Now that it’s State Fair time (at least in Texas), we’re reminded just how much fun fairs are. But even at the state fair, we don’t get to play simple (and as I remember them, even more fun) games like pie-throwing and dunking games or potato sack and boiled egg races. Sure, we’ve all got Wiis, Playstations, & X-boxs to entertain us, but when was the last time you strapped your leg to a partner’s leg & ran like mad toward the finish line? Too long, if ever!

Fall is the perfect time to start planning a Spring Fair Fundraising Event. Make it as big an event as you like. Raise money for your organization with games, fun, food, and entertainment. What is really fabulous about a Fair Fundraiser is that everyone has a great time – it’s actually FUN. Fundraising can easily become that chore you have to “grin & bear” every year, so why not try something a different? Isn’t there someone that your kids would just love to dunk? Better yet, wouldn’t we all jump on board for a chance to throw pies at a “pal” – all for a good cause, of course!

If you’re thinking that this fundraising idea is too involved or that you have too much on your plate already, organizing a Fair Fundraiser does require some effort, but your kids will readily rally behind the idea and it’s a great opportunity to enlist parental help. In college, I helped organize a yearly spring fair for local school kids. With a little planning and some foot & phone work, our group of college students hosted fairs for hundreds of kids, garnered media attention, and had an amazing experience. So I know it can work and be a great success for you, too.

Let’s break down what goes into a Fair Fundraiser. Your visitors will pay for tickets (proceeds will go toward your school, church, or organization) to play in each game or event.

• Setting a Goal – How big do you want your fundraising event to be? How many people do you hope will attend your fundraiser? And not unrelated, how much money do you want to raise? Establish a proposed event budget, including prospective in-kind donations and estimated spending from the average fair-goer. The size of your Fundraising Fair will factor into venue & entertainment (game) choices.
• Venue – Get access to a park, gym, or field. If you are a church or school, you’ll probably have green space or a gym on hand. Otherwise, look into reserving a city green space. And if your Fundraising Fair is to be held on community property, make sure that you comply with city traffic/parking regulations.
• Games - Your games can be simple & inexpensive. Potato sack races, cream pie tossing, tug of war – all those fantastic children’s (& adults) games that really basic, but so much fun. Make your games repeatable so you can maximize the fun and fundraising effort. Some good guides to games are found here.
• Activities – Find a few volunteers to paint faces, blow up balloons, or tell fortunes/read crystal balls. Within your organization, find hidden talents just brimming below the surface and be shameless in exploiting them for your Fundraising Fair. If you have the budget, it’s easy to rent a bounce-house, or similar apparatus.
• Food – You can spend a lot of money in renting grills, cotton candy stands, and ice cream or soda fountains. If your budget can sustain this, then go for it. But what do you do if there just isn’t money for this (after all, if we had the money, we wouldn’t be fundraising!)? The answer: prioritize and compare against the cost of alternatives. Soda fountains will probably provide the most return on your rental investment out of all the food equipment options. Find someone with a portable charcoal grill & serve up beef/turkey hotdogs. Serve BBQ brisket on the cheap by buying beef brisket at the store (Walmart markets sell at fantastic price) & paying a local BBQ restaurant to cook it for you; I’ve done this before & my total cost (meat & cooking) was about 80% less than buying from a restaurant - it’s really a great deal. And let’s not forget dessert - keep popsicles frozen in a cooler, or make simple & tasty cookies & brownies. Better yet, you could have a food cook-off contest, so people pay to enter, eat & judge!

If you’re worried about expenses, asking for donations, or getting people to come, think about partnering with another organization. Your Fundraising Fair can benefit a local school or a foundation (like Braden Cross Autism Foundation with which Cheer For Change! works) – invite that organization’s friends & family. Spread the word about the fundraiser at local libraries, grocery stores, community centers; promote with Craigslist and online social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Invite media to cover/sponsor the Fundraising Fair – press will promote the event and provide valuable marketing for your organization too.

