Elementary School Fundraisers

Are you looking for ideas for elementary school fundraisers?

Raise Money for Your School

Raising money is a significant concern for most elementary schools. There are many ways for schools to raise money, including hosting special events and running product sales programs. In order to enjoy the greatest success from your efforts is to come up with an idea that is unique and that will be appealing to consumers.

With so many nonprofit groups holding fundraising events and sales, it's important that your event stand out from the other programs that prospective donors are also being asked to support. Make it a point to choose a fundraising opportunity that people will want to support. If you're going to hold a sale, market items that are reasonably priced and are things that people need on an ongoing basis. If you're holding a special event, select something that will appeal to the families of students and ensure that it is convenient for the people most likely to participate. For example, you should make every effort to choose a time that doesn't conflict with other activities in your community and include activities that appeal to families with small children.

Some of the most successful elementary school fundraisers involve selling various types of food and beverage products. A few of the most popular choices include:

• Bottled water
• Candy bars
• Cheesecake
• Cookie Dough
• Doughnuts
• Fresh fruit
• Gatorade
• Jerky
• Lollipops
• Popcorn
• Omaha steaks
• Soft drinks
• Trail mix

Not all fundraising products are food-related. Other frequent sales projects to raise money for elementary schools involve marketing items like:

• Candles
• Cook books
• Greeting cards
• Magazine subscriptions
• Plant sale
• School logo apparel
• School spirit items
• Scratch cards
• Silicone bracelets with inspirational sayings
• Wrapping paper

Schools can also earn money selling coupon books and discount cards for retailers that offer special fundraising programs for nonprofit organizations. Some of the available programs are:

• Attractions Dining and Value Guide
• Domino's Fundraising Card
• Entertainment Book Fundraiser
• Peel to Save Discount Cards
• Pizza Hut Fundraiser Card
• Sonic Community Card
• The Discount Card

Instead of requiring students and their families to sell products to their friends, relatives, and co-workers, some schools opt to hold special events as a way of making money. If you have a strong committee of dedicated volunteers, putting together an event designed to raise money can be very fun and rewarding. Popular special event ideas for elementary school fundraisers include:

• Bake sale
• Loose change collection jars
• Raffle
• School carnival
• Seasonal festivals
• Yard sale

There are also opportunities for elementary schools to implement fundraising programs that don't actually require selling anything. Consider enlisting the help of individuals and businesses in your community to help you raise money by collecting items that fundraising companies will pay the school to submit. These include:

• Cell phones
• Ink jet cartridges
• Laser toner cartridges

The key to enjoying a successful school fundraiser is to enlist the support of teachers, parents, and students. When you decide on particular type of fundraiser, work on enlisting their full support. Provide them with information about why money is needed and how it will be used in order to encourage "buy-in" for what you are asking them to do. You may even want to implement an incentive program so that the individuals who have the greatest results are able to earn recognition or prizes for their efforts.

It's also important to provide training for the people who will be selling goods or tickets so they know what they are doing. The training provided should include both sales skills and product knowledge, so that participants know how to apply marketing skills and are knowledgeable about the features and benefits of the products they are selling. You'll likely enjoy much greater success when the members of your sales force are properly educated before they begin approaching prospective customers.

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