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OT: Need some good ideas to raise funds for a HS band

we used to sell oranges and grapefruits from florida. made pretty good money on good produce in southern Illinois.

Oranges and grapefruits from Florida were huge sellers here, too... but delivering 40-50 cases of them isn't easy, and not something parents generally think all the way through when their kids are off selling.
 
I have used a company called Charity Mania. It is a sports related sweepstakes program.

For football ($10 and $20 tickets) you get 3 teams each week (randomly selected on card). There are options to provide a "guaranteed winner" small fee, unless you sell 200+ tickets then its free.

The best part is, the proceeds for each ticket is about 70%, so you keep about $6 and $14 for the $10/20 tickets. Just google Charity Mania, and you should find the site. I don't want to link it, since I'm not 100% sure about board rules for that stuff. All the details are on the site.

You can also sell e-tickets, so if you have friends or family that are not local, it allows you to reach them; where your typical fundraiser might be logistically difficult.
My travel roller hockey team did this last year and it worked out very well. People like football, and people like winning money. Easy sell.
 
In addition to whatever fundraiser you will be doing..

Why not do some viraly video on youtube with advertising. get paid per hit. I'm sure you have some members with video skills.
 
When I was a 9-year old, I went door to door selling raffle tickets to support Little League. Of the $10 received for the book, I received $2, which seemed like a fortune then. Of course this would never work today because it means that a kid is out alone.
 
The answer is encapsulated in the question itself. You say the band size will double. So sell half the kids. You'll have tens of millions. Invest it wisely and the band will be set regardless of what size it regrows to over the years.

No need to thank me. Seeing the looks of joy on the remaining kids faces as they realize they've been fully funded for life is all the thanks I need.
 
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The answer is encapsulated in the question itself. You say the band size will double. So sell half the kids. You'll have tens of millions. Invest it wisely and the band will be set regardless of what size it regrows to over the years.
Regarding investing it wisely, do you suggest the OP put the money into hookers and blow or is that only good for retirement savings?
 
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We used to sell boxes of M&M's. Don't know if you could get away with students walking around school hawking candy, but we made a fortune.
 
No offense. But this is "begging" not fundraising. Not a fan. Teach kids that they need to provide something for in exchange for the donation. Goods or services: car wash, candle sale, donuts, coffee and tea sale, gift or greeting cards, etc.

One of my pet peeves in my area is a certain "youth basketball" team that regularly sets up a table outside the Post Office and asks folks to donate. That's not the way to it.

Disclaimer: Memorial Day is the exception for me, as I have a deep respect for those vets soliciting $ for their needy and disabled brothers and sisters, and in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Big fan of the "Buddy Poppy."

Now get off my lawn. . . .

Agreed. I hate being accosted for donations out in public, in my house, or on the phone. Don't much like being accosted for goods/services either, although I don't mind if it's "passive," i.e., it's 100% up to me if I want to stop in at that car wash or go to a known fundraiser. The worst is those friggin' people stopping traffic at intersections, begging for $$, usually on weekends - not only are they a traffic nuisance, but they're a safety hazard, too. I'd rather have my taxes raised...

By your standards, Rutgers does a lot of begging.
 
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By your standards, Rutgers does a lot of begging.

Yep, I don't like that much, either. I donate in spite of the begging, not because of. I simply don't like my personal space being invaded by people soliciting me in my car, at work, at home or on the phone and I especially don't like when people make you feel guilty if you don't want to donate. And talk about preferring taxes - I'd way prefer if RU actually got much more from the State from taxes instead of languishing for funds in the richest state in the US.
 
Alumni BBQ and event. Have people pay to come get together. Have them all play together, hang out, relax etc.

I am a head lacrosse coach and this is a big fundraiser for us.
 
I assisted in fund raising with my daughter's soccer team. The team had previously held car washes. They encountered many issues, especially with bad weather on the scheduled dates of the event.

I decided to approach a local car wash to purchase discounted books of tickets. We sold the tickets in books of 5 at face value and made about $2.50 per ticket and thus made $12.50 on each book that we sold. People were happy to buy the books as they were getting something they would normally purchase and could use them whenever they wished. Additionally, they were happy to help the team. So it was a win-win and the team made 3X the profit that they made in previous years on good weather days.
I like the idea that you SOLD a product. Begging for contributions is not only demeaning but also is a turn off to many people. Selling a product is good training for the kids too. Letting them understand that you HAVE to work to earn money.
 
For my son's band they have an ice cream social and a potluck dinner both coming up soon.
 
A lot of people seem to be crapping on the idea of the band kids going out soliciting donations. I put it out there as something that works great in my town and my community fully supports it. That doesn't mean it would work in every town or your community.

As for the the mentality that the kids are getting something for nothing or no work. Spare me the lessons. How much do you think the high school band should charge for performing their halftime shows and marching in the Memorial Day parade? How much should the choir charge for singing at a funeral?How much should the string quartet charge the senior center for the holiday performance? I could go on and on.
 
Thanks for all the great ideas. I will put many of them together and post it here.
 
A lot of people seem to be crapping on the idea of the band kids going out soliciting donations. I put it out there as something that works great in my town and my community fully supports it. That doesn't mean it would work in every town or your community.

As for the the mentality that the kids are getting something for nothing or no work. Spare me the lessons. How much do you think the high school band should charge for performing their halftime shows and marching in the Memorial Day parade? How much should the choir charge for singing at a funeral?How much should the string quartet charge the senior center for the holiday performance? I could go on and on.

My son will be doing two parades this year. He will get nothing for the school parade but he is going to get $50 for another parade that he invited to participate in that is not school related.

These kids work hard year round and I think it is a great experience since there is no sporting activity that allows young men and women to work as a team. Nothing. It teaches real-world life skills that you not only have to be good at what you do, but work well with others. I am pitching this idea to businesses to get them to support the band. Plus, a marching band has a lot of direct and indirect purchasing power.

My pitch is simple:
1) Money: if we have better ideas than you.
2) Time: if you can't give money or your budget is tight.
3) Ideas: We want to hear yours since ideas are modern day currency
4) Network -- This is the MOST important. Help us spread the word or connect to people you know would be interested in supporting the band.

It works in business so I have to test it out to see if it works for schools.

We are doing a golf event and I just hope it goes well. We have not done this before.
 
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