Spring Blooms with Fundraising Opportunities

Inspired by the fundraising ingenuity of local parent teacher organizations at a recent conference, here are a few springtime ideas that combine bonding opportunity with good old-fashioned product sales. Try one out and let us know how it goes. Your group could be featured here next year.

• Charge a family entrance fee, hire a disk jockey, sponsor a Mardi Gras parade through the school, award a prize to the best classroom float.

  Don’t forget to sell those famous beads along with non-alcoholic hurricanes.

• Give the school’s bake sale a paint job this St. Patrick’s Day.

  Green cupcakes and sugar cookies will taste magically delicious at your next parent open house. Be sure to showcase products from the spring product sale.

• Roll out the red carpet.

  Bring in the wide-screen TV. Serve up the appetizers and stage your very own Oscar Party. Have faculty and parent volunteers come dressed as their favorite celebrity for photo opportunities with students and parents. Raffle off movie-themed baskets donated by local businesses. Don’t forget to sell popcorn.

• Turn your spring car wash into an outdoor extravaganza with live entertainment featuring the school’s jazz ensemble and acappella groups.

  Keep drivers entertained and refreshed while their cars get a bath. Set up a “lemonade stand” featuring $5 spirit cups bearing your school’s logo.

• Who’s your favorite April Fool?

  Good-natured faculty members won’t mind putting their picture next to a collection jar in the school cafeteria so that students can vote with their change on who deserves this year’s honor. Give every student that participates an “I voted” sticker.

• Chocolate bunnies.

  Marshmallow chicks. Tulips. Daffodils. Wake up, it’s springtime with Easter baskets to fill and flower beds to plant. TIP: Find a vendor you trust and get those order forms circulating.

• Honor Mother’s Day and Memorial Day this year with an All-American Apple Pie Bake-Off.

  Proud cooks can enter their favorite pie along with the recipe for auction. Have on hand a healthy supply of American flags to sell to families that want to decorate their mailbox and front porch.

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