Successful School Fundraisers: Unique Ideas for Having Fun and Making a Profit

The best school fund raisers are unique (skip the car washes and bake sales), generate nearly 100% profit, and are fun for everyone involved. One of the best fund raisers I have been involved with as a teacher was "Cow Patty Bingo" in which "plots" on the football field were sold for XX $$'s per square yard. Plan a night for the bingo to be held, sell food and refreshments, charge a small fee, and allow the fun to begin. All you need to borrow is a cow, allow the cow to wander the football field, and the winner is the owner of the plot where the cow decides to leave a cow patty. The winner can win a set amount of money. One quarter to one half of the profits is usually a hefty prize that makes it easy to find people willing to pay $25 to $50 a plot. Usually, this fund-raiser generates a great deal of money. It's goofy but memorable and fun.

The second fund raiser that made a lot of money for a senior class trip was a "Pig Kissing" contest. We held this fund-raiser as the half-time show of the Powder-Puff football game, combining activities. For a number of weeks prior to the game, students obtained permission of teachers and administrators willing to participate. They then decorated coffee cans with each participant's names on them for collecting the money. Money can be collected during lunch periods. Students, teachers, administrators, etc. then donated money to the cans of the employee that they would like to see kiss a pig. It works best of you include the teachers who will make you the most money to agree to being included. It also works well when every Friday or so, an announcement is made as to who is in the lead. Often, the teacher in the lead will then add money to a colleague's can and the battle rages. A lot of money can be made on this activity, and there is no considerable expense involved. It is easy to get someone local to provide a pig.

A third idea was something my seniors did to raise money for their class trip. They sold themselves in an auction-style assembly, as "Indentured Servants." The hightest bidder "won" them and both buyer and seller signed a contract containing guidelines. Students were required to do whatever the "owner" asked of them, within the guidelines, for one full school day. No one was allowed to be late for class or to engage in the craziness during classes, but between classes, and during lunch, seniors could be seen wearing goofy clothing, singing or reciting humorous verses, carrying someone's lunch or books for them, etc. It was closely monitored so that no one took this too far. I even bought a student, myself. As an English teacher, I made him carry around Shakespeare's complete works and wear a sign that read "Ask me to recite Shakespeare." Whenever anyone asked him, he had to open the book and start reading. We did this years ago and some "servants" sold for a lot of money because bidding gets a little crazy. We also allowed pairs or small groups to be sold together in case anybody was uncomfortable being sold alone. We found a bona fide (albiet amateur!) auctioneer to volunteer for the bidding. Servants were sold the day before the festivities. As a teacher, I will say that as crazy as it was, I WAS still able to teach class that day.

All three of these examples require minimal preparation, do not ask people to purchase items they don't want like candles or frozen pizzas, generate a lot of money, do not require too many of volunteers to organize, and are also really fun. The key to making money is to come up with ideas that your community may have never heard of before, and that also include the "fun factor." Most people are willing to part with some money in exchange for entertainment.