This Age In Fundraising: High School Fundraisers

The benefactors and participants in a high school fundraiser are not quite kids anymore, and not quite adults yet. That can make choosing and running a high school fundraising campaign tricky. There is just no one fundraiser that is sure to fit all high school groups' needs and resources.

High school fundraisers are also faced with additional challenges; groups need to find fundraising methods that are sure to meet the three basic criteria of high school fundraising:

First, high school fundraisers need to be inexpensive.
Most high school groups simply do not have a lot of funds available, if any, to get a fundraiser going.

Secondly, high school fundraisers need to be simple.
High school students and their helpful parents have a lot on their plates; they can't take the time out for an overly complicated, time consuming, and involved fundraising campaign.

Thirdly, and lastly, high school fundraising campaigns need to be money makers.
They need to bring in maximum cash for minimum investment.

That's a tough order to fill. So what are some fundraising ideas that fit the bill?

Card sales. These can be discount card fundraisers where supporters purchase cards that get them discounts at area merchants or from area service businesses, or they can be scratch card donation campaigns, phone cards, pizza cards, and so on.

Events. Short and simple events like mock beauty pageants, dinner theatre nights, car washes, craft fairs, bake sales, and the like. This might also include snack and refreshment or product sales the day of the fundraising event.

Candy sales. Candy bar sales are in the top three of the all time best fundraising events. Access to candy consumers and large group participation combined with simplicity of sales makes candy sale, and most specifically candy bar sales, a big hit as a high school fundraiser.

Brochure/catalog sales. Order taking gets a little more involved because there is subsequent distribution and sorting involved, but it certainly fits the category of affordable since all payments are collected upfront. On the upside, there is no merchandise outstanding and left unpaid to account for.

High school fundraisers can be highly successful – it just takes a little planning and organization. High schools have the benefit of a large supply of foot-sellers; this makes inexpensive high school fundraisers that rely largely on donated labor reasonable and successful campaigns. All that multitude of sellers needs is a little direction, incentive, and organization to make sales – and funds – soar.

This is an article created by the FundraisingIP.com Editorial Team. For more fundraising ideas and fundraiser help, go to our article directory at FundraisingIP.com/articles.