Kid-Friendly Possibilities
Among the many possibilities for fundraising with kids, in schools or with other organizations, are:
Auctions — silent, traditional, or Chinese style
Community service, including car washes and dog walking
Dances, including raves, disco nights, barn dances, and retro nights
Fairs, carnivals, bazaars, picnics, or barbecues
Cookbooks compiled by students, teachers, and/or people in the community
Sales of hand-knit items such as scarves, hats, gloves, mittens, and socks
Competitions such as hot dog eating, dancing, and basketball shooting
Student-teacher sporting events or school Olympics
Exhibitions, including photography, art, and crafts
Bake sales, book sales, and DVD sales
Garage sales, flea markets, and antiques fairs
Holiday parties or Easter egg hunts
Talent shows or karaoke nights
Selecting the activities should be based partly on the suggestions of the kids involved and partly on the practical realities of what the group can do with the finances and resources it has. Parents, teachers, school administrators, or group leaders will need to be involved in making sure the plan is realistic and practical.
The kids should also be involved in selecting the date, location, and other aspects of the overall strategy. It should be up to everyone involved to pitch in and help make the idea a reality. Various plans help spice up fundraising. A carnival in the summer and wrapping paper sales in the fall give children two diverse types of fundraisers — one that presents activities and one that focuses on selling, taking, and fulfilling orders. Introduce new fundraising ideas and try to vary the kind of activities from season to season.
When working with children, it helps to bring back a perennial favorite. Kids look forward to certain activities and can aim for a higher level of success than the previous year. Girl Scout cookie sales are perhaps the most famous example of a fundraising effort that never dies — it's been a tradition since 1917.
Girl Scout cookies are one of the best-known fundraising products. All revenues earned from cookie sales go directly to the local Girl Scout council, with a portion (roughly 15 percent) going to the individual troop. The cookies' ingredients have changed to meet new health standards, packaging has been updated, and order-tallying methods have been revised, but the tradition has not changed.
Many schools and youth organizations try to maintain some of the same fundraisers from year to year while introducing something new for specific projects that come up during the year. For example, there may be an annual school supply and bake sale every spring at the parent-teacher conference to raise money for the elementary school. However, a sudden one-time need to build a new playground may be an opportunity to try a new fundraiser. Mix up the old and the new.
You may find that using similar fundraising approaches to introduce new projects is helpful from a learning perspective. For example, a first-time holiday plant drive might use the same tally forms and order-taking system as the annual candy drive.
