This fall, LO1 will switch to a preschool co-op (one I attended). I'm psyched to be more involved and have been selected as the new board co-chair. One of the things I know they are looking at is changing the fundraiser (I know some ppl don't care for preschools doing fundraisers, but given the cost (less than half of what I pay currently), it's expected and appropriate).
So...any favorite fundraisers? I'd love to have some fresh ideas since I know this will be a topic of discussion right away.
pomegranate / 3643 posts
I heard of a bake sale auction recently. You agree to make something (a loaf of bread for six months, a batch of home brew, plate of brownies, etc) and then people bid on it. Po
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Auctions are popular. This year, my son's school did a basket auction. Each class put together a themed basket, like gardening, movie night, family game night, etc.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
A friend's preschool sells Christmas trees. A little labor intensive, but they make a ton of $$$.
pomegranate / 3350 posts
Ours sold Christmas wreaths from a local farm. I really liked that one! I think they also had someone do those direct sales thing, like thirty-one or whatever.
Instead of a ton of fundraising, they ask for specific donations of snacks, paper towels, dish soap, etc. I think that saves a lot so they don't need as much fundraising.
nectarine / 2667 posts
I worked at a co-op preschool that partnered with an elementary school, so the school's PTO contributed to our co-op board. We did a lot of fundraising for both schools. My favorite fundraisers have been:
1) A "gallop", which is basically a walk-a-thon where kids get pledges for how many laps they will walk/run. There is a theme each year and the different classes all choose a sub-theme (so the school does "western" and my class is "coyotes") to dress-up with. Everyone "trains" for the event and goes on walks/jogs leading up to the day. It's a ton of fun and we make a lot of money.
2) A silent auction night, just for parents. Local businesses & families donate most of the items and parents bid on them. This one is really fun because it's a night out, but it's very time intensive and doesn't make as much money.
3) Adult Dodgeball tournament. This one is my favorite. Adults form teams of 4-5 people and register for the tournament, paying a flat fee. We use a public park and have a full day of fun, with teams dressing up and food, drinks, etc. The winning team gets a trophy/bragging rights. This one is so much fun, but it needs a lot of people, so it may not work for a smaller school?
4) A holiday shop, where classes created trinkets (think Pinterest projects) and had a shop to sell things to other kids/families/the community.
My least favorites include anything that needs to be sold by children/families to others (like catalogs or those coupon books).
grapefruit / 4110 posts
Parent night or day out. Friday night, Saturday night or Saturday day have the kids come to the school and babysit them. Popular during the holidays for shopping (daytime).
apricot / 358 posts
I always wish I could just donate some money instead of baking or bidding on things! Other parents I've spoken to feel the same way, so it might be worth just asking for donations or money or specific items.
coconut / 8430 posts
My daughter's school has a Jamba Juice stand every few weeks. They sell their tiny cup for $2. I'm not the biggest fan but it is very popular.
nectarine / 2180 posts
Our co-op does smaller fundraisers in the fall and spring, and then one large fundraiser. The small ones have varied. At Halloween, they invited the families to come in costume to school on a Friday night, they decorated treat bags, had a bake sale, had the kids "trick or treat" in the classrooms for non-candy items, and after a pizza dinner they showed It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Families were encouraged to invite friends. It was a big hit.
There's always a spring carnival, and they also had a winter party with cookie decorating and some other activities.
The big fundraiser is a silent auction. It's adults-only, has a fun theme, and families and businesses donate a wide range of things to be auctioned. It's always successful, as well.
nectarine / 2180 posts
@sometimesshesings: Every year our preschool asks if we'd rather have tuition raised or continue with fundraisers, and people keep voting for fundraisers!
pomegranate / 3643 posts
@sometimesshesings: I like baking because then I can participate even when we don't have a bunch of money to donate. My mom always preferred just donating though, so she would write a check and say please don't ask me anymore!
nectarine / 2641 posts
@sometimesshesings: there's an option in the parental agreement to pay $75 to get out of whatever the fundraiser is. I'd probably do that if I weren't the cochair, but as it is, I ought to show some enthusiasm 
nectarine / 2054 posts
Our school just has a Fall Fling and Spring Fling (for parents only). They rent out part of a bar or restaurant and have drinks and food, and most of the price of admission is fundraising. I like it - simple, good to catch up with other parents, not a huge time commitment.
persimmon / 1461 posts
Ours does a chocolate fundraiser ($50 box of chocolates, sell for $1 each) I don't particularly like this as it causes lots of children to pester parents for sweets. There is also a fun run, sausage sizzle at a local hardware store and mother's /father's day stall. They also request things like a box tissues and toilet paper from parents, which I much prefer rather than the chocolate sales.
pomelo / 5298 posts
We've seen the following:
Spring Fling - includes activities for the kids (train ride, bounce house, petting zoo, games, face painting, food, cake walk, etc), silent auction of donated community items and themed baskets from each class, tuition raffle, and other raffles.
Direct sales (cookie dough, candles, etc) - my least favorite and we do not participate.
Scholastic book fair
Fun run
We have a monthly parents night out, but the teachers that work (typically 3) get to split the cash.
pear / 1696 posts
Mabel's Labels does them
http://mabelslabels.com/us/index.php/fundraising?___store=us_english_storeview
pineapple / 12793 posts
We've done spring flowers, fall bulbs, scholastic books, parents night out/silent auction.
The PNO made $4k.
squash / 13208 posts
Local restaurants - the families need to just go have dinner there and the restaurant donates 10% to the school
pomelo / 5093 posts
I've seen a 'service auction' where everyone donates a service they're skilled at providing. So, my family might do an hour of tech support, or I might offer lessons in making and canning jam. I've seen people offer to host a birthday party with games in a park, or a fun movie night for a group of kids at their house. Stuff like that, that doesn't cost anything but time and maybe materials for the person doing it, but that people will pay some modest amount of money for.
nectarine / 2641 posts
@sarac: Oh, I love that! We're affiliated with a church, too, so there's some larger potential there.
Thanks everyone for the ideas!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Beehive: I love the idea of a parent night to catch up with other parents! I would gladly pay a fee per couple to attend something like this!
nectarine / 2054 posts
@T.H.O.U.: We really enjoy these evenings! I think they tend to be well-attended too.
pomelo / 5093 posts
@Jess1483: Yeah, I really like it. I think it might work better in a community where you have a higher percentage of families with a stay at home parent, so maybe it's perfect for something church affiliated? I know that I would have a ton of fun offering a few hours of lessons on how to start your garden, or how to make jam. And I'd love to bid on something like that, to be honest. More fun than just writing a donation check.
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