Hey! I have great news! My partner Sandra Sims and I have just finished writing an awesome e-book about how to organize, plan, and run a successful raffle fundraiser.
The e-book is called RaffleSecrets: The Complete Raffle Fundraising System. It’s 50 pages long and is stuffed with excellent step-by-step advice, with the ultimate goal ofhelping you make more money for your non-profit.
Whether you want to hold a raffle as part of a larger fundraising event or your raffle is big enough to stand on its own, this book has loads of great information.
In addition, when you buy the e-book, you also get three bonus books:
18 Unusual and Amazing Raffles You Can Do to Raise Money for Your Cause
Drive into Fundraising Success with a Car Raffle
House Raffles – The Big Time Prize
Each one of the three bonus books delves deeper into these popular raffle topics. The bonus books are available at no extra cost!
Here are just a few of the things you’ll learn in RaffleSecrets:
When I first read the article, I wasn’t sure who wrote it or where it was actually coming from. But, I dug into it a little deeper and found that it was written by a fundraising company that sells products to schools for use as fundraisers.
So, immediately, I was a little suspicious.
Now, I’m not totally against product sale fundraisers, but I do think we need to question the assertions made in this case.
Here’s the first claim from the article that I wonder about:
With the need for school fundraisers at an all time high, there are many websites and blogs popping up out there for “new” and “creative” fundraising ideas. But, do these innovative ideas actually raise any money? Sure, you might run across one or two success stories where schools have had an online fundraiser and raised a million dollars, but take heed, this is not the norm.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think that “new” and “creative” are good things. I think that “same old” and “same old” turns people off and lowers the participation rate. Haven’t we all had enough frozen cookie dough to last a lifetime? Are YOU excited to ask you friends, family, and co-workers to buy yet another tub of oatmeal raisin? [click to continue…]
One of the things that really bugs me about fundraising are product sales that take too high a percentage from the school.
Case in point: I just came across an ad for a company that looked pretty cool. They are running a typical brochure fundraising scheme, but the product they are selling is licensed sports memorabilia. T-shirts, caps, posters, pennants, dog leashes, mouse pads, anything you can throw a sports logo on from your favorite team.
To me, that sounds like a fundraiser I can get behind. It’s not junk-food, it’s not scented candles, it’s not stuff I’ll never use. I like sports, and I’m sure a lot of dads people out there do too. So, it’s a pretty good fundraising hook.
But then I looked into the percentage that the school or non-profit gets to keep from each sale. (Insert fail sound effects: wah-wah-wahhhh)
40%. For the school. That’s it.
They even did the math for me. If the school sold $5,000 in merchandise, it would get to keep $2,000.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in all the fundraising world. I know that many people will argue against me on this point, but here is my contention.
I do not feel that schools should raise money for national non-profit organizations, like St. Jude’s Hospital or the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation.
I admit that both of these examples are worthy of receiving significant donations. They each do important work. I am not a cold, heartless person.
However, my argument is that a school is NOT the place to raise money for them.
Why Have Schools Become the Target of So Many Outside Groups?
1. Plan out a year-long fundraising strategy during the summer, before the first day of school. Know which kind of fundraisers you are going to run and when. Also know how much you need to raise during the school year, and figure out if the fundraisers you’re going to run have a chance of realistically reaching that goal. If you don’t have an organized plan, you risk alienating your audience if you spring random fundraiser after random fundraiser.
2. Stick with your plan. Once you’ve solidified your year-long fundraising plan, make sure you stick to it. You’ll lose all credibility if you’re always changing your mind and switching things around. Parents won’t want to participate in your events if you have a reputation of disorganization and poor planning.
3. Use all the resources you have available to you to help make up your year-long fundraising plan- namely the teachers and principal of the school. Ask them what has worked best in the past.
4. Be creative in the fundraisers you choose, but not too over-the-top. People don’t want to do the same thing year in and year out, but they also don’t want to throw their money away on something totally unproven or just plain weird. It always helps to do a little survey of a mix of parents and teachers to get their opinion before you get too deep into a project. [click to continue…]
Here are some crazy new ideas for food items you can sell at your school carnival. Click here for the original article on EndlessSimmer.com, which contains full descriptions of the artery-clogging items below. Enjoy!
