Schools are the most popular place to conduct fundraisers. All your school’s sports teams, clubs, organizations, and other groups will use fund raising to generate revenue that they can use to pay for expenses of all kinds. School fund raisers are fun and exciting, frequently allowing individual participants to compete to see who can generate the most money during the fund raising time period. Sports teams including basketball, softball, volleyball, football, and swim team all use fund raisers to pay for things like team trips, equipment and banquets. Cheerleading teams are one of the top performing fund raising groups and are typically great at creating excitement with the fundraiser concept. School fundraisers should be fun and exciting bringing the members of the group together in a united quest to raise money and put it to good use. When you are looking for the best school fundraising ideas you can use SuperFundraiser.com to connect you with the absolute highest quality, best performing fundraising ideas.

Most people know about the annual Boy Scout popcorn sale. Every year scouts sell the Trail’s End popcorn that comes in many different flavors. My husband bought a whole case, one of each flavor, for the second year in a row. Can we eat that much popcorn? Probably not. That’s why some of it went in the family stockings.

Two Boy scouts vie for top popcorn fundraiser salesman from KSAT Television in San Antonio, TX

Cub Scouts popcorn program from Top School Fundraisers

Many packs across the country have another annual fundraiser starting the day after Christmas. They pick up the live trees from homes for recycling collection. The Statesman-Journal in Oregon reports in Scouts win with tree-recycling job:

Troop 20 nets anywhere from $1,500 to $2,800 each year from tree collection, said Paul Guthrie, the assistant scout master. That far surpasses proceeds from sales of food products, ranging from candy and cookie dough to popcorn and pepperoni, he said.

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts stay busy all near, not just fundraising. Here are a few other good links about scouting activities:

Pinewood Derby Nights: The NASCAR of Boy Scouts from NJ.com

Boy Scouts teach skills to handle bullies from The News-Enterprise (NJ)

Scouts in Action from Boy Scout Trail

Inspired by the annual cookie craze known as the Girl Scout Cookie Sale, this week we’ve got some Super Links related to scouting. Today we have some neat stories related to Girl Scouts and tomorrow we’ll have links for Boy Scouts.

Most troops sell Girl Scout cookies toward the end of January.  In fact it may be starting this week, depending on the council in your area.  You can input your zip code in the Cookie Finder to discover when your local scouts will be selling cookies.

Here’s a few more great links…

About the Girl Scout Cookie Program from Girl Scouts USA

It’s Cookie Time…be kind to your Girl Scout from Plot Monkeys blog

Girl Scouts want us to stick to our diets from Philly Burbs

Girl Scouts Potluck from Life With Frenchie

Here are some “super links” that will help get your school fundraising in 2008 off to a great start!

12 Strategies for Overcoming “Fundraising Fatigue” from James Berigan of Top School Fundraisers

Your documents are helping other parent group leaders from PTO Today - file sharing program provides free templates for your groups to use

Fundraising Links from the Fundraising Network

Members’ Tips: PTA Fundraising from Raising Kids

New Ideas for School Fundraising from About.com

There are so many different fundraising solutions available for schools, charities and other groups. Have you ever started looking for a fundraiser and eventually got a bit lost in all of the information overload? I know I have.That is one reason that I co-founded SuperFundraiser.com. This service provides a custom Matchmaking quiz that will match your group with a set of fundraising options that are most likely to benefit your group the most.

You can take a peek at some of the options that are Super Fundraiser Approved by browsing our Directory. Before you jump over there, let me give you a “heads up” - this is not the usual catch all directory.

In fact you might be surprised at the number of fundraisers listed. That’s because we only choose ONE fundraising service provider for each type of fundraiser. You’ll see one Discount Card provider, one Online Auction provider, etc. We only want to feature the very best of each category. You can be assured that each fundraiser that we recommend to you has been thouroughly reviewed for profit potential, quality, costs, ease of use, and customer service.

You won’t have to waste your time investigating the different fundraising providers because we’ve done that legwork for you! Now this is not to say that there are not other good fundraisers that are not in the Super Fundraiser program. In fact we’re constantly looking for the most beneficial fundraisers to add to the list… but we are very picky.

Complete a short 2-3 minute quiz and you’ll get a customized list of options that are best matched for your needs. It’s fast, free and easy. You’ll save time and avoid Fundraising Information Overload!

Start the SuperFundraiser.com Matchmaker Now

When your school group completes a fundraising campaign it’s important to take some time to evaluate how it went. Look back at the goals that you set for the campaign and see how your event or program measured up. Here are a few open ended questions that you can put on a survey form and/or use for discussion starters with your committee.

1. Did we meet our fundraising goals?

2. How many students and parents participated?

3. Were we successful in raising participation from students and parents?

4. What aspects of the fundraiser encouraged participation?

5. What aspects of the fundraiser hindered participation?

6. How can we encourage more families to join the fundraiser next time?

7. How much time and effort was needed to put on this fundraiser? Was it “worth it” relative to the dollars that were raised?

8. What unexpected challenges did we face with this fundraiser and how did we deal with them?

9. What suggestions or feedback did we get from parents during the campaign?

10. How can we improve our fundraiser next time so that it’s even more successful?

Many people enjoy collecting and displaying their collection of treasures. A collectible
can be anything from high end antiques to something rather simple like Pez dispensers. Sometimes people even focus on a specific brand like Coca-Cola merchandise.

I know from personal experience that many of these collections begin rather by accident. Years ago a former supervisor at work gave me a Curious George tin as a birthday gift. I displayed it in my office and soon my collection began to grow. Several ’secret santas’ and office mates contributed and finally friends and family too as by then everyone knew about my collection.

