Planning a School Fundraiser

Planning a school fundraiser

“An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.” Dwight D. Eisenhower.

For most of us, planning a  school fundraiser is an additional event in our already busy lives. Truly, a well-devised plan can make the most of your time when extra hours are in short supply, .

First and foremost, start planning a school fundraiser well in advance of your intended event.  Give yourself as much time as possible to round up resources. The more time you can give people in advance, the more likely they will be available to volunteer. If you intend to ask local businesses to sponsor your event, you may need a few weeks to get that lined up. By the way, the more specific the details of your cause, the more likely people are to support it. Community members may be more positive about “raising money for the award-winning band to march in The Rose Bowl Parade” than “raising money for our school”.

Here is a list of items to consider when outlining your school fundraising plan.

  1. Expenses – What are the nitty-gritty needs? How granular can you get?
  2. Monetary Goals – How much money would you like to make?
  3. Budget – How much money is available to spend preparing for and promoting your event?
  4. Team Demographics – Who is on your selling team? What are their strengths?
  5. Resources –Who can you ask to support your event? Who can donate physical products or supplies?
  6. Time Restraints – When do you need the funds? When is the best time to execute your fundraiser?
  7. Location – Where will you hold your fundraiser? How will you distribute products to the team?
  8. Product – What is the best product for your group? This article provides helpful information on how to make this choice.

Planning a school fundraiser demands an additional level as your sales force may be kids. Successful school fundraisers base their product choice on them. What do they like, what can they get excited about, how sophisticated can the product be? For instance, cookie dough is much more approachable for elementary school kids than candles. You may consider an incentive for youth sales teams. Converse with local business’ to explore donating a coveted prize, such as a gaming system. Or incentive the group with a fun event when you reach your sales goal. Such as, field days, pizza parties or a free day off from school.

Finally, design the event to fit the cause. Meaning, if you would like to receive large donations for a major project, selling candy bars is not the most effective course of action. Or say you need a small amount of money to send your group to a state competition. In this case, setting up and hosting a casino night is too complicated and unnecessary.

The initial school fundriaser planning stage helps determine your goals. From there, devise an outline to support achieving those goals. The more details you can include, the better. Don’t worry if you miss an item or two. A good fundraising foundation allows you the freedom to pivot, ensuring you don’t miss a step towards your ultimate objective.

Yummy Hearts Lollipops

Our Yummy Heart Lollipops virtually sell themselves leading up to Valentine’s Day. But they are also appropriate any time you want to show your supporters love. There’s a 1 case minimum, shipping is free and you will make 50% profit on each Yummy Heart Fundraising Lollipop sold. Each case comes with 640 Yummy Heart Lollipops.

What You Should Know

Yummy Heart Lollipops are the same as all of our other lollipop fundraisers. You will make the same profit no matter how many cases of lollipops you purchase or sell. Sell the lollipops for twice what you pay for them. In other words, you will always double your investment. Here is a quick profit chart for you to review:

Profit and Cost

  • In-hand products
  • Free shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cases Bought Cost Per Case Profit %
1 min $320.00 50%

If you are looking for a holiday season fundraiser, our Home for the Holidays Candle Fundraiser is it.  With their cheery labels and seasonal scents, these candles make a fantastic gift. There’s no upfront cost, so this fundraiser works for any type of group.  We provide everything you need to get started and there’s no obligation.

What You Should Know

Candle fundraising is different than other fundraising programs. Easy Fundraising Ideas gives you a 50% profit on each candle you sell. The only additional charge you may incur is a $65 shipping fee if your group sells less than 150 candles.

Each candle sells for only $20 each.

Profit and Cost

  • No upfront cost
  • Free brochures for your participants
  • Free shipping (orders of 150 items or more)
  • Start in under a minute
Items Bought % Profit Free Shipping
150 plus 50% YES
1 to 149 50% No
Custom Discount Fundraising Cards

Raise money by creating your own discount card fundraiser. Sign up between 8 and 12 local merchants to advertise on the back of your fundraising discount cards. We will custom design the front for your group. These fundraiser discount cards make terrific annual fundraising tools.