10. Hash Brown Hot Dog – San Diego County Fair
9. Deep-Fried Cheddar-Bacon Mashed Potatoes…On a Stick – Minnesota State Fair
This is a guest post written by Nate Jaehnig. Nate is the owner of AZ Bounce Pro in Arizona, which rents inflatables for school carnivals in his local area. With his experience in this field, Nate has become very knowledgeable about how many people can actually participate on individual inflatable per hour and how this effects your overall carnival income. Not all “bouncy castles” have the same earning potential, so read carefully to make sure you are making wise financial decisions. – Jim Berigan
The primary goal of almost every school carnival or fundraiser event is to raise money for a specific cause or organization. Many carnival organizers do not realize one of the best and most effective ways to raise the most amount of money at a school carnival is by maximizing throughput at each ride or activity at their carnival.
What is ride throughput? Throughput is a simple measurement of the number of participants a certain ride, game, or activity can register per unit of time. Throughput is typically measured as a number of participants per hour. It is the single factor that can have the greatest impact on the profitability of a fundraiser or carnival.
You want throughput to be a high number in order to maximize profitability. A high throughput also results in shorter and faster lines at each activity! [click to continue…]
I first became aware of what seems like a terrific school carnival in Aiken, S.C. about a year ago. St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School holds an annual “Chocolate Festival” each fall. And from what I can tell, this is one of the best models a school can follow when planning their own fundraising event.
I am particularly impressed by their “everything but the kitchen sink” strategy when it comes to planning this carnival.
First of all, the carnival takes place on a Saturday, which I believe is the best day to hold a school carnival. Also, they take into account the entire communities’ potential interest in attending their festival. As you will read, people who have nothing to do with the school at all would want to attend this event.
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A disclaimer: The following list is just a mashed-up collection of carnival games and ideas that I have come across on the Internet over time. I simply thought that this might be a helpful resource for people who were searching for game suggestions.
If you are interested in dozens of more great carnival ideas, check out my e-book, The School Carnival Money Making Guide. It’s full of helpful advice, words of wisdom, tales of fundraising glory, and a few laughs.
Thanks!- Jim Berigan
General Entertainment
Kissing Booth
My son’s school ran a kissing booth for their carnival. The students didn’t get actual kisses, but the people running the booth did give them a Hershey’s Kiss instead. They also had a stamp in the shape of big lips, and they stamped the kids’ faces with red ink! There were TONS of kids running around the carnival with several “kisses” all over their faces!
The Fortune Teller Booth
We had our school principal dress up as a fortune tellers with bright flowing clothing, a turban, several bandannas, scarves, and lots of jingling jewelry on him. We decorated his office to look like a real fortune teller’s tent. There was a small table with bright table cloth on it and a couple of chairs. We placed a small lamp with a scarf over it to set the mood, and there was a CD player playing eerie music. On the table was a crystal ball, some playing cards, and a cup and sauce with tea leaves.
The principal read palms, gazed into the crystal ball, and turned playing cards. We had prepared a list of “fortunes” ahead of time so he had some things ready that he could tell his customers. We made sure that all the fortunes were “good news”.
The principal and the kids really enjoyed the “game.” We gave (donated) fortune cookies as a treat, and the cookies had messages specially designed for kids. You can order cookies made with your own message(s) if you plan ahead.
Box Maze
We made a box maze and filled an entire classroom with it at our carnival. We collected refrigerator and stove boxes for months ahead of time. We opened several of the ends and then taped the boxes together to form “tunnels.” However, we did create a number of dead ends with boxes that only had one end open.
Keep in mind that very small children may become disturbed if they can’t find the end of the maze very quickly, but older children will love crawling through several tunnels within the maze.
Dino Dig
A great carnival idea is to offer a Dino Dig! Take a baby swimming pool and fill it with sand. Then bury several small plastic dinosaurs (from the Oriental Trading Company- they have them cheap) and give the kids a small shovel to dig for their dinosaur. As a variation, we also do digging for “diamonds” in a separate pool of sand! Girls love finding little rings and such.
Hey! I have great news! My partner Sandra Sims and I have just finished writing an awesome e-book about how to organize, plan, and run a successful raffle fundraiser.
