[Ohio-talk] Twenty Ways to Raise Funds Without Candy

[Everett Gavel]

Here's another article with the hope that it will help to inspire you, and
help your chapter thrive rather than barely survive, financially.

With these 20 ideas listed below, my personal faves right now are
Chuck-a-Puck, Halloween Insurance, & seat-cushion advertising.  How about
you?  Which ones would you be willing to put forth the effort for?


Strive On--and May God Bless Your Efforts!
Everett



Twenty Ways to Raise Funds Without Candy
Source:
http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/publications/twentywaystoraisefunds.pdf

Fundraising doesn’t have to involve selling food items of limited nutritive
value. Below are some proven ideas for raising funds adapted from
Fundraising.com (see resources). Ideas with a  have the added benefit of
providing additional opportunities for
physical activity for students. Other ideas promote community service.

When planning any fundraising event, be sure to check with your local
authorities
regarding any rules or regulations with games of chance or sale of other
goods.


1. Sled-a-thon - Each student can seek pledges for each trip down the hill.
One school did this and made over $2,000. A potluck was held afterward for
the participants and their families.

2. 3-on-3 basketball tournament - Charge a team of 3-4 players $40 for
entrance and ask local businesses for prize donations. If you provide tee
shirts for the event, you could raise the entrance fee.

3. Car wash, for a donation - You could also sell other items at the car
wash (have a small food stand available with coffee, juice, bagels, fruit,
etc.). One school raised $1,300 in about five hours. Or, you could also hold
a free car wash and ask for pledges in advance per car washed (for example,
$0.10 per car).

4. Spring yard work to local community members - One soccer team offered to
rake yards and spread compost at a bargain rate. They had 10 players working
3 ½ days each and each boy made $240.00. Customers were asked to give a
donation for the work and everyone exceeded expectations.

5. Pre-kindergarten walk-a-thon - Each child could get sponsorship for each
lap walked (up to 8 laps, $1 per lap). One group raised $1,200 with little
effort.

6. “Chuck a Puck at the Rink” - A hockey team plays this game between the
2nd and 3rd periods
of the hockey game. Each puck is numbered and sold for $1. Everyone throws
them on the ice and the one closest to the center gets half of the money
sold. In one season, they raised $24,000. You could adapt this to basketball
games using numbered bean bags.

7. Talent show, recital, or lip-sync contest for students - You could ask
local businesses to donate items for a raffle. Be sure to include those
business’ names in a program as an advertisement and/or thank you.

8. Administrative fun - Have money jars available for the students to place
money into. The school secretary would count the amount in the jars on a
daily basis and post the total. At set increments, (for example, $100, $200,
$500) the principal and/or vice-principal would have to do stunts such as
dress as a cheerleader, do cheers, act out a scene from a play, etc. One
school earned over $3,300 in one year.

9. Dinner fund-raiser with a live or silent auction - One private school did
this and made over $60,000 within five months to help pay for newly
installed lockers.

10. G.S.T. auction (goods, services, and talents) - Solicit local businesses
(or parents or groups of school children) to donate anything they can offer.
One school had a number of items available for auction including a week at a
time share (airfare not included), a week at a cottage, hair care services,
a lawn tractor, furniture, food and restaurant gift certificates.
This school raised $20,000.

11. Raffle of gift baskets assembled by students - Choose a theme such as
gardening, sports, or arts and crafts. Most items for the baskets were
donated. Costs were limited but consisted mainly of supplies for the baskets
such as fillers, ribbons, and the baskets
themselves, totaling about $400. This school made approximately $3,500 with
this fundraiser selling them at a carnival day.

12. Community job fair - In an urban area, a school could host a job fair.
Ask local companies to rent a booth space for a fee and solicit free
advertisements from local radio stations or
newspapers. One school held a job fair, charged $4 for admission and made
$24,000 in the two years they’ve held the fair.

13. Bricks with engraved donor names – Bricks can be ‘sold’ for $50 each or
more. One school raised $520,000 with this idea.

14. School event planners - These were sold for $7 each at school
registration and included all event dates, such as football games, holidays,
national tests, dances, and band events.  Fifty percent of the sales were
profit.

15. Temporary tattoos - A university group sold these with their university
logo at home football and basketball games. In the first two months, they
raised over $10,000.

16. “Halloween Insurance” - One organization sold insurance for $1 and
guaranteed to clean up any soaped windows, cars, etc. the day after
Halloween. They had 6 clean-up calls and everyone tipped them, despite
purchasing the insurance. A group of 7 members made over $1,000.

17. Sell seat cushions at sporting events - Sell advertisements on the
cushions to 12-20 local businesses for $50-100. You may even be able to give
the cushions away.

18. Plant sale - Ask parents to donate plants for a sale. They can divide
their perrenials and share them with other families. A garden club makes
about $1,000-2,000 each year from a sale like this.

19. Raffle - One group sold 1,000 tickets at $10 (or 3 for $25) and the
prize was a gift certificate for $2,500 at an electronic store. They
expected to make between $5,000-$7,500. Check your local laws governing
raffles.

20. School rummage or clothing sale - Clothing sales can be very successful
and are a good way for families to purchase affordable clothes as their
families grow.


Resources:
Fund-raising.com Idea Bank. Web site: www.fund-raising.com/ideabank.html


Source:
http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/publications/twentywaystoraisefunds.pdf