What You Should Know

Custom Fundraising Discount Cards offer some of the highest profits possible. Take a look at the profit chart below to estimate what your group can earn with this outstanding program:

Profit and Cost

  • In-hand products
  • Free shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cards Bought Profit Cost per Card
2500 90% plus Call for Pricing
1000 90% $1.00
500 80% $2.00
250 70% $3.00
100 min 60% $4.00
Better Baking Fundraiser

Our Better Baking fundraiser is a great option for all types of groups. We offer 9 of the most popular baking mixes that appeal to everyone.  Our premium baking mixes are easy to use and taste great!  Everything you need to bake cookies, pretzels, cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes, and bread. Easy fundraising starts with a Better Baking fundraiser.  You will not be handling a frozen product.  The $15 price makes it a fun and easy fundraising idea.  Like our Candle Fundraisers, our Better Baking Fundraiser has a 50% profit for your group.

What You Should Know

Like our other popular $15 programs Easy Fundraising Ideas gives you a 50% profit on each and every item you sell. The only additional charge you might incur would be a $65 shipping fee if your group sells less than 150 items.

Profit and Cost

  • No upfront cost
  • Free brochures for your participants
  • Free shipping (orders of 150 items or more)
  • Start in under a minute
Items Bought % Profit Free Shipping
150 plus 50% YES
1 to 149 50% No
All Sports Scratch Card

If you want an easy fundraising idea for all sports, scratch card fundraisers are just what you are looking for. If you can not find your specific sport in our collection of scratch off graphics,  All Sports Scratch Cards are your best option. You can make up to 95% profit.

What You Should Know

Here is an example of the coupon page you can give to the people as a “Thank You” for participating. You can also create a custom coupon hand out with your town’s unique businesses.

The lowest profit percentage you will make from using scratch cards for fundraisers is 85%. However, the more cards you purchase the higher your profit potential for each card, due to volume price breaks. The profits and profit percentages shown are based on successfully having all 50 dots scratched off on your scratch card.

Profit and Cost

  • In-hand products
  • Free shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cards Bought Cost Per Card Each Card Raises Your Profit $ Your Profit %
100 $5.00 $100.00 $9,500 95%
25 $7.00 $100.00 $2,325 93%
10 $10.00 $100.00 $900 90%
1 min. $15.00 $100.00 $85 85%
School Fundraiser

School Fundraising Made Easy

If you feel that selecting the best school fundraising idea is a daunting task, don’t worry! Since it seems the gap between school budgets and funding required for extracurricular programs is getting larger every year, the need for profitable school fundraisers is growing.

Sports Fundaising Ideas

Sports Fundraising Ideas That Win

Sports fundraising goes hand-in-hand with playing sports. Whether you are a basketball, football, soccer, or cheerleading organization, we have fundraisers that will score big money for your team.

Church Fundraisers

Church Fundraisers Move the Spirit

Top Church Fundraisers by Group

Non-profit fundraisers

Non-Profit Fundraising for Charity

Top Non-Profit Fundraising Ideas by Group

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Christian Fundraising Ideas

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Great high school fundraising ideas

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Church Scratch Cards

If you’ve been trying to think of church fundraisers that work, it’s likely that your top concern is how much profit you can make, and how quickly you can make it. There are many roads to the same destination, but if you’re looking for some church fundraising ideas that work, here are some great choices. Read More »

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Everyone who gets put in charge of organizing a sports fundraiser goes through a phase where they want to be original, innovative, and doing something that no one else has thought of before. That’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with breaking new ground, but remember that your chief goal is to raise money for the team, and often the best way to do that is to take a formula that has worked well in the past and to stick with it.

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