"Not My Job!"
Our PTSA had a fundraiser that went something like this:
$50 not to chair a committee
$50 not to make phone calls
$25 not to bake items for the bake sale
$10 not to participate on a committee
It went over well!
With Creativity, you can do this in many areas and for many activities.
Something to Treasure
I have served on a Bible Camp board, and one of our successful fund-raisers was a quilt
auction. We consistently raised $10,000 a year with little expenses beyond advertising.
The women's groups donate the quilts. These groups have a long history of making mission
quilts. Some of the quilts are simple missions quilts,and others are magnificent works of
art.
It's possible to make fund-raising a great tradition.
Kaylyn A
Learn and Earn
My son entered kindergarten this year, and the PTO was also looking for fun
moneyraising activities. After much debate (because we all know that six-year olds
aren't the ones out there selling, its usually Mom and Dad), we settled on a Math-A-Thon.
Each child would be given an age appropriate test (Kindergarten kids had to pick
out shapes, colors, etc, and older children did "real math" problems). The
children asked for a pledge for every answer they got correct. The tests all had 100
points (of course, the younger children's questions were worth more, 10 questions, 10
points each). Most asked for a penny or a dime for a point. With a school of 750
children, we raised almost $13,000 (yes thousand) dollars. The children now have a
brand new playground that they earned. No selling cookies or useless items that
noone wants, and it was a learning experience.
Michele
| .Fundraisers |
Humane Educators should encourage the community to organize
school fundraisers, which are a great way to empower students, teach them the value of
volunteering, and help them make a positive difference in the community. However, we urge
schools to carefully investigate the organizations for which they are raising funds to
ensure that they do not engage in practices that harm animals.
Some schools participate in the March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica fundraiser without
realizing that the March of Dimes has funneled millions of donated dollars into painful and unnecessary experiments
on cats, dogs, primates, rabbits, pigs, and other animals. Sadly, this money could have
been better spent on the treatment and prevention of disease and on clinical and
epidemiological studies that would provide relevant information about human birth defects.
Make sure that your school only donates funds to humane charities, like the Easter Seals,
which works to prevent birth defects by using clinical research and preventive
programming—not by experimenting on animals. Contact TeachKind to order additional information about the
March of Dimes and to order a booklet that lists charities that do and charities that do
not test on animals, or visit the following links:
• MarchofCrimes.com
• Charities
That Test on Animals
• Humane
Charities
While teaching students the value of helping others, it’s important
that they don’t forget the value of animals’ lives. Some fundraisers, like
donkey basketball, put both students and animals at risk. “Kiss the pig”
contests demean animals, forcing them to be unwilling participants in an activity that
objectifies them and finds humor in our negative and inaccurate view of pigs.
Animal auctions, like the one at Coral Reef Senior High School in Miami, Florida, are
upsetting and unhealthy for the students involved, who are encouraged to develop a strong
relationship with an animal as they nurture and care for him or her for months—only
to be told to ignore their empathy and compassion and the needs of their animal friend so
that he or she can be slaughtered for money. This psychologically damaging message teaches
disrespect and insensitivity.
When raising money for your school or community charity, please try the following
animal-free fundraising events:
Cruelty-Free
Fundraisers |
Alternative
Fundraising Ideas-Things You Can Sell |
• Auctions
• Bike-a-thons
• Bowling nights
• Carnivals
• Car washes
• Celebrity basketball games
• Dances
• Family/glamour portraits
• Festivals
• Gift wrapping
• Golf tournament
• Jog-a-thons
• Jumprope-athons
• Magic shows
• Raffles
• Read-a-thons
• Recycling
• Recycling cans/paper/ink cartridges
• Singing telegrams
• Skating nights
• Spelling bees
• Talent shows
• Tennis/horseshoe competitions
• Treasure hunts
• Walk-a-thons
• Workshops/classes |
• Activity cards
• Balloon bouquets
• Bath accessories
• Batteries
• Books and calendars
• Brick/stone/tile memorials
• Buttons, pins, and stickers
• Candles
• Cookbooks
• Coupon books
• Emergency kits for cars
• First-aid kits
• Flea market items
• Flowers and bulbs
• Football game shout-outs
• Football seats
• Fruit and vegetable baskