Market Day is a great program but in low income areas (like mine) it's very difficult to get people on board. Our school has 700 students and we average 40 orders a month - 10 from teachers. Our income is roughly $220 a month. They do offer Bonus Days with pies and cookie dough. That month we made $750 but it was a hard sell. It's a challenge.

I would suggest start with something small like a penny war between grade levels. Those pennies add up and the kids really get into watching their jars fill up. We used the large pretzel barrels. The winning grade gets a prize or treat. Something simple like Tootsie Pops or cookies. Start off simple.

Good luck.

Unreg- you must be in SoCal (Simi) not sure if most would know about IN- N-Out or Elephent bar (the Grilled Onions are best on a meat and cheese ANimal style)

Most restuaraunts and fast food have some knid of coupon, free food item - you just have to give advance notice (ie 60- 90 days)

Be wary of the In-N-out type trailer (ie the restauruant come s out and sell a $ 5 meal for $8 and you get a bag o' chips instead of the fries- dont know what unreg profit was but the markup want worht the %35 the PTA got plus the pissed parents that paid $8 X 4 or 5 people when our Los Angeles school did it)

Many school charge for newletter or yearbook sponsor ($xx for an ad in newsletter or yr book) Maybe signage for events or to underwrite an event

We do many of the same program listed in other responses (GM Box Tops, Safeway escrip, Albertsons Community Programs, etc.) and they are great.

We also do a monthly "School Night Out" at a different location each month. Chuck E Cheese has been a favorite, because they give a sticker reminder for each student to receive 10 free tokens when they come... they don't even have to pay for anything... yet those families who do purchase food, tokens or other things from the counter, we get 15%... it is a fun time and we make about $300 for one evening. Other successful locations have been Sweet Tomatoes, Pick UP Stix, Rubio's, Chevy's... In-N-Out Burger even brought their trailer to our school!

As for fundraisers, we have done many different catalogs (we do a catalog sale in the Fall). Our classrooms raise money with jog-a-thons, math-a-thons, etc.

At the end of the year a big fundraiser is a silent auction during our final social event (2 weeks before school ends). About in a month in advance,we request each classroom to put together a themed basket for the auction. One parent per classroom is responsible for collecting items and donations for that basket. The class with the highest percentage of participation (does not matter value) receives a reward... one year every single classroom donated a basket (don't expect 100% participation) so we rewarded the entire school with frozen Otter Pops (hot day). In addition to auctioning the baskets, we collect donations from local businesses. Sometimes we add these to the baskets to increase value/desire and other times we auction them off independently. We have received tickets to local entertainment (bowling, movies, amusement park, museum, etc.), items (sunglasses, health club membership, toys), and meals (In-N-Out sends meal coupons and t-shirts, Elephant Bar, etc.). Since all the stuff for the auction is donated, all the proceed (minus rewards like Otter Pops) is profit... we do use one of the donated items to reward the most creative basket... like when a company sends 20 meal tickets or something like that which can be shared by a class.

Communication and consistency seem to be key in having a successful fundraising event. Good luck!

Airport is new to me. Whom exactly would someone contact (airport authority? FAA? ??) and would it be strictly for cash?

we use grocery stores where we sign up people's grocery numbers. we are averaging $300 per quarter.

we also are averaging $350 for boxtops per quarter

some local schools will donate some start up money for your PTO, it's worth a try. when we first started out, 4 local Elm, MS and HS donated anywhere from 25-100 bucks.

this really helps.

cell phones and ink cartridges are free but worth it.

look for major grants like Home Depot, Lowes and Hamburger helper.

hit up your parents companies for corporate sponsorship.

many local news channels will donate as well along with your local airports.

d

You could try running a raffle. We have a local business that donates our tickets or you could check into having a local high school print shop to do the tickets for free. We made $2,054. You could also do bakesales and have local businesses donate the items to your sale. Participating in Box Tops For Education is also a great idea - if you can get parents to clip them and turn them in. Selling Sarris pretzel rods could also be a good idea. Good luck to you!