Our school did tie-dye t-shirts last year and they were a huge success. We also had to pay more for them, but we charged more. I don't think many parents would complain spending $10-$12 for a nice shirt. Our school does not count on spirit wear as it's main fundraiser, but by selling those tie-dye shirts we almost doubled our spirit wear profit for the year. You need to offer something that the kids are really going to like. I know our parents were very excited to see something other than a plain t-shirt.
If you decide to go with those tie-dye shirts, be upfront with the principal and let her know that because they cost more, you have to charge more and it may bring profits down which may bring the amount of money the PTO has to spend on the school for that year. I think the kids and parents will be more happy with something they'll really like.
Great tips Brooke! Thanks! (where can I find your e-mail address? I want to know how to get the artwork press ready. can you e-mail me from my website...thebrownbrush.com? Thanks!!!)
This may be a case of "you have to spend money to make money". You may want to go with the principal on the t-shirt thing with the understanding that you'll need her full support and enthusiasm to sell them like hot-cakes. Tell her that there's a risk, due to the price increase of the shirts, that you'll dig into your funding/spending budget, but you're excited to go for an exciting new look for the school. If it bombs, then there's less for the planetarium and other projects, but at least you've made a friend and some very cool t-shirts! [img]smile.gif[/img]
P.S. there's a reason why popsicles, candy and toys are brightly colored...kids LOVE color!...and tye-dye hides stains from afore-mentioned colorful foods [img]smile.gif[/img]
I am both Fundraising Chair and Treasurer of our PTO and am a freelance graphic designer in my free time when I'm not busy doing other things- ha ha. Anyway, I did spirit shirts last year and they were a huge hit! We did a 4 color screen print on both side of the shirt, which made the shirts much more expensive than norm. This is what we did to get our costs down:
(1) Created the artwork ourselves. This is easy to do and if you need direction, email me and I'll be glad to help.
(2) We got corporate and parent/family sponsors for our shirts and listed their name or logo (based on the amount pledged) on the back of our shirts. You would be surprised how many businesses will jump at this opportunity. We only have 140 kids in the school, but pre-sold 400 shirts to kids, parents, siblings, volunteers, staff and even the employees of the companies that sponsered the shirts! That's over 400 people walking around advertising companies!
(3) Keep it catchy and cool. Our design had an electric guitar accross the front and said "School Rocks" and then Plato Academy at the bottom. We had about 6 designs going into it initially, the Board narrowed it down to 3 and then we let the kids vote. It was an overwhelming response- and School Rocks won out by all but 2 votes! All in all, the vote generated buzz about the shirts for us and more kids got into having one of their own, which meant more sales.
(4) Look into purchasing your shirts tie-dye or not for less from a wholesale vender. The printing company upcharges the shirts by about 25 -30%. There are tons of places on the web to purchase the shirts alone and then you can provide them to the printer. This will save you tons!
(5) The companies that advertise Spirit Shirt Fundraisers and offer shirts starting at $3.95 are actually more expensive than using a private screenprinting firm or promotional products firm. I work with a private company called Official Sportswear. They do everything for me that has to be printed (aside from paper and stationary products) whether it's for the PTO or my business clients. Their prices are fantastic and I really cannot say enough good things about them. If you want to look into their pricing, e mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In the end, if your principal wants $3K for something, she's going to have to understand that going with the tie-dye shirts will cut your revenue and therefor restrict your ability to assist with the venture. A private one on one without the Board present might be a good path to go down.
LynnS,
I have been in charge of coordinating several things over the years including selecting new shirts and designs. Essentially, I provided the information, as well as my opinion on what was best and why, and our group voted on it.
We did not make as big a profit on each shirt, but in the long run, these shirts sold better in quantity (because they looked better) and so we sold more than we would have and eventually made more money than we would have with other choices.
I understand your concerns about not making as much money but keep in mind a few things: 1) the shirts won't lose you money, 2) multiple people seem to be excited about them, 3)you have to work as a group, even though you are President, and you don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill and, 4)you definately want to pick your battles with your principal.
As for other requests your principal may have that you don't necessarily agree with, I suggest you not get so worked up about the request but try to come up with a way to involve the principal in planning the funding, that way, if it is not in your budget, it is not totally on your shoulders. Our last principal was gung ho for raising and spending $10000 on a scrolling marquee. We have had several years of declining enrollment and fundraising, so we asked her how she planned on getting this money together. Eventually we agreed to make a few minor adjustments to the sign purchased a few years ago. Until that moment, she had no clue how insane her request was of our small group.
Take a deep breath and go with the flow. It will all work out. Especially if you try to feed off your principal's energy and make her your partner instead of your enemy.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
I am sorry Lynn - but it won't matter if you and your treasurer veto the t-shirts if the rest of your members vote to do it. There has to be more voting or vetoing this motion...Has there been a motion made during a meeting to vote for or against this idea???
Robin Rules should govern your meetings...A motion has to be made and it has to carry.
Remember, you are not the sole decision maker. You have a PTO/A memebership that has a right to make decisions that effect the school.
Thanks to all of you for your great advice and information. As you can well see I'm a little green about all this!
My treasurer and I have decided to veto the tye-dye shirts. We simply can't afford to spend that much money right up front. Plain and simple we use the t-shirts as a fundraiser and we need to make as much money as we can. We want to fund this planetarium and we also want to give money to each grade level at the beginning of the school year. That, to us, is more important than t-shirts. We'd rather spend less on t-shirts and make a little more so the money can stay in the school where it belongs.
