If you are a parent who is active in their child’s education, you’re no stranger to coming up with school fundraising ideas. You might even be on the board of your local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). Even with the school year winding down for the Holiday break, already many PTAs are looking forward to next year’s goals and projects. If you happen to be looking for a creative and fun fundraiser to add to your year, we’ve come up with four clever school fundraising ideas for your PTA to consider.
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Spell It
Turn things around and have a grown-up spelling bee! Ask your principal, town mayor, librarian, reporter, quarterback, and other high-profile figures in your community to volunteer to be a contestant. Sell tickets to the event. And for additional funding, seek out local businesses to sponsor the contestants or the event. Students can set up a small refreshment stand and sell bee-themed snacks. Present the winner with a small trophy and a dictionary. For more ideas on how to make this event a success, visit Fundraiser Insight.
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Serve It
How about creating a Spaghetti Dinner night? What parent doesn’t want a night off from cooking? Each student contributes either ingredients or cash to purchase the ingredients, and a group of parents, teachers, or older students volunteer their time to cook on the afternoon of the dinner. Students sell tickets ahead of time. On the evening of the dinner, the people who purchased the tickets drive up to the school between 5 and 7 p.m. to pick up the dinners they’ve bought. A simple plate includes a small salad, spaghetti, slice of garlic bread, and a small brownie or other dessert.
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Grow It
Selling plants for holidays, like small pines for Christmas, or other holidays like Valentine’s or Mother’s Day, is most popular school fundraising ideas. This fundraiser has to be thought through, though, because it takes some preparation. The school will have to provide an area for the young seeds to sprout and grow. The children will have to plant the seeds in advance, so that the young seedlings have time to grow into nice plants by the special day. Different classes or grades can choose different plants to grow, and they could be assigned different days of the week to water and tend to them. They can also create decorative wrappers for the containers to make the gift giving extra special. During the week before the designated holiday, the students can sell the plants to friends and neighbors, or set up shop at a local business—with permission, of course!
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Exhibit It
Holding a student art exhibit can certainly attract a lot of people. To make it really fun, make it a special annual event and have the children sell tickets. In addition to creating spectacular pieces of art, get all the classes involved by assigning each one a different task. One or two classes can be in charge of making posters and signs to promote the event. Another can design the tickets for the kids to sell. And another can be in charge of decorating or displaying the artwork. Ask local businesses to sponsor the event by covering refreshments, flowers, or live music, such as a violinist or pianist. The nicer the event, the higher the price you can put on the ticket.