Fundraising Ideas

[R2benamed]

I frequent this board a lot but under another name. Due to the fact that I don't want this getting out just yet, I am using another name. Anyway here is the backstory:

I work at a church run childcare program and am also a member of that church. The class I teach is in serious need of some needed supplies but we are short on budget at this point. I am not the only class that needs things to make the class better. Examples would be non-broken toys, more equipment(i.e. cribs, beds, tables), and new books that teachers aren't paying oop for. We have just recently went under a massive reconstruction of the preschool area but there was no provisions for new equipment or toys. Most of the equipment in the room dates back to the 80's or before.

What I want to do is present this idea to the preschool director in a very thought out manner. The youth group of the church has had many fundraisers so why can't the children's program have a fundraiser as well. It would benefit both the childcare program and the preschool/children's program as well since we both share the same space.

Here is what I need help with, what kinds of fundraisers do you find work best? How do I go about getting help from parents, teachers, church staff, and even the community? Would appreciate any and all input.

 

[dakcp2001]

We raised over $500 at a bakesale! The trick was we had 50/50 raffles, and sold whole loafs of banana bread, blueberry bread, pumpkin bread, whole cakes and pies. We did it before a holiday weekend, on a Friday and we literally ran out of stuff to sell! We also were super successful with our fancy cupcakes, we sold them for like a buck each. I was shocked people paid so much.
I never expected a bake sale to make so much money. Wrap everything individually and tie with ribbon.

We had S'Mores cupcakes that sold wicked fast! Easy to make!

 

[nmmom95]

Our school had a walk-a-thon to raise money for new desks and carpets. That went very well, and there are really no associated expenses.

 

[cntrygal]

Our best preschool fundraiser is called big rigs.

We "borrow " vechiles for the day. Dump trucks, tractors, rigs, firetrucks, police cars, tanks helicopters. THey get parked in the driveway and field next to the school. We rope off the area. And charge $5 per person to get in. THe kids get to climb onto and into the vechile and "drive them"

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Dont duplicate any of the youth group ideas or time frames, like ours has a car wash and a joint garage sale in May etc. They do calendars, candles etc.

The best ones are least effort and most profit if you have a small group like we do. The big boxes of hersheys have a almost 50% profit I think.

We have done jogathons, the garage/tag sale
Our preschool is also associated with the church. The church has heoped by having a "shower" for the area and pepole got toys from the approved list.

You could ask church members for specific book donations or have a giving tree up and they can take a bloom off etc. with an item.

I dont like asking the teachers either. At our place they definetely have a servants heart for what they are paid etc.
Maybe you can help have the kids get involved like doing chores etc at home for change etc and set up a collection jar and a chart with a book for each $1 etc. Check out the scholastic sales for good book prices if they come to your area. Maybe have a local book store contribute books and a nice tax write off for them etc.

Best of luck.

 

[happygirl]

Why hide? LOL

Have people bring stuff for a yard sale
Car wash
Valentine day is coming up have a nice romantic dinner at the church , and see if the youth would babysit

Cookbooks everyone in the church donates a recipe
Parents day out, you would charge 10 dollars for the day and the parents go could go whatever they wanted for a few hours

 

[RangerPooh]

Some resturants will hold fundraiser nights where a percentage of each meal sold will go to the sponsor of the night. Some do it where they base the percentage off of the net profit that nigth, where others do it where patrons have to place their receipts into a jar in order for the funds to be counted. Either way, with a church it would be easy to get the message out that anyone who eats at X on set day is making a donation to buy new childcare equipment.

DD school had a walk a thon this past fall. That's one where any little bit helps. It was Pre-k to 5th grade, so she and her PK classmates were all out there helping their school.

Another inexpensive fundraiser that can be donw ith young ones (if you want them to particpate) is to have a tryke athon. Have the kids ride their trykes around a designated course to earn money. Another one of those "every little bit helps" ways. Donations oculd be made on the number of laps riden or flat donations.

Bake sales at your church spread over x amount of weekends.

 

[mykidsand_i]

Yeah, the restaurant thing (previous post to mine) is a great idea, my group has done that before. Make sure if you do it though, that you get a night where people frequently eat out- like Friday, Sat or Sun- try to stay away from a Mon., Tues. Wed- because the less people eating out, the less $$$ you make.

Another idea that my group has used is a cookbook. We've had all of the parents, grandparents and other helpers/workers contribute recipies. Then, we got a really good printing deal from a local place and had them printed and we sold them through out town. That was a lot of money that we brought in.

 

[jack hannah bananah]

Our church is currently selling gift cards for a favorite local ice cream place. The gift card is the cost of a regular cone. The ice cream place then gives us a portion of that money back.

Anything we did for our school is have the teachers decorate cakes, then they were sold to the highest bidder (in a silent auction). You would be surprised how much people will pay for just a regular cake that is decorated by their kids' favorite teacher.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[disneyhand]

I've been away from fundraisers for a long time now, so no advice there, sorry.

