If you contact Direct TV, they will give your school a code. If anyone in the US signs up using your school's code, your school will receive a one time per sign up donation od $100, for any existing customers willing to committ to their service for a year, Direct TV will donate $50. The catch, you have to commit for a year. They will send the checks out twice a year to your school. The principal has to sign your school up and you have to renew annually. Hope this helps.
Are you able to do any green fundraising since it is good for the environment. There seem to be some new ideas out there. greenraising.com greentfundraiser.com check them out
Our largest fund raiser is phone books. These books have the class schedule on a normal day, a day when there is homeroom, a day with two-hour delay (weather related, I'm in Wisconsin)... Names phone numbers and email addresses of school administrators, school nurse, attendance line and much more. Names of students and parents, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. It is a very useful book. We have it printed at the District's printing facility and we reimburse them for the cost, which is pennies on the dollar compared to Kinko's or somewhere like that. We sell these for $5, a real bargain! Many people buy one for the car, one for home, one for their student. I'm at a High School, but this would work for an Elementary School as well.
Another Elementary school in my district just adds a fee on to the registration fee, and that is their income for the year. People seem not to mind the nominal $10 fee or whatever they charge. Especially when the know they won't be hit up for money again later in the year by that organization.
Wow,that is really tough to do all educationally themed things especially in this economy. Would they not consider Can you Spare a dollar? Each student is given a sheet with 25 lines with cute sayings like "Don't leave me out", $1.00 of course etc. The student asks family memebrs and friends to donate $1.00 to their school. Everyone usually has a dollar to spare so you could make 25.00 per student. I have heard many schools have ghad alot of success with this. I am thinking maybe next year our school will do this for our fall fundraiser as our usual wrapping paper etc is doing poorly. Good Luck! If you interested in details email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are signed up to run PTOSanta (PTOSanta.com) this year and it looks fun! I know you are interested in something educational, but this program builds self esteem with the child reviewing things they are doing right and things that need improvement with "Santa." Plus, this looks like fun for the parents!
Out of the fundraising ideas our school has had, this one looks like it'll generate a pretty decent return on the small amount of time invested. Our parents are busy and it is hard to get a large time committment from a large group. So, this idea was right up our alley.
I thought of a bowl-a-thon the other night for the parents, we could get sponsors, our bowling alley does rock and bowl night(lights mostly out, with black lights and strobe lights and play rock and roll music), the alley has a bar and restaurant,(we wouldn't be responsible),and the parents/teachers could have a night out with no pressure, except the bowling part. Any ideas on it or anybody done this? I also thought of a skate-a-thon for the kids same idea, except for the bar...How do you do the sponsor part? I hope not by the lap(for the skating)...
