3 Free School Fundraising Ideas that Get Results

3 practical ways to top fundraiser results.

We all know what it means when someone says, "There's little reward without some risk". And perhaps that's one reason many sponsors end up not adding extra incentives to their school fundraisers to encourage more selling. They're just not convinced they'll get a good return on their investment.

So, is there a way that they know whether the money they're investing will ultimately pay off? This can be a challenging hurdle to overcome for many sponsors. They prefer to play it safe. If you're also concerned about this, you can incorporate incentives that won't cost you anything. In other words, reward without the risk. Here are three easy school fundraising ideas without blowing your budget.

1. Get School Staff Involved

The only risk here is putting some effort into reaching out to some key people that can help you leverage your sale.

• Ask the principal to introduce your sale at your kickoff meeting and stress its importance. Make sure they also make the closing remarks.
• Plan a meeting with the school faculty before the start of your kickoff to gain their support. Tell them how everyone will benefit from the proceeds.
• Convince the principal to do something fun that will motivate the students to want to sell more. If the school reaches your fundraising goal, have the principal:
  • Kiss a pig
  • Get a pie in the face
  • Wear their pajamas to school
  • Spend the day on the roof
  • Well, you get the idea…

2. Promote Your Sale Continuously

During your daily announcements, ask your sellers the following questions:

• "Who's already sold a couple of items or more?"
• "How many of you have already picked out a specific prize you want to win?"
• "Who's already halfway to their sales goal?"
• "How many of you have met or surpassed your sales goal?"
• "Who plans to be the top seller?"

3. Use Additional Fundraising Prizes

During the sale
Have your students turn in the prize drawing coupons every time they sell five items from their brochure. Here are some no-cost incentive ideas for the winners:

• 'Line Leader' for the Day
• 'Classroom Leader' for the Day
• 'Office Monitor' for the Day
• 'Door Monitor' for the Day
• 'Free Dress Day' Pass
• 'Extra Recess Time' Pass
• 'No Homework for a Day' Pass
• Help with Daily Announcements
• 'Sit Where You Want' Pass
• Free Library Pass

You can also make a fun poster that students can sign once they've sold 'x' items.

After the sale
Once the sales results are in, reward your top performers:

• Your top 10 sellers get to have a special lunch with the principal.
• Your top seller can be the principal for a day.
• Anyone who sells 25 or more items gets invited to a Pizza Party.
• Top Seller, Top 3 Sellers, or Top Seller/Grade Prizes (Get your local store to donate these prizes. Many retailers have budget allotments for school assistance and donations.)
• Sell ten items to get into a DJ Dance Party (Ask the principal to be the DJ)

What additional ideas do you have that can help your school achieve top fundraising results?

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.