Tips for Easy Fundraising

Picture this: Raising funds can be easier than you imagine if you follow a few tips. Here’s school fundraising ideas and creative tips that are sugar-free and don’t require door-to-door sales.

1. Turn existing purchases into a fundraiser

Picateers is a company that turns school Picture Day into a fundraiser. Parents spend $2 billion on school pictures every year and virtually none of that money goes to the schools. Picateers is changing that. Picateers gives 50% of every dollar spent on portraits back to schools. Picateers is able to give cash back because they train a volunteer mom to take the pictures. She snaps the pictures with her digital SLR camera and Picateers does the rest. It’s minimal effort; an elementary school can raise thousands with only two volunteers for a day. Parents love it because they can help their school by simply purchasing their child’s pictures. For a free Info Kit about Picateers' Picture Day fundraiser, click here.

2. Get healthy with a Walk-a-thon

With a Walk-a-thon, children have a blast walking to raise money for their school. It’s easy to set-up. Children bring home sponsor sheets for parents, and family members to pledge either a fixed donation or one that depends on the distance the child walks. Children feel a sense of accomplishment in completing the Walk-a-thon to help their school raise money.

3. Try a fundraiser that delivers all year

eScrip is a company that works with retailers like clothing, electronics and grocery stores to give a percentage of parent’s purchases back to schools. This fundraiser requires minimal effort. A coordinator at a school sends home a sheet for parents to complete registering their credit and debit cards. Then, when parents shop at participating merchants, or buy products on the eScrip website using their registered cards, their school earns money throughout the year.

4. Focus on learning

A great school fundraising idea that supports learning is a Read-a-thon. Typically, parents and family members pledge either a fixed donation or a flexible donation depending on the number of minutes the students read during a two week period. Children bring home pledge sheets and start reading. A way to make it even more fun is to ask local merchants to donate prizes for the students that read the most or have a special prize for the entire class that reads the most.

These easy fundraising ideas mean no more staying up late to bake for bake sales or bothering your neighbors for donations. They can put the “fun” back into fundraising and provide a great return to your school.