Top ideas for your next great school fundraiser

If you’ve stumbled upon a product that sells like hot cakes in your school fundraising drives you’re basically sitting on a fundraising gold mine. But how do you know what items will be a success and bring in rewarding fundraising dollars?

Fundraising using tangible products can be a challenge, as you do need to bring in stock, orders and sell the items at a profit. When you find products that are a great success, your school community will support you plus they have the benefit of a usable item that helps them to feel like they’ve made a difference in your fundraising efforts.

Here are some of our top ideas for fundraising products that are a great success.

• Tea towels – whatever size of your household you always need a tea towel in the home, so a fundraiser surrounding this common household item is a popular one. Whether you sent them to grandparents or you stock up in your own kitchen drawers, a tea towel fundraiser is simple and effective and sure to be of interest to your school community. Wrap them up for a Mother’s Day gift stall or have them available for a Christmas stall at your fete, whatever the style, tea towels will always be a fundraising winner.
• Aprons – the same applies for aprons when it comes to school fundraising. An apron is a must have in any budding Master Chef’s kitchen, and by having an apron you don’t need specific sizes, apart from possibly a kids version and an adults version.
• Scented candles – a lovely idea for the mothers, grandmothers or a divine gift for any occasion, scented candles are a popular fundraising option and destined to be a favourite for your school community. Easy to store and suitable throughout the year, scented candles can be pre-ordered and are long lasting should you not sell out of all your fundraising stock.
• Flowering bulbs and plants – another great spring time fundraiser for your school, flowering bulbs are a unique idea for schools and are a little different to the norm. Flowering bulbs help children understand how nature grows are a great twist to the traditional fundraiser of chocolates or raffle tickets. There are companies that sell bulbs direct that can be packaged up and sold for your school fundraiser.
• Personalised t-shirts – having a school shirt that is personalised with your child’s school photo or a unique message is a fun way to generate some school fundraising while providing a memorable item for a loved one. Alternatively, you can pre-package a personalised t-shirt pack that provides fabric markers and a t-shirt to sit any budding Picasso.
• Calendars – parents and families love personalised items, so whether you can source a coffee cup, diary, calendar or any personalised item that can be used on a daily basis you’re onto a winner for fundraising. Keep your ideas simple and focus on items that you need around the home or office such as a paperweight or an item for your desk and you could be on your way to fundraising greatness for your school.
• Useful household items – we’ve mentioned tea towels and aprons, but what about oven mitts, cheese boards with embossed messages or even a dinner plate with artwork on it. There are plenty of great ideas for fundraising for your school when it comes to items around the home, it’s simply a matter of seeing what is available in bulk quantities and what can be personalised and creating a list of options. Whether it is a personalised USB or an item such as a beach towel, the options for school fundraising are literally limitless.
• Recipe books – a fantastic option for schools is drawing on the expertise of your families and school communities by creating a recipe book with all your school community’s culinary favourites. Add in some wonderful imagery, and you have yourself a fantastic option for raising funds for your school. Sell it throughout the year or at a fete with proceeds going directly to the school.
• Funky shoelaces – kids love to be fashionable and make a statement and selling funky shoelaces is a fun way to raise some greatly needed funds for your school. Shoelaces come in a wide range of colours, lengths and options and are a little unique to the normal school fundraisers and are often a welcome change from the ordinary. A perfect gift for all the family put even friends and colleagues, funky shoelaces can be sold and stored and are a distinctive way to add some personality to your fundraiser.

Next time you’re working on your school’s calendar of fundraising events, ditch the chocolate drives and spice up your ideas with some great fundraising products that make healthy profits for your school.