That is once a month. Kids do all the set up and clean up but we do have parents and teachers volunteer to chaperone. Those are fun, watching 7th grade boys at a dance, especially when the slow songs come on.