Here are two ways that your group can take advantage of the popularity of collectibles when you’re fundraising:

First, if your school or other group would like to do a catalog sale fundraiser, choose one that features collectibles. The Home & Gift Collection by Reader’s Digest is a 47 page gift and general merchandise catalog used for fundraising. It has quite a few items that are popular as collectibles including:

• Thomas Kinkade - wall plaque, coasters, placemats
• Angels and other ornaments
• High School Musical - popular with pre-teens and teens
• Kitchen gadgets and cookbooks

By offering a gift catalog that includes collectible items, you’re increasing the chances that people will find something they would like to add to their collection or to give as a gift.

Another way to offer collectibles as a fundraiser is to create something unique, only available from your group. There are a variety of companies that specialize in creating one of a kind collectibles and corporate / promotional gifts. A unique item that would be a great collectible is the custom suncatcher / ornament available from Wullbrandt Studio.

You can use these as a direct sales fundraiser and sell them for $20 each, or give them away as thank you gifts for people who make direct donations. If at all possible I would recommend using them as thank you gifts for donations. This way you can set the giving level higher, perhaps $50-$100 depending on your audience. When you call it a “thank you gift” it becomes a much more special item. You’re not selling them, you are giving them so it’s a totally different mindset.

This article is for all parents who get involved in fundraisers…isn’t that ALL of us?
Are you burnt out with the same fundraiser each year? Do you frequently have several fundraisers going at one time? Do you have nightmares about distributing fundraiser products? Would you like to have LESS FUNDRAISER STRESS?

Set a Goal

The first order of business should always be to SET A GOAL. What are you having the fundraiser for? Get specific. How much money do you need to raise and how much will each child need to sell?

Deadline

Short term fundraisers are easier on the stress level. ALWAYS SET A DEADLINE as to when the fundraiser will end.

Communication

Communicate the FUNDRAISER GOAL. Have a kick off rally. Get the children excited. Let them know what the GOAL of the fundraiser is and what they need to do to help reach it. Have them ALWAYS MENTION THE GOAL when they ask for a sale. Don’t just say, “PTO fundraiser”…say “This is for new sports equipment” or whatever your GOAL is. People are more willing to contribute when they know what it is they are contributing towards. Have a prize for the child that sells the most. This always brings out the competitive spirit!

Coordinate

Coordinate your fundraiser with other clubs and groups in the school that are also having fundraisers. This will avoid fundraiser overload on parents. It will help sales as well. If possible coordinate with other schools, church groups, sports teams, etc. Some parents get hit with several fundraisers at once. For example: PTO, Scouts and Church group.

Limit the Number

Limit the number of fundraisers to two a year.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change!

Are you burnt out with the same fundraiser each year? DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE! People also get tired of BUYING the same thing every year! You will actually increase sales if you offer variety. Try to choose something useful. Put one person in charge of finding new fundraisers and presenting new ideas to vote on. If you are not the one to decide this…VOICE YOUR OPINION.

Labor Friendly

Look for a fundraiser that is easy to distribute. A few companies offer POINT OF SALE fundraisers. This means the fundraiser offer is for a product or coupon booklet that is sold and money collected with only one contact. These are by far the least stressful fundraisers…for you as well as everyone involved.

Risk Free - 40% Profit or more

Look for RISK FREE fundraisers…you only pay for what you sell. You do not have to have product on hand. Choose a company that will be involved and answer questions when needed. Always aim for at least a 40% PROFIT or more.

Recruit

Recruit all of the parents you can! The more hands, the less work for everyone. Send out letters or make phone calls to recruit help.

The Wind Up

Fundraisers always involve stress. Follow the above hints it will help you to STRESS-LESS. Remember that after the fundraiser is all over, you can look at the new sports equipment, computers…or whatever your goal was, and know that it was well worth the stress.

HAVE A NIGHT OUT AND CELEBRATE!

About the Author: Faye Rutledge is a fundraising consultant with www.fundraiseralley.com offering many easy fundraising options!

Many schools across the US participate in the Box Tops for Education program. Usually parents just clip the little coupons from the top of the boxes and and drop them off at the school.

One of the drawbacks to the program is that at just a few cents each, it takes a lot of box tops to raise much money.  But with a little creativity those box tops really can add up.   Seniors at an adult health center in New Jersey decided they could help.  Several times a week members meet together and spend time clipping the box tops.   It makes for a great activity for the seniors and helps local schools too.

Box Tops are dropped off at the Center by local area residents; two local retailers also host collection sites. Every few months, the stores transfer the collected packaging or Box Tops to the Health Center, where care-givers organize sessions to “rip and clip.”

“This model would work well in almost any community,” said Box Tops for Education Senior Promotion Planner Lisa Kessel. “Box Tops can also be collected from products used right in care centers, including food items, Hefty® paper tableware and personal care products like Kleenex® tissues and Depend® items.”

Read more about this Box Tops Success Story

Have you heard of the head shave fundraiser? It’s a challenge where a teacher or other adult challenges kids to meet a certain fundraising goal. If the goal is met then someone gets his head shaved. Kids and teens love this challenge since they like to see teachers humbled a bit and find the whole thing pretty funny.

A band director in New Haven, Connecticut put his full head of hair on the line to challenge students to raise funds for uniforms. The New Haven Independent School District reported that:

the campaign to raise $4,000 for the first-ever band uniforms for the John S. Martinez “Dragons” was not progressing as swiftly as anticipated. (Proceeds from the production of Annie are also raising money for the same purpose.) So 20 days ago Collette turned to his young instrumentalists and said, “Kids, if you raise $2,000 in 20 days, I’ll shave off all my hair for the role of Daddy Warbucks.”

So did the kids raise the funds? You bet they did! And Mr. Collette had to make good on his promise.