We have uniforms at our school and about once a month the school offers a dress down day to the students for a $1. They pay by Friday the week before and the next Thursday they recieve a sticker noting they payed. Not the high school has done this same concept for hat day, crazy hair (HUGE HIT!) or sports team (football team one day, hockey the next, you get the idea)
Okay we aren't talking huge money but we are a school of 1400+ (K-12) and the student coucil easily earns over $1000 each time. I know it's little but a great way to supplement.
Personally I discourage catalog sales or anything where the children have to sell.
We do a Fall Festival every year. This year our school only made a little over $16K because we no longer have 5th grade. We usually make around $20K but keep in mind we are a small rural school with low income families. They are easy and fun to put together with just a handful of people. There is alot of stress but the kids LOVE it. Our budget is usually under $1,000. In addition to games we have a supper, basket auction, Cake/Prize Walk, and King-Queen/Prince-Princess contest.
I would try a catalog fundraiser of a different sort. I know in the past at our school if we continue to do the same thing year after year the numbers slowly drop. Generally the first year we try something new our numbers are really good.
Our elementary school's usual "fall catalog fundraiser"--with wrapping paper and magazines REALLY fell short of our budget...Total sales were less than half of what we planned for.
We are in desperate need of something new, and I was looking to research holding a fall carnival for next year. Does anyone out there do this, and could you give specifics as to what this entails...also, is there anything else that you all do out there to bring funds other than the wrapping paper? Our budget for that fundraiser is $7500--I'd like to have one FUN event, if at all possible, but I'm worried that it'll wind up doing even worse. Any and all input would be deeply appreciated!!!!
Thanks so much!
