You know the saying, “If mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy?” Take out
“mama” and replace it with “a bunch of kids”. When it comes to kids
fundraising, the operative word is “fun”. Yes it’s a tired play on words
and it rounds out an introduction with way too many quotation marks,
but it applies more here than any other category of fundraising. Because
not only should kids have as much fun as possible as a general rule,
but happy kids will provide infectious enthusiasm, be more excited about
pitching in and make the overall process a lot smoother. Happy kids,
happy parents, happy donors and happy hour after it’s all over and the
kids have gone to bed (just work ‘em hard during the day so they pass
out nice and fast).
Of course, fun and easy usually go hand in hand when it comes to kids
fundraising. Making the whole event as simple as possible allows for
more creativity and caters to the aphid-sized attention span of the
little ones helping out. It’s important to implement ideas that are easy
to organize and low on execution. So maybe put those plans to run a
children’s homage to Cirque du Soleil starring the kindergarten class
called “Cirque du Mr. Sun Sun, Mr. Golden Sun” on hold for now.
Below are some great ways to raise money for your kids fundraiser
that won’t leave you desperately promising a free-for-all at the grocery
store candy aisle to a bunch of bored kids that keep trying to stick
fork prongs into an electrical socket just for something to do.
1. An art auction.
This should be a hit if only for the massive quantities of ADORABLE.
Have the kiddies make art projects and then auction them off later. This
works for kids of all ages – the really young ones can finger-paint or
macaroni paste or stick some balls of plasticine together with gum and
call it Gummy the Clay-Man, while the older ones can try out their
talents with something a little more difficult. Advertise the kids
fundraiser to parents, friends and throughout the community as a “Young
Art-ISTE’s Exhibition” and come auction night, display the artwork in
fun ways with the kids’ names clearly displayed. The kids will be
thrilled that their work is up (and being purchased by actual people.
How cool is that?), and the adults will find the whole thing oh-so
charming. You could even put minimum prices on the artwork in
correlation with what they’re going towards, for instance, $15 towards a
new swing set for the playground.
2. A movie night.
Pick an age appropriate movie that everyone can enjoy (and seriously,
kids movies are awesome these days. Toy Story 3 won’t have you yearning
for The Hangover 2, promise!) and get the school, neighborhood, whole
community to come. Make it a costume night themed for the movie if you
want to get the kids really excited, and even give out prizes for best
costume. Hold it in the school gymnasium or local church and have
everyone bring blankets and pillows – like kids fundraising in the form
of the comfiest drive in ever. Get in touch with a local vendor to get a
discounted price on snacks that you can sell for double or triple the
price (it’s ok, people expect to get gouged at the movies!) and you’ll
make a killing. It’s best to get as many people involved in the
promotion and organizing of the event as possible, so more people can
spread the word and get bums in those seats! Or on pillows and blankets,
whatever you’re going for.
3. A Game Night.
It’s the same idea with a different twist. Instead of showing a
movie, host a game night that the whole community can come to. Kids love
playing games and it’s a really fun and interactive kids fundraising
ideas. Collect a bunch of board games before the event or have people
bring their own (who doesn’t have Monopoly collecting dust in their hall
closet?) and charge a fee to attend, along with the usual snacks and
refreshments. Just make sure to use games that won’t take all night and
have simple enough rules for younger kids to understand – you might want
to leave Settlers of Catan and Risk at home. Unless the kids in your
community are Napoleonic geniuses. In which case, your night just got
really intense.
Whatever kids fundraising ideas you decide to choose, as long as it’s
easy to see through, fun for the kids to participate in, and you know
how to promote it to the community then you’re golden. One of the best
things you can do when starting any kids fundraising campaign
is get it online so you can spread the message to as many people as
possible, quickly and efficiently. Sign up for an online platform that
lets you reach people in a number of ways – through email, Twitter,
Facebook, wherever people are online and can share your message. This
also makes it a lot easier to collect money, as people can donate
directly to your account (no counting pennies!) without any
time-consuming hassles. Get online and your kids fundraising campaign,
whether it’s an art auction, a movie night, or even the Cirque du Mr.
Sun Sun, Mr. Golden Sun if you just HAVE to do it, will be a smashing
success.
Raise money online for your kids’ fundraiser the easy way today with
free fundraising tools that allow you to create and manage a number of
kids fundraising campaigns while tracking their success. Kids fundraising online is easy with access to all the fundraising tools offered by a free and simple-to-use online fundraising platform.
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