For books, school supplies and toys would "gently" used be acceptable? If so, I'd recommend a flyer be sent home to the pre-school parents and a notice posted in the church bulletin announcing that you "accept" this type of donation. Be specific about your needs and don't sound like you "begging" and I can't imagine that anyone would find that offensive.

So many people have way too many of these things at home and would think they were donating to a good cause. The church people may have things their kids have outgrown and the preschool parents may just want to declutter. Plus their child will benefit by having better toys at school.

Good luck!

 

[tiggspring]

What about a parents night out..where there is a Dinner maybe a movie in the church hall and full childcare provided. DH and I rarely get out because child care is impossible to find. Our kids school hosted a seafood dinner and made a ton of $ but we have three kids and no childcare so we couldn't go

 

[tiggspring]

Our best preschool fundraiser is called big rigs.

We "borrow " vechiles for the day. Dump trucks, tractors, rigs, firetrucks, police cars, tanks helicopters. THey get parked in the driveway and field next to the school. We rope off the area. And charge $5 per person to get in. THe kids get to climb onto and into the vechile and "drive them"

yes Pittsbugh and other areas around here call it touch a truck! The kids love it!

 

[R2benamed]

Thank you guys for the ideas, they really have helped. I have begun to draft a letter to the people that would okay this for our program. I have included many of the ideas you have given me here. I wanted to present a well thought out presentation before I went before the group. That is the main reason I posted incognito, I didn't want anyone to catch wind of it before it was ready to be made public.

 

[R2benamed]

We tried a parents night out but it was not well attended. I think I am going to suggest this one again.

 

[Claudia1]

I second (or third) the idea of a parent's night out dinner. You could have a solid profit from that and other groups within the church can donate services or food (like the youth group babysitting, etc...)

Works well for us.

Be careful with the movie idea, though. Unless your church pays for the license, you cannot charge for the event. However..... donations are always accepted and you could have a recommended donation suggested.

 

[jlima]

I am not the only class that needs things to make the class better. Examples would be non-broken toys, more equipment(i.e. cribs, beds, tables), and new books that teachers aren't paying oop for.

Books - Research a Scholastic book sale. They give back 40% to the school. DS9's school does this 2x a year and they put the $$ they earn back into the school library, plus every teacher makes a wish list and they invite families to purchase books for the classrooms.

Toys - send a wish list to your congregation. They must have a newsletter, church bulletin, email blast list or maybe in this day, a Facebook page or Twitter account. You'd be surprised how generous people are. Ask for specific items - Fisher Price castle, Little Tykes slides, etc.

Equipment - same thing as toys.

One more idea - Reach out to local charities that fund their programs with thrift stores (Salvation Army, etc), and ask if they have a gift card program, where members of your congregation can bring in donations in exchange for gift cards to their stores. They get donations to stock their stores, and you get script to spend in their stores. Or, does your church have a big parking lot? Reach out to one of these charities and offer to "host" a donation bin and ask if they can give you gift cards instead of "rent" for the donation site. Can't hurt to ask. If you're successful, you can use the gift cards to shop for what you need at their stores.

 

[*BTMRR*]

My church is all about social get-togethers with lots of potluck food. If yours is like this, you could host a big Children's Program Shower in your church's fellowship hall. You could provide a cake and punch and then have people bring potluck dishes. If you have people in your church who own restaurants (we're lucky to have a couple) maybe they can donate some food.

We did this right after church one Sunday and it was lots of fun and almost everyone came. We publicized it well beforehand, and printed in the church bulletin a "registry" of specific things we needed for the kids' program. We made it clear that there would be FOOD at the party (this drew in some of our college students!) and that people were welcome to attend the shower even without bringing a gift. We had a donation box out on the table and we got lots of donations, especially from people who had forgotten to get a gift or didn't want to go out shopping.

This may or may not be something that would work with your church's particular dynamic but it was such a great success for us that I wanted to mention it.

 

[golfgal]

Is this a preschool program where parents bring their kids in for a few hours a couple days/week or is this your preschool religious education program? If this is a paid daycare/preschool type set up I think you will have a more difficult time with a fundraiser outside of people that use the preschool. If this is the church preschool religious education program, I would suggest simply putting information in the weekly bulletin stating that you need to upgrade your equipment and need to raise how ever much money. I have found that in the church setting most people are very generous for specific donations for things like this.

 

[Boo'sMom]

check out donorschoose.org and see if your school qualifies. Every little bit helps.

 

[erincon23]

If you have a Krispy Kreme donuts near you, they have a really nice fundraiser. We did this with DS's band and choir. It's a pre-order thing -- we had an order form and the kids sold donuts and coffee for pick-up. YOu can just get boxes of a dozen donuts and find one (or more) locations to sell on site (our local bank lets kids sell in front). Lots of money and VERY tasty!

Erin