PTO Fundraisers...

[Magick1]

Well, I don't have a lot of time to volunteer for the PTO, but I would like to help contribute.

I am not very creative, talented or othewise able to contribute fantastic ideas.

But, I know there is a fantastic group of parents and grandparents on the board and others that help sell, have seen sales, or otherwise helped local children earn money for their schools.

Any wonderful ideas for PTO fundraisers that worked well in your communities that you remember as being fun, unique and not a bake sale?

All ideas are greatly appreciated.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

An Unbaked Bake Sale. Instead of baking a cake, calculate how much it would cost to buy the ingredients and send in a check for that amount.

[lynnzop[$]]

One year, our post-Prom committee sold gloves that had the school name on them (in school colors)...they went over BIG, especially at football games.

Craft shows, cookie walks are the big fund raisers for Underwood's music department.

[Leslie2k]

I'm not sure of the age level you are looking for, but the big fundraisers around here are Bingo related. Especially Turkey Bingo at Thanksgiving. They get donations from local business and sell bingo cards and refreshments. I think they make about 1/2 their budget just doing Turkey Bingo alone.

[mtomm[$]]

The Halloween carnival is big here. Classrooms at the school are turned into booths and tickets are sold for entry. They also have the book fair and do box tops and milk caps. They don't do much more than the two big events (book fair, carnival). I like it because it doesn't require the kids to do any sales--just volunteer work from the parents.

[emeleel]

I saw an interesting one the other day - kids were out in front of the grocery store and had big scratch-off cards in their hands. You were supposed to pick which one you wanted to scratch, and an amount between 50 cents and $3 would be revealed, which you were supposed to then pay to them for their choir.

Not only did I not have any money on me, I don't think I would have participated anyway, that seemed pretty chintzy to me - this card is going to determine how much money you give me.

[frazzledspice]

A Catholic school by us uses the Scrip program. People order gift certificates, paying full price.

The PTO buys the GC's for a percentage of the full price.

They buy Wal-Mart GC's for $.98 on the dollar.

They buy Old Navy cards for $.91 on the dollar.

Pathmark for $.96 on the dollar.

Let's say you spent $100 a week at Pathmark and used scrip for all your food purchases. That would be $200 a year for your school.

I've heard restaurants offer the best discounts.

Here's some info:

Great Lakes Scrip Center - America's Preferred Scrip Provider

To me the ideal fundraiser is one that rewards your school when you buy something you'd buy anyway at the same price you'd normally buy it at.

Scrip meets that criteria.

[Magick1]

lynnzop said

One year, our post-Prom committee sold gloves that had the school name on them (in school colors)...they went over BIG, especially at football games.

Craft shows, cookie walks are the big fund raisers for Underwood's music department.

Gloves an excellent idea. The cookie walk, I am not familiar with: what is that?

[Prepoia[$]]

Our elementaries do the food store certificates too frazz and they make a great deal of money from them. Good suggestion.

[lynnzop[$]]

Magick1 said

The cookie walk, I am not familiar with: what is that?

Each year, at the Underwood Holiday Craft Show, they ask the parents of students in the music program to make and donate 3 dozen holiday cookies. They are supposed to be hand made, or at least "look" handmade. The cookies are laid out on trays on the stage at the high school (where they have the craft fair). For $7, you can buy a gallon ice cream bucket, and then fill it with what ever cookies YOU pick from the trays. The good ones always go first, and there is usually a long, long line for the Cookie Walk! People forego craft shopping until they have their bucket of cookies.

Because the craft show is in November, you can use the cookies for holiday parties, or freeze them for later in December.

[lynnzop[$]]

Leslie2k said

I'm not sure of the age level you are looking for, but the big fundraisers around here are Bingo related. Especially Turkey Bingo at Thanksgiving. They get donations from local business and sell bingo cards and refreshments. I think they make about 1/2 their budget just doing Turkey Bingo alone.

That made me think of Grammie playing Bingo for fruit, which made me giggle.

(Our grandmother was a lucky woman, and the retirement home she lived in had an ongoing bingo game - winner got a piece of fruit. Once you'd won, you couldn't win again that day. If she won a piece of fruit that she didn't really want, she'd give it away until she won the one she wanted. )

[Leslie2k]

lynnzop said

That made me think of Grammie playing Bingo for fruit, which made me giggle.

(Our grandmother was a lucky woman, and the retirement home she lived in had an ongoing bingo game - winner got a piece of fruit. Once you'd won, you couldn't win again that day. If she won a piece of fruit that she didn't really want, she'd give it away until she won the one she wanted. )

oh my, I had totally forgotten about Grammie's bingo games! Thanks for a great memory to start my day off!!

[lynnzop[$]]

Leslie2k said

oh my, I had totally forgotten about Grammie's bingo games! Thanks for a great memory to start my day off!!

LOL, Bree and I laugh about that all the time.

[conradd]

When Shane was in grade school, we did kid calendars - a bit of work, but if several moms get together, it's not bad. Each classroom is assigned a month, and each child draws a black & white picture with a medium felt pen that represents something interesting that happens in that month. I gave the kids 3x5 cards to draw on, then reduced the drawings on a copier - teachers could use this for an art project. I then pasted the drawings for each month on the appropriate page printed from a calendar program so that each child in the school had a drawing in the calendar. We did this in October and the calendars were ready in November - perfect for Christmas gifts for distant family members. I put in all school holidays, inservice, early closures, etc. from the school calendar so that it was a handy guide for parents. I got printing donated and did the binding myself using school equipment. We sold them for $3.50 back in the day and raised several thousand dollars each year - enough for a field trip for each class.

[lynnzop[$]]

Oh, that's a GREAT idea, Deb. And you can get them for next to nothing just about anywhere now!!!

[Magick1]

conradd said

When Shane was in grade school, we did kid calendars -

That sounds cool!