I am a new PTO President that needs help. We have never done anything like the Basket Bingo and I would love to try this. What are some of the more popular themes? Also, does anyone have a letter that you have used to request donations from local businesses? I have searched under the file exchange and did not see any. We have never asked for donations, but this year we are going to have to. We were left very little money in the PTO account and we need successful fundraisers. Thanks for your help.
As a PTA officer and a Longaberger Consultant, I can say that I would be MORE than happy to not only arrange a basket for my group, but also offer it to them at a discount price. This is great advertising for the consultant. If you don't know a consultant, but want to find one, go to
Longaberger
and search for a consultant in your area. Odds are, there's one closer than you think!
Yes we display them during the week which ends with the event on that Friday night. We sell tickets before, during and after school on those days. We also have an area with desks/pens so people can sit and write their names on the tickets or we provide baggies so they can take them to class or back home to fill out. Baskets are set up on tables and the floor at those tables. Our baskets are not single containers (usually several) so we mark them with different color ribbons so it is easy to see what goes with what. We also have a page listing everything in the baskets. Durign wrapping and the week we display in an empty room at the school but for the event we move it all to the main halls which run between the cafeteria and food for the nigth and the gym which holds the bingo.
Please let me know if you need anything else. We have held ours for 3 years and I have chaired them all. The last one made $11,000 so we do it instead of catalog type sales.
These are some great ideas....I wanted to do a basket raffle this year and didn't know how to do it, but I think working with the bingo night would be great! Do you usually have the baskets displayed before the event for those who can not attend but still want to purchase a ticket???
We provide each class with a theme and ask parents to bring in an item for their basket to match the theme. We also seek donations from local restaurants and stores and the PTO provides some funds to fill in. The baskets we fill are very large and are not always baskets, it may be a garden cart, grill, chairs, suitcase, shelves etc. We wrap each basket and then sell tickets for a chance to win. One the actual night we serve pizza, snacks, drinks, and play bingo for prizes (donated and purchased) and at the end of the event we draw for basket winners. We also hold a silent auction of some items/services as well.
Let me know if you need more info!
Actually we run it so that there is some sort of basket gift for the winner of each game. There are actually groups of ladies that look for these things to attend on Fridays. Henn Pottery/Baskets and Longaberger baskets were big draws. So you figure out how many games you want to have (usually 15 games fills the night) and for each game there is a basket winner. We also have a large raffle at the same time for baskets put together by the classrooms. That usually will make a couple thousand. And then if you sell concessions that'll make a thousand (if you time it right so folks want to buy dinner--sneaky I know) and then get a bingo ball- and play. That easy .
Many of the ladies who sell the pottery/baskets are skilled in it and if you play your cards right might even do it for you if you purchase the baskets from them.
