Great fundraising ideas for tight budgets
By adding our school fundraiser ideas to your basic prize program, you'll make more sales and increase your profit. And you don't have to spend money on big prizes to get your students' attention either.
In most cases, the basic prize program provided by the fundraising company is not enough if you want better results. You should complement participation with additional fundraiser ideas to increase participation and maximize sales.
Your ideas should inspire your students to show their brochure to as many friends and family as possible. To achieve this, you must understand what incentives will best motivate your group to sell. If you can offer grand top-seller prizes, that's fine, but having additional money in your budget is not essential as long as you're creative and willing to invest a little time and energy. What follows are three easy school fundraising ideas that have been proven to increase brochure sales. And the great thing is these incentives are free.
Check out 30 tips for a winning sales fundraiser
1. Start with the Right Prize Program
Does your company even offer a complementary prize program? To begin with, not all prize programs are alike. So don't offer the same prize program to a high school group that you would to elementary students. Most companies that offer a reward program only offer one type. Yet older students tend to work harder for incentives like cash or customized school spirit wear, whereas younger students usually prefer prizes.
2. Incorporate Fundraising Privileges
If you're creative, you can utilize resources you can access through your school. There are even ways to improve fundraiser sales without spending any money. One great way to do this is by having a periodic prize drawing during your sale. For example, for every five items sold, elementary students can turn in a coupon for a chance to:
- be the line leader for a day
- get a no-homework pass
- help with the morning announcements
Middle school students can earn a pass to a school DJ party if they sell ten or more items, while students on a high school sports team who reach a specific goal won't have to put away equipment that day.
See more school fundraising ideas
3. Promote Your Fundraiser Daily
This sounds obvious, but it's not. You'd be amazed at the number of sponsors who don't bother to talk about the sale until it's time to collect the order forms. They may be leaving hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the table.
Instead, regularly discuss the importance of things like setting daily goals and having them ask their parents to take the brochure to work. And plan to have something new to talk to your students about each day.
You can promote your school fundraiser during morning announcements, post signs around the school, and send reminder notices home to parents. And don't be ordinary; instead, find ways to be creative by including things like periodic prize drawings or video promotions. See program ideas for:
- Preschool Fundraisers
- Elementary School Fundraising
- Middle School Fundraising
- High School Fundraisers
You can add significantly more money to your bottom line if you spend a little time each day promoting your program. Incorporating these fundraising ideas may be the difference between doing one sale to meet your financial goals and planning a second.