Fund Raising Ideas

This is a collection of ideas, not committed plans.

Many of these would have to be adopted to our situation. Feel free to send me your ideas to include on this page.

A car wash at a local business

Sell a Senior/Slave Sale

The idea is to have the senior class auction themselves off to an underclassman for around $20. Each senior gets an underclassman who can dictate what they do for an entire day. The senior has to carry the underclassman's books, get them food at lunch, and the senior has to wear whatever the underclassman wants. This is a great fund raising event that not only brings in money for the senior class but brings together the school, it's inevitable that you'll get to know the person making you wear a batman cape and beanie hat for a day.

Sadie Hawkins Dance (never had one at LHS)- popular

The Sadie Hawkins dance is named after the Li'l Abner comic strip character Sadie Hawkins. November 13 was Sadie Hawkins day, when the unmarried women of Dogpatch got to chase the bachelors and marry the ones they caught. In the U.S., this concept was popularized by establishing dance events to which the woman invited a man of her choosing, instead of demurely waiting for a man to ask her.

Spirit Chain Fundraising

This is a great fundraiser for high school students, but could be used with other groups. Have a competition within the different groups in the school (football, volleyball, cheer leading, band, etc.) to see who has the most school spirit. Each class has two colors that their paper chain consists of. Sell each strip of paper for 25 or 50 cents. Keep the chains hidden and then at an assembly have class representatives bring out the huge paper chains that have accumulated over time. Which ever groups’ chain is the longest receives bragging rights for the rest of the school year. This is a great activity to do right before homecoming or other school functions when school spirit is high. The only thing you have to pay for is the paper and staples/glue/tape.

Mall Coat Check Fundraising

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, students went to the local mall every weekend. They had arranged with the mall management company for an area to have a coat check. Stores in the mall donated the temporary use of racks to hang the coats on and a secured area for people to leave packages, etc. They handed out a "coat check" ticket and shoppers left their coats, mittens, etc with them while they shopped. The asked for a minimum donation of $1 for the service. They were able to raise thousands of dollars with very little upfront cost. The only thing they had to pay for were rolls of tickets that you can buy at any office supply store, and they even got a parent to donate that. It was a very easy and profitable fund raiser that the kids had to work to get the money for their program.

Stair Climb Fundraising

Almost 1,000 climbers in Calgary Canada, made the 12th annual thigh-testing trek up Calgary Tower's 27 flights of stairs to raise $75,000 in pledge money to help the Alberta Wilderness Association protect the environment. Another 60 people ran one kilometer around the tower before climbing the local landmark in the first annual Running Room Run for Wilderness. The fastest person to finish the run and climb reached the top in eight minutes and 56 seconds. The record is 30 for the most climbs up the tower during the five-hour fundraiser. Many eased the burden by tugging on the sturdy steel railing, while others stopped on landings decorated with scenic murals and talked to volunteers ready to help them if they felt sick.

Carnival Fund Raising

My helping hands club wanted to host a fund raising event that also included community involvement. That is why we hosted the WINTER CARNIVAL at one of the local elementary schools. First of all announce in your school what clubs would like to participate in such activity. From then on announce that the clubs participating will be able to keep whatever profits they make at the carnival. Hold the fund raising carnival in an open space or the gym or auditorium at school and place the booths all over the place with enough space for people to walk by.

The booths can consist of simply an arrangement of tables with poster boards on the side of your table advertising what your booth is all about. Advertise as well to the community!!! Get permission from local libraries, schools, and businesses to see if you can post up posters and flyers asking your community to drop by. Our booths included friendship bracelets, pie in the face, face painting, tattoos, candy sweets, picture with Santa, etc. Be creative! If High School juniors like myself could achieve this then there are endless possibilities as to what YOU can do.