So, yes, there are a lot of components that go into a Fair Fundraising Event. But at the end of the day, it will be a fantastic experience.

Technorati Tags: fun & games, Fundraising Fair, School Fair

Without fail each spring and summer, the streets are filled with signs directing us to garage sales. So why not tap into this yearly ritual and give your town a real showstopper of a school fundraiser: hold a school–wide garage sale and advertise it to the whole community.

Think of the crowd your school can draw with merchandise amassed from the garages of your student’s families. This mega garage sale is a school fundraising idea that takes one person’s trash and turns it into their neighbor’s treasure. You also fundraise for free, essentially, since all of the items are donated from unwanted items.

Establish a location & date for your school garage sale fundraiser. This can be the cafeteria, gym, or if it’s likely to be a nice day, school park. Cafeterias provide the advantage of tables for displaying items. Start early, like 8 am. Garage sale die-hards know that “better late than never” doesn’t apply to bargain hunting.

Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! Post signs prior to the day of your school fundraising event at community centers, grocery stores, churches, libraries, and any other place where people go. Take out an ad in the local paper, and be sure to ask for a reduced or even donated ad fee by emphasizing you’re raising money for your school. Make sure there are A LOT of signs on street corners directing traffic to the fundraiser. Street signs can make an even bigger difference than newspaper ads. Most importantly, encourage parents to spread news of the sale to all of their friends and neighbors. Word of mouth goes a long way.

Your garage sale fundraiser has the potential to raise thousands of dollars for your school. Shoppers may be more willing to buy and less motivated to bargain since the garage sale is really a school fundraiser. Not only that, this fundraising event is a fantastic opportunity for kids, parents, and teachers to work together and to know each other better. Your school will make a lasting impression on the neighborhood & community; and perhaps your kids may find their own little bit of “treasure” – and discover how fun garage sales can be.

With a little bit of prep work, this school fundraising idea could be a yearly winner.

Technorati Tags: fundraising, ideas for fundraising, school fundraising ideas

How can junk make school fundraising shine? I never thought that faithfully watching episodes of “This Old House” would lead me to a great idea for school fundraising. A while ago, we bought a fixer-upper and gutted the home. Friends told us to take the metal, nails, and screws accumulated through the process to the local scrap yard. So we did – and ended up with over $170(!) from what was really just junk. The trash was gone, and we made money, to boot!

We’re familiar with canned food drives during Thanksgiving, why not have a “With cans, We can” or “Scrap for School” drive? Gear this school fundraiser around cleaning the clutter and junk out of the home or office and recycling the metal for better use. Kids (and parents) learn about recycling in the process, too.

Place “Scrap” cans around school so that kids, parents, and teachers can drop off old metal objects. Parent or teacher volunteers (hopefully someone with a truck) will help collect the fundraising bins and bring them to the local metal recycling center. There’s a real feeling of exhilaration when someone gives you money just for collecting scrap. Imagine how much better it’ll be knowing that this school fundraiser was a success for your school and helped clean up the community as well.

Tip #1: Make this school fundraiser an on-going, year-long effort and highlight the importance of recycling as a lesson to your kids.

Tip #2: If you want to maximize the money you can raise for your school, set aside time to separate the metals by type. Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Stainless Steel raise more cash than Steel/general metal and scrap yards will pay more if you’ve sorted your scrap for them. Kids can do this as long as they wear protective gloves. Separating your collection into metal ‘buckets’ can be fun to do as group, plus you may learn a couple things about different metals in the process.

This “Scrap for School” fundraiser is really easy to implement and is great for your school. First, it costs practically nothing – you just need signs and transportation. And second, your kids contribute to their community and environment by developing the recycling, not only during the time you implement this fundraising program, but hopefully for many years ahead. This is one school fundraising idea where your kids can develop environmentally friendly habits that make the world a better place for generations to come.

Technorati Tags: fundraising, ideas for fundraising, school fundraising ideas