Here's a school fundraiser you can count on

A donation drive or crowdfunding campaign is an easy way to raise school funds. Drives work best when you have a clear goal or deadline, like ... "$5,000 for playground improvements by May". Don't forget to show and track progress to keep momentum up. While nearly every dollar can benefit your cause, results will depend on your community’s ability to give. So, consider pairing a donation drive with an ongoing program like RaiseRight, so families who can’t give extra can still contribute through purchases they already make.

Selling candy to raise funds for your child’s school is nostalgic at best, and labor-intensive at worst. And we understand the unquantifiable value ... in getting your child to help with this process (think: sales and people skills), so as a complement to gift card fundraising, it could be a nice little addition to your school fundraising repertoire. But with Americans (thankfully) becoming more health conscious as the years pass, the marketability is limited.

The pizza fundraiser is a classic, and there are several nuances to this type of school fundraising (e.g., pizza kits ordered and delivered to folks' homes, ... restaurant events where a portion of the sales go to fundraising, etc.). But, you can also have the best of both worlds by using RaiseRight’s gift card fundraising platform to purchase gift cards from retailers like Domino’s or Pizza Hut and earn up to 8% back.

There are several nuances to this as well. The traditional method involves ordering and delivering sub sandwiches with a rather ... thin fundraising margin leftover. Additionally, folks can turn this into a day event (think: fundraising picnic) where you make and provide the sandwiches in exchange for donation. Lastly, folks can take the gift card fundraising angle with this as well. RaiseRight offers upwards of 8% back on Panera Bread, Subway, Jersey Mike’s, etc.

A more traditional form of product sales, candle fundraisers have certain benefits over other door-to-door fundraising methods in that they ... don’t expire (think: selling food or candy). But just like other traditional product fundraisers, oftentimes the parent will take on much more work than the child. And while there are decent margins on candles (a chunk of which will result in funds raised), the lower price point and low volume nature (not many folks are buying candles in the dozens) means that it pales in comparison to gift card fundraising.

Also known as the DIY version of selling Girl Scout cookies, cookie fundraising involves ordering and delivering cookie dough to ... folks’ homes. Akin to the other traditional fundraising methods, it requires a good amount of time and labor. And like candy fundraising, you’ll have to consider the marketability in a world where cookies are still a delectable treat, but most health conscious Americans won’t be buying tubs of cookie dough in troves.

An umbrella category to many of the specific door-to-door fundraisers already mentioned (e.g., candles, cookie dough), parents should ... should consider safety above all else. In fact, many schools have elected to ban this form of fundraising altogether due to rising safety concerns. And sure, you can limit it to knocking on the doors of friendly neighbors and folks you know—but that also limits the fundraising potential.

Both schools and restaurants can benefit from a restaurant night fundraiser, making this an ideal school fundraiser. The fundraising party (e.g., you, other ... parents, etc.) and a restaurant make an agreement to host a large group of diners. Funds are raised (most often by getting the restaurant to donate a portion of the profits) and the restaurant benefits by getting new folks to visit. This can take form in a one-off dinner, a week long promotion of the restaurant, or anything in between.

From shaving the principal’s head, dunking him or her in a water tank, to the absurdity of making them spend the night on the roof of the ... school, there is no shortage of creativity in this space. More traditionally, junk food parties for the “winning classroom” also fall under this category. While motivating for children, most parents will want to strike a balance between having fun and educating them on the bigger picture (e.g., raising funds to help more kids join the hockey team who otherwise couldn’t, etc.).

While this is a bit more broad stroke and could entail more specific types of fundraising, such as a restaurant fundraiser, events are typically a ... good way to raise a relatively significant sum of money. The downside, however, is the amount of planning and preparation that goes into it. And of course, it’s a one-time gig rather than an ongoing stream of funds.