Discount card fundraisers are a very popular way to raise funds. They are a great deal for the school or charity and a great deal for the person who buys the card. It’s really one of the best product sale type fundraisers out there.

Whoa, let me back up a minute. Maybe you haven’t heard of Discount Card Fundraisers. Just in case, let me describe what they are and how they work.

A discount card is a plastic card that is the size of a credit card. They are made from sturdy plastic that fits easily in your wallet. They are custom printed on the front and back of the card.

On the front is a custom design just for your group, the one that’s selling the card. The one seen here is one that Fast Track Fundraising produced for a cheerleading squad, the DC ICE. If you click the card you’ll see a larger image with better detail.

On the back of the card are the merchant offers. Each merchant in your area chooses what kind of deal they’d like to give card holders. When you choose popular merchants who give really good savings offers, your supporters will jump at the chance to buy the card. The DC ICE card here has eight offers.

You can fit even more deals on the back of these cards. Check this one here, it has 19 offers. One merchant is taking up two spots so really you could fit up to 20 merchants on the back of the card.

Cardholders can use these discounts anytime during a full one year period. So this could be a really good deal for them!

Since you are offering such good savings to people, this makes the discount card a good value to your supporters. Your group can decide what to charge for the cards but most groups sell the cards for just $10. At this price point and with the great discounts it is a no-brainer for people to buy the card from you.

The other really good thing about this $10 price point is that almost all of that is pure profit for your group! You don’t have to pay the merchants anything for participating. Actually they are getting free advertising and more customers by joining your program, so it’s a good deal for them. All they have to do is fill out a merchant agreement form and give to whomever in your group is managing the project. He or she then just faxes in that form to Fast Track Fundraising and they take care of the rest.

Oh, I think I got off on a tangent there. The $10 per card, nearly all of it goes to your group because of the very low cost of these cards. Depending on how many cards you order, they only cost your group $1-3 each. With volume orders you keep $9 out of the $10 each supporter gives you.

So that’s the basics of discount card fundraisers, how they work and a bit about why they are so great.

Click here to get more information or get started with this fundraiser

They melt in your mouth not in your… oh, you know. M&Ms have been around forever and they are still one of the most popular chocolate candies. They now come in a variety of chocolate flavors and colors. Your school, sports team or other group can raise funds with this all time favorite candy treat.

The M&Ms Milk Chocolate fundraising carrier contains 36 bags of M&Ms. Your group sells them for an even dollar each and makes 40% profit. Students just carry this case with them to class, if allowed by the school. If not, these carriers can go with parents to work or the candies can be sold at sports games or other evnets.

Some people really like the Peanut M&Ms best. The M&Ms Peanut fundraising box also includes 36 bags of M&Ms.There’s four of these carriers in each case. There’s a 7 case minimum on the M&M Fundraiser order. Most groups order some of both M&M flavors and you can split them up when your order arrives.

When you sell M&M Chocolate candies as a fundraiser you will find that many people like them and they are easy to sell.

Students at a school in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin raised funds with a cookie dough fundraiser. This time they had even more motivation than usual. Part of the funds raised benefited Ronald McDonald House where a classmate stayed during her battle with Lymphoma.

“I think its nice that they donate to places in the community rather than using the money for things that only benefit themselves,” added student council advisor Liz Pukrop.

From: Chippewa Valley Newspapers

What a great way for a school to help a fellow student!

Students got the chance to learn the value of giving and community service. This is also a great example of how to generate more interest in a fundraising drive by benefiting more than one group. Perhaps your group could partner with another that needs to raise funds to increase your reach.

Find out more about cookie dough fundraisers

A school bookfair can be a great way to earn much-needed funds for educational programs. A school bookfair can also help your students and families create home libraries of books that they will enjoy. It is also a terrific way to build your classroom or school libraries.

There are many benefits to hosting a school bookfair. Most importantly, it encourages children to read books that they will enjoy for fun and pleasure and the joy of learning. A bookfair can also be a wonderful opportunity to develop a larger library of books for your school or classroom library through encouraging classroom or school donations.

A school bookfair generates community participation and interest on many levels, as children of all ages will show interest in reading. Finally, a school bookfair is a great way to raise funds for its school while also encouraging learning in a fun and interesting way.

The Scholastic company helps elementary and middle schools host bookfairs. If you host a Scholastic bookfair your school can earn cash, books, reward bonuses or Instructional Resource Catalog Profits (vouchers to select educational tools or books).

Scholastic Bookfair offers instructional guides to show you step by step how to manage your school bookfair. These guides cover every topic you can think of, and all that you need is at your fingertips. The guides help you to save time and they show you what other schools have done to be successful. There is a guide for Families, for the Principal, for the Librarian and for Teachers. Each guide offers specific and valuable resources that will help these families, professionals and educators make the most of the bookfair for their school.

Your school bookfair can also include other activities and school fundraisers to make the day more fun.  No matter what options you choose, you will certainly benefit your school in every way simply by holding the bookfair.