Every school needs a PTO. The Parent Teacher Organization is an organization that raises funds for the school and helps it to provide the best education possible. But how can you raise money for your organization? It’s not as easy as one might think, but we have five innovative ideas that will help you raise those much-needed funds!
1) Sell Calendars with School Events on Them
Every school usually has a calendar with different events and dates on it. Why not use this as a fundraiser? You can either sell printed calendars or just sell the sheet containing the dates and information for those who would like to write them down themselves. Be sure to include how much each calendar costs, where they can be purchased, and the deadline to purchase them. Also, be sure to include it on your calendar when the money is due back. You don’t want to have a ton of calendars just sitting around if they are not purchased!
2) Theme Bake Sale
Many times, bake sales are used as fundraisers. Why not make it a theme? Try asking parents to bring in food or drinks that have to do with the theme of the month! For example, if your school has a book drive and “Reading is Fundamental” week during October, sell baked goods with Halloween themes- such as cookies shaped like bats, cats, or witches hats. During December, sell baked goods with a Christmas theme- sugar cookies are always a good idea!
3) Silent Auction
If you are looking for an idea that will have people talking about your fundraiser, then a silent auction is it! This usually consists of parents donating items to the PTO. The items can be anything from gift cards to homemade crafts made by students. Parents should be told that they must give away the item/gift card without expecting anything back. Then, parents can put their items up for auction during an event or online. During the event, people will “bid” on each item by writing down how much they would be willing to pay for it (or if they are bidding online, by emailing the PTO with their bid). The parent who has the highest bid receives their item. Parents can even bring in homemade crafts made by students to be put up for auction!
4) Raffles
Raffles are another exciting way of raising money for the PTO. This fundraiser can be done on-campus or off-campus. For example, if it is off-campus, you could raffle off gift baskets with different goodies, gift cards, homemade crafts made by students, etc. If it’s on-campus, you could raffle off gift baskets or gift cards during parent/teacher conferences or even raffle off items donated for the silent auction. You can hold too many raffles to count!
5) Book Sale
Book sales can also be very successful. Of course, you will need to decide if this will be an ongoing fundraiser or just one specific time. If you decide that you want it to be an ongoing fundraiser, then place the books throughout the school in places where people are already spending money (i.e., purchase them from a book sale company and sell them to teachers and students for a small fee).
In conclusion, these are just five innovative ideas for the PTO to raise money. There are many more ways to hold fundraisers- it’s just a matter of thinking outside the box!