At all of our programs, the pricipal gives us a guest list of the people he has invited (and in some cases he's paid for)our PTA eats the cost for those guests. We don't ask any questions we just do it. They could be on his list because of money issues or because of an illness in the family, etc.
One of his guests for our Pizza with Santa lost his mother later on in the day. The pricipal brought the boy to our event just to get him out of the house for a little while.
Even if we have a set budget for our different programs, we try our best to spend every cent we take in(we break even or lose money). What it costs us is what we try to chsarge, not a cent more! You also have to think of it as Where else can they go and get all this for only $5.00 or $3.00 or whatever price you decide to set!
Hi! One way you could raise money for something like this so that you could offer the whole thing for free would be to reach out to other oranizations within your town for monetary donations.
Groups like Kinghts of Columbus, American Legion, VFW, Rotary, womens club, Your Police & Fire Organizations are usually very giving for things of this nature.
If you were to send them letters explaining what the event is about and that you want to provide (say) Hot Chocolate, Cookies, small gift from Santa, & A picture with Santa (whatever you need) and that since most families cannot afford to pay anything for it you would like to provide it for free to the children of the community and you would appreciate any monetary donation they could give you so that you can make a free event for the families.
These organizations would probably all send you money for an event like this. Then on your flyers just note the day was made possible by the generous donations from all the organizations and thank them everywhere you can.
There have been times that we have asked for things from these organizations and their response has been above and beyond what we hoped for.
I think for many of us, the "Breakfast with Santa" or "Holidays Around the World" is a family event, not necessarily a fundraiser.
Ours is a breakeven event. Families can come, visit, sing holiday songs, and do crafts without spending a dime. Refreshments are minimal - like 50 cents for hot chocolate AND school staff are very sensitive to families in need. At ours, it costs $2 to take a picture with Santa, but someone can pose for free with their own camera during the slow times.
Our principal or counselor can ALWAYS get some free tickets for a PTO event and distribute them as needed.
Our theme evolves each year - some years it's very diverse, honoring a variety of cultural traditions. Other times it focuses mostly on "winter" and not so much Christmas.
We have 90% of 466 students receiving free or reduced lunches so we offer a variety of things at minimal cost and some without. We do free breakfasts with grandparents, dads and moms that costs about $600 a year and the kids usually get a momento from these events. We do a Fall Festival that is $1 per family and extra for the pumkin carving. We try to get as much as possible donated for all these events including our carnival. In the end, we do 2 catalog fundraisers and these are what essentially support our expenses for the year. You will find that people here will give you suggestions on how to get things cheap or free. Sometimes it's just about getting to know the parents and what they can help with-like the dad that works for Krispy Kreme getting us donuts. I know it's a fine line. I am always reminding people if we don't make money we can't spend any. Good luck.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
How do you handle diversity in fundraising for the holidays? I love the idea of a breakfast/lunch with Santa, but what about the families that don't believe/celebrate the holidays? Or are not financially able to participate in the fundraising?
We are a school where 59% of our kids are on free/reduced lunch and have a 40% turnover rate.
