I know parents roll their eyes when it comes to the same old and tired fundraising ideas for the school PTO. We wonder how much more wrapping paper and candy bars we can sell…again this year.
I know how you feel.
While those can be effective fundraisers, let’s think out of the box for easy, quick, and/or fun. For example, use a fundraising app where parents can simply donate money instead of manning the brownie station at the annual bake sale.
Let’s start with who we have on our team and then think about fundraising ideas that are effective to meet the mission and goals of the school PTO.
Who is on your fundraising team?
You can’t organize and run a school PTO fundraiser without the support of the Board and volunteers. Begin by looking at who is on the board and who participated in the past. Let’s determine how they might support future events.
For example, if the basketball team is hosting a fundraising dinner to raise money for travel costs, who can support the team? Who will make the ask to others?
- Do any parents own restaurants and can donate a buffet style dinner?
- Are there small businesses that can contribute items and gift cards for a silent auction at the dinner?
- Is there a DJ who will donate and/or discount their costs for the event?
- Can the cheerleaders decorate the venue in exchange for volunteer or service credit?
- Who will oversee the event?
Make the most of who you have in the school community to keep costs down.
Fundraising Ideas for School PTO
Once you’ve assembled your team, look at the school calendar and review past events. What were the lessons learned? What are outside the box fundraising ideas that the board may consider? In other words, stop sticking with the same ideas. Let’s get creative!
- Write a Check. While we LOVE parent participation. Parents may not be able to participate for a variety of reasons. Ask those parents to write a check. The key is to identify who falls into this bucket and ASK! Don’t be afraid to ask.
- Open an online donation platform. For parents who don’t want to participate in product fundraisers (candy, cookies, popcorns, etc.) open an online donation portal like GoFundMe where people in their network can donate. This is a great alternative when friends/family want to donate, but do not want the product. I recently ran a product fundraiser. We added this option because there was significant demand for it.
- Organize a Walk-a-thon. Focus on one big event each semester like a walk-a-thon. Include student groups that school PTO volunteers can manage. Get high school students to work the event for community service credit. Make fundraising a competition and provide tools for success like an app or website, a thermometer of school fundraising totals, and give out prizes. Sell vendor spaces and have a concession stand that is student run. Make it a fun event for the community.
- Choose Your Own Adventure. Every family’s network is different so give them options. Two months after running a product-based fundraiser, my groups were slated to run another, but the parents were mixed on selling more stuff so quickly. We pivoted to “Create Your Own Adventure”. We created 5 choices for families to choose from. We asked that they do 1 but could do more than 1 if they want.
Think outside the school PTO fundraising box.
You can also just kick the old ideas to the curb. Instead, or in addition to traditional ideas, the school PTO can generate recurring revenues with a membership driven model.
Capitalize on the talent and experience of the parents at your school. Your school parents have more talent and more to offer than you may think. Create a product, service, or content that is of interest to a particular audience and create a membership for access to the product and/or service. Then you can start to pare down on bake sales and start focusing on how to best utilize the funds.
Most importantly, as you’re thinking about fundraising ideas for school PTOs, remember the mission, including the community, and HAVE FUN!