Kerri.. that's a tough situation.. but, the first piece of advice I would give is to NEVER ask the masses what THEY want. A CEO doesn't ask the employees how to run a business, and unfortunately for you, you learned the hard way that you probably shouldn't have asked the parents.
Next time, talk to other school PTO's in your area that are similar in size and have the same general demographic info ( income, values, traditions, etc)..
As others have suggested, there are PLENTY of ways to earn that money this year. What have you done in the past? Perhaps it's time to go back to that. I disagree with your principal about not doing another big FR.. Has he helped you figure out how you will cut $15,000 out of your budget this year?
Box Tops. Our school made $600 last year, other schools made thousands!!!!
Sign your credit cards or grocery cards for your school. Our school made $300 last quarter from a local grocery store.
I have heard movie nights are a big hit.
do a "Parent's night out" for Valentines. you provide the childcare and movie. Parents would love to be able to go out to dinner but many do not have childcare available!
we did a holiday gift shop and just by adding 5% to all prices, we made $900 bucks!
hold an ice cream social and charge a few bucks.
book fairs are good too.
McDonalds will do "McTeacher night". you get teachers and principals to "work" behind the counter or drive throughs and your school gets 20%. we mad $725 in 3 hrs last year.
do Doughnuts for dads, muffins for moms or grandparents bingo night, etc...
We just ran a raffle for Thanksgiving and we profited $2,054. A local funeral home donated the tickets. We only sold tickets for a week and made that much money. You could run yours for 2 or 3 weeks and make double that. We raffled off gift cards to a local grocery store - $75 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place. We also gave the 3 children who sold the winning tickets a $15 gift card to Toys R Us. We sold the tickets for 50 cents a piece or 5 for $2. Due to your situation, you could sell your tickets for more. If you can't find a local company to donate the tickets, you could check with a local high school print shop to do it for you or you could just use strip tickets. Good luck.
Thanks Bingo123, I contacted them and they seem very co-operative. their sales guy said that it is a trial and they will be offering a full ranage of themed bags from January 1. Again thanks Bingo
We've dealt with them for a fundraiser in the last two weeks. They have only begun to trial the schools but are set up purely to create donated dollars. they pack at sheltered workshops and the products - packs of animals and toys - are first class. They use Fiesta brand for their soft animals.
The only contact that I have is (330) 842 1471 which is their sales person. Hope it helps!