Donation Container Fund Raising

This is a straightforward cash collection fund raising at local merchants. Here's what you do. Save old coffee cans and cover them in bright color paper with your organization's name and logo prominently displayed. A catchy slogan never hurts. Visit all local merchants and ask if you can leave a can at their cash register. Don't forget to visit all participating local merchants once a week and collect all proceeds. Your organization gets 100% of the profit.

Specify on the can where fundraising donations will specifically go. Example: "to purchase school supplies for under privileged children". This helps those donating feel like they can associate their donation with an ongoing program, and if it happens to be one that warms their heart, they'll be more likely to give!

Pajama Day Fund Raising

Students pay $.50 to $1.00 on a designated day and get to wear their pajamas to school. It's a very easy fundraising idea. All you need is someone to go the classrooms and collect the money. Everyone at our school likes it so much that even the teachers participate! Consider having a contest for the ugliest, weirdest, etc. pajamas.

Fake Election Fund Raising

The city of Baytown, Texas, held a fake race for mayor, in which dollars counted as votes to receive the honorary title of Mayor of Downtown Baytown. The candidate who placed second, was named mayor pro tem, and the top five runner-ups were named to the mock City Council.

Scrabble Tournament Fund Raising

Scrabble is all about being fluent in the language and coming up with words that might be worth a lot of points. People have fun coming up with strange and exotic words no one else has thought of. Teams of four, six, or eight gather at different tables, each with a Scrabble board and all the letters available. Each team starts with the same opening word, and has 20 minutes to fill the board with high-scoring words. A judge sits at each table. Individuals pay $35 to participate. Players can sneak a peek at a dictionary for an additional $10 donation. Make extra fund raising money selling refreshments, raffle, auction, etc. Additional details and ideas available from the National Scrabble Association.

Target's Take Charge of Education Fund Raising

Every time you use your Target Visa or Target Guest Card® at a Target store or target.com, Target will donate an amount equal to 1% of Target Visa and Target Guest Card purchases made at Target and target.com, and 1/2% of Target Visa purchases made elsewhere, to the eligible K-12 school of your choice. Thanks to the Target School Fundraising program, more than 114,000 schools have been able to pay for computers, playground equipment, field trips and uniforms for students whose families couldn't afford them. (Details a target.com.)

Sticky Fly Fund Raising

Find a popular teacher willing to participate. You'll also need lots of duct tape. Post flyers around the school a week ahead of time advertising your fundraiser. On the appointed day, during lunch hours, find a spot where students and faculty pass by regularly. Set a chair up against a wall so that the side of the chair (NOT the back or front, otherwise it won't work right) is firmly against the wall. Place a couple of gym mats or cushions in front of the chair as a precaution. Have the teacher stand up on the chair with his/her back against the wall. For fifty cents per yard of duct tape, students and faculty can tape the teacher to the wall. When the teacher is firmly taped to the wall, stop selling tape. Announce that you will now remove the chair to see just how long the "fly" can stick to the wall.

If you want to, before removing the chair, take bets on how long the teacher will remain on the wall. It makes the game even more interesting for everyone. When my friend and I did it, we raised nearly $1000. We also spoke to our respective health classes about child abuse and the effects of it. Students and teachers alike donated more during class. Out of both classes, we made nearly $500 total. We also earned a spot on the school news show. We donated the money to the Lewis House, which is a home for women and children who have been abused. In addition to the school news show, we also earned a column in the Community Action Council (they run the Lewis House) newsletter.

Sticky Fly is a great way to involve the students and faculty in a fun and engaging activity, and to raise awareness at the same time.

Slave Sale

A "Slave Sale" is usually a good fund-raiser. Local businesses are invited to a dinner at a specific location. As much of the dinner as possible is donated. Charge a $5.00 fee (or whatever you feel is appropriate) at the door. After dinner, each person in the group raising the funds is auctioned off to the highest bidder to complete 8 hours of work at his/her place of business. After the auction, the bidder meets with the person he/she "bought" to arrange a day for him/her to be at work. Obviously, the bidder cannot ask the person bought to do anything illegal.