funding

Check out these great elementary school fundraising ideas to raise money for school the easy way! There’s a lot we can do for our school by simply signing up for programs that already exist. And there are way more than just the “known” programs we’ve seen.

Over the past two years, I jumped onto the parent teacher organization bandwagon and joined my son’s school’s PTG board (a variation of a PTO). As someone who has made social media and this blog her job over the past few years, I decided to use the skills I’ve learned – networking, promoting, and marketing myself essentially – for something good. And with that, I stepped up into a brand new role for the school – the sponsorship coordinator. Basically, I would reach out to local and national businesses and ask for their support.

But in addition to reaching out to local businesses for donations, there’s a lot we can do for our school by simply signing up for programs that already exist out there. And there are way more than just the “known” programs we’ve seen.

In an effort to make things easier on me, I decided to do a little research and ask fellow parents and teachers to share what programs their schools are using – public and private – to raise funds. And, of course, I’m sharing that with you!

Below is a list that I’ll continue to add to and update with ways schools – teachers, parents, students, the community – can raise money easily and with little effort. If you have any other tips or tricks that can help, they’d be warmly welcomed!

How to Raise Money For School: Elementary School Fundraising Ideas

eScrip –

eScrip is a simple and easy way for schools to earn money by selling gift cards and receiving rewards by having parents and individuals register their reward cards and their debit/credit cards. Every time a purchase is made, depending on the retailer, a percentage of the sale is given to the schools. An added bonus? You can buy a gift card to the store you’re using your rewards card at and receive double the bonus (rewards for buying the gift card and then rewards for using your rewards card). You can find out more on how to register – like less than 5 minutes and you’re done – by going to their site here.

eScrip also has a program called ForgetMeNot™ that you install on your computer to remind you when you visit one of the shops online that gives back. You can also click when you see the ForgetMeNot™ reminder to activate your earnings and to access all available coupons & offers. Save money while earning for a great cause.

Box Tops for Education –

Now most schools are already utilizing this program but it does take a little extra work. If someone on the PTG or PTA board isn’t already in charge then this might be someone you’d want to reach out and find to act as the Boxtops coordinator. Once the school is set up, its as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4!

Find Box Tops on hundreds of products.
Clip Box Tops from each package. Do the school a favor and make sure you follow the edge carefully and trim all Box Tops before turning them in. While doing this check to make sure the Box Tops haven’t expired.
Send the Box Tops to your school.
Box Tops are each worth 10¢ for your school.

Fore more info, visit the Box Tops website.

Campbell’s Labels for Education –

Labels for Education a fun and easy program where families and members of the community work together to “Earn Free Stuff” for their school.

By collecting UPCs and beverage/sauce caps from many participating products and supplementing your earnings with bonus offers, your school earns points that can be redeemed for Arts, Athletics, andAcademics merchandise. Explore the online catalog to see what your school can earn.

If your school or organization is not one of over 60,000 registered with the Labels for Education program, you can help your school enroll by contacting your school principal and asking them to appoint a coordinator, or you can volunteer to be a coordinator. The school coordinator helps by managing the school’s account, program communication, point collection, and redeeming points for merchandise for the school.

America’s schools and organizations have earned over $114 million in merchandise over the Labels for Education program’s 42 year history. You can find more info here on their website.

Please note: You will need to choose between enrolling in Labels for Education OR Box Tops for Education. Your school cannot currently participate in both.

Target REDcard Take Charge of Education® –

I don’t know what it is about Target but every time I go in, I come out at least $100 poorer. Sure I *needed* that dollar spot notebook, and those throw pillows for the couch, but if I could also be benefiting my son’s school while shopping there too I’d feel a LOT better about the amount I spend there. If you have a Target REDcard, choose your kids’ elementary school, the neighborhood middle school or any other eligible K–12 school and they’ll donate up to 1% of your REDcard purchases at Target stores in the U.S and at Target.com. More info can be found here to find out how to sign up.

* Since first publishing this article, Target has decided to end this program

Amazon Smile –

Do most of your shopping online when you’re not shopping at Target? Amazon has a program that’s just for you! By shopping through your school’s Amazon Smile link you can help earn 0.5% of the purchase price for your school. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the eligible charitable organization of your choice. More info can be found here if your school isn’t already signed up.

* I must note that when shopping on Amazon through eScrip, it looks like Amazon donates 1.2% of your purchases back. So I’m not sure if it’s better to go through Amazon Smile or eScrip when shopping on Amazon. Maybe it’s possible to take advantage of both? Please comment below if you have any experience!

Shoparoo –

Oh yes, there’s an app for that. Shoparoo is a quick and easy way for schools to earn money by having the user scan receipts from any store, big or small, that sells grocery items to earn Roo Points (cash donations) for your school. Whether you’re shopping at a supercenter, dollar store, or local convenience store – it doesn’t matter where you shop or what items you buy – Shoparoo will make a cash donation for every receipt! Submit up to 20 grocery receipts within a rolling 7 day period. Here are some examples of grocery retailers:

Grocery Stores
Convenience Supercenters
Club Stores
Drug Stores
Liquor Stores
Dollar Stores

There’s even a program for non-grocery stores. For more information, check out the Shoparoo app website and download the app today!

Do you know of a different program that supports schools or offers funding?What are your best elementary school fundraising ideas?

This post was originally shared on Aug 12, 2015

Today we’re sharing tips on securing volunteers at your next fundraiser with help from our sponsor, VolunteerSpot. You can read on to find out our success at our most recent Fall Festival fundraiser.

As I’ve mentioned, over the past few months I’ve worked on the committee to plan and run the Fall Festival at my children’s school. Over the span of 6 months we worked hard at finalizing all of the details about the festival, including how to secure volunteers for the various game booths, food booths, and more. From the beginning we knew that our volunteers would make the event a success.

And they did! From the parent volunteers who manned the booths, to the church volunteers helping to sell raffle tickets, to the teacher volunteers who helped sell tickets and everyone else in between. Our event was a success because of those supporting and helping run it. Along the way we learned a lot about what we did right, what we did wrong, and how to make next year amazing.

Tips On Securing Volunteers At Your Next Fundraiser

1. Make It Easy –

It all starts with signing up volunteers. And that needs to be easy. Early on into our planning our Volunteer Coordinator set up a VolunteerSpot account and was able to set up shifts for all volunteers for each day of our festival. We were able to share the link via email, posters, social media and our website to allow volunteers to choose a shift and sign up. It also allowed us to keep track of each volunteer and send them reminders before the event. Plus? It’s easily accessible on mobile and desktop!

2. Have A Point Of Contact –

At the event we printed off our volunteer list from VolunteerSpot and as volunteers came to the event they checked in with our Volunteer Coordinator 10 minutes prior to their shift start. By having the Volunteer Coordinator share her contact information (email) with the volunteers, she was able to field questions, pass along information, and create a smooth and easy experience for all. She was also a friendly face to check in with at the event. For those who were new to volunteering at the event, they didn’t have to search for yet another person they might not know when they arrived.

3. Give Clear Instructions –

Communication really is key so we would also give the volunteers a run down on how each booth was running and if we ran into anything in the previous shift. Along with checking in, each volunteer was given written instructions on what was expected and how the area they were in was being run. We not only had clear signage at each booth sharing how to play each game but also instructions for the volunteers on how to take care of game tickets coming in as well as what prize tickets to give out.

4. Provide Childcare –

One bit of feedback we had received in years past was that our parents could not volunteer their time because they lacked the proper childcare for their shift. So this year we reached out to the preschool staff to ask if they were willing to provide childcare at the event. Not only would we be able to help our parent volunteers, but we were also able to market our preschool to potential families looking to send their little ones to our school.

5. Thank Your Volunteers –

After any fundraiser, there’s nothing more powerful than a heartfelt, handwritten note. Now while it may sound like a lot of work, thanking your volunteers personally will let them know just how important they are to your cause and how much you appreciate them.