How to Make Discount Card Fundraising Fun

Fun ideas that lead to more productive discount card sales.

Because cards are personalized for a specific group, once the order is placed, they're stuck with it. Any cards that are sold help to pay back the initial investment and, hopefully, then some. It's, therefore, in the sponsor's best interest to want to make their sale as effective as possible.

To sum it up, the success of your discount card sale is determined by how quickly you can sell off your cards. One of the ways to make your campaign move quickly and efficiently is to make the selling process fun for your students.

Here are some ideas that can make discount card fundraising fun:

Jalopy Raids

This is an adaptation of the scavenger hunt idea.

1. Set a specific time for the event.
2. Make sure you have more than enough drivers.
3. Make sure everyone dresses casually and meets at a specific time and place.
4. Once everyone is together, give instructions. Make sure and stress-safe driving.
5. If possible, divide into tiny groups with no more than three vehicles. You may want to mix them up so close friends are not necessarily together for this event.
6. Students must get in their cars and head to friends, neighbors, and relatives' houses to sell discount cards. They must tell the people they see that they are in a contest. They must gather interesting information or novel items from the people they sell cards to. For example, they can write down the person's name, address, occupation, favorite joke, or most unusual thing ever happening to them. Novel items could include almost anything of little value.
7. They are to return to a designated area by a specific time, where refreshments will be served.
8. When they're back together, the team with the most sales is honored, and everyone gets to share the unusual stories they heard. An award can also be given to the group that gathered the most unusual item.

A variation might require sellers to get a donated can of food at each discount card sale for a local mission or organization that aids people experiencing homelessness.

Another idea would be to award points for selling to particular occupations. Make a list of various occupation types, and students try to complete it or get as many as possible by selling a discount card to a person within a listed occupation. The list could also be divided into groups. For example, occupation categories might include:

• Public Service (police, fire, and paramedics)
• Education (teachers and administrators)
• Manufacturing (employees of a local manufacturer)
• Professionals (lawyers, doctors, nurses)

Treasure Pot Draw

Some groups have set aside 50¢ from each card sold as a seller prize. They usually divide the amount into two treasure pots. One pot will go to the person who sells the most discount cards. A drawing wins the other pot. Every discount card a person sells gets their name in the drawing one time. The person who only sells three cards has three entries. The person who sells 50 cards has 50 entries. The drawing is held at the campaign's close, and the prizes are awarded.

Some have used a variation of this idea and have established a separate pot each week for two weeks.

If you have a pot where entries are put into a drawing for additional cards sold, everyone who sells has a chance to win. Only one student will win if you only have a pot for the person who sells the most. If one person jumps out front by selling many cards the first few days, others might give up. Additional entries for each sale made increased everyone's chances of winning.

Take Your Sellers for a Ride

One way to motivate your sellers to excellence is to arrange a limo and lunch for the top 8-10 sellers. Here's how it works.

Before starting your campaign, arrange with a local restaurant to provide a nice sit-down meal for your top 8-10 sellers. The motivation for the business will be the publicity they'll receive as you advertise this prize. You should consider using a restaurant that's already on your card.

The limo company may also donate the trip for the publicity they'll receive from the students and their parents. In any case, the top sellers are given the prize of a nice meal and will be transported in style.

You might also arrange for the local city newspaper and school paper to take pictures of the students. This will add significantly to the publicity for the meal and the ride providers, as well as your discount card.

See our discount card fundraiser.

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.