We just started getting Business PTA sponsors. For $250/year they get a 2x3 banner on our fence for the school year. $450 get the business (or individual) a 3x6 banner.

The banners cost is $30/$60. Pretty easy money if you have a great letter and get your board to hit the "street".

We also held a Parents Night OUt on a Friday night- for $5, the student got free popcorn, water and a movie. The $5 was the cost to babysit them for 2 hours. We had 96 kids participate. Made over$500 in 2 hours.

Our state has bottle returns (10 cents/bottle & can). Many schools here do bottle drives, though some are switching to just having families send in the slips rather than the dirty cans. The high schools send students with flyers door to door a week ahead notifying people to put their empties out the following Saturday and then come back around with a parent and truck to pick them up. You usually have to make arrangements with a grocery store ahead of time since most places don't allow more than $25 worth of bottles to be refunded at one time.

Have you tried having breakfast with Santa/Easter Bunny? Rent or borrow a Santa suit and have a volunteer dad wear it. Bring in some toaster waffles from Costco and syrup. You'll get the community in the door and the kids will get a chance to see their favorite holiday character.

My in-laws in Canada just finished the Touch-a-Truck fundraising program. You get the local municipalities to donate the use of their fire/police/trash/ambulances vehicles along with any other big interesting trucks like cement trucks, dump trucks, cranes, etc. and charge an entrance fee to climb all over them and beep the horn. Drivers are available to answer questions. Fees there were $5.00/person, max $20/family. Quiet time was 10:00a-11:00a for those in strollers. It's a great PR move for them (FREE!) and you just need a huge parking lot.

The sister program to this is the princess party. HS/college girls dress up as Disney princess and host a "spa-like" tea party for the little girls in the community. They do (iced) tea, cookie decorating, nail painting stations, face painting, hair braiding, etc.

We as well have over 60% of our 400 student population at a low income level. Having managed the fundraisers for the past couple of years we did two new ones around the holiday break and at Valentine's Day. Holiday Grams and Flowergrams for $1 each. We worked with a wholesale florist and purchased carnations for about $.33 a piece. We also sold personalized wrapped Hershey chocolate bars which were about $.60 each. Holiday time we have done a couple of other options along with the chocolate bar with the profit margin being around $.30 or more. They are more popular every year with parents and staff alike purchasing them for ALL students.

Participate in eScrip - individuals can enter in a credit card number and when it's used at a particular location, your school will receive a % of the purchase.

Thanks!

We have the same, we are 72% reduced or free and we did something for the first time last year.. we had a basket raffle the night of our holiday concert. We sent letters to local and in state businesses and we received alot of donated items. We even had one business (who is just around the corner from our school, and a funeral home to be exact) who's wife donated 12 already made up baskets for our school. She said this was her way of giving back to our school since we are so close.

We will do another one this year.