Organizing a fundraiser, especially with students, is not always the easiest thing to do. Fundraising takes a lot of time and energy and it can be difficult to get children engaged. So, you need something to attract their attention. We’d like to give you some different fundraising incentives to reward your students for fundraising that may be more effective than boring old prizes.
Food party
Kids love food and if you tell them that the highest sellers get a food party, they will be fundraising in no time. There are plenty of different food related prizes you could give. There is a pizza party for the class that raises the most money, a donut day for the grade with the most participants, or ice cream sundaes for the class with the highest seller. There’s so much you can do, and none of it is very expensive. If you order your food/supplies from a local eatery, they may give you a discount for bulk orders and to support a good cause.
Faculty challenges and stunts
Some of you are probably cringing at the thought of this, but kids love it! Getting the teachers and faculty more involved makes the students want to participate. And most of these ideas are basically free. You could let the top earner “pie” a teacher or principal. If the school meets its fundraising goal, have a day where the principal has to dress as the mascot or the whole faculty has to wear silly costumes. It’s fun for the kids and a very easy way to get everyone involved.
Do something that relates to why you’re raising the money
Your incentive can also be an opportunity to teach kids about why fundraising is important. Show them how fundraising benefits their school/group by creating incentives around the thing you’re raising money for. Need new computers? Let the class that earns the most money get more time in the computer lab just to play games. Old slides need to be replaced? Give each class a longer recess if you meet your fundraising goals. Is your library out of date? Have a readathon day where kids get to sit and read their favorite books or comics for one hour if you raise enough money. This way your students learn the importance of fundraising, and you don’t spend any money.
Raffle
This one is simple. Every so many items each student sells, their name gets put in a raffle. At the end of the fundraiser, draw for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. You don’t have to give away big, expensive items for kids to want to win. Give away something from a local store; you’ll be showing your support for the community, and they’re likely to donate the items to you at little or no cost. Or you can raffle off coupons the kids can use in school like “eat lunch with a parent,” “extra 15 minutes of silent reading,” or “help with the morning announcements.”
There are so many fundraising incentives you can offer to reward kids for doing a great job in your fundraiser. Inspire them and incentivize them. You’ll get much better results when you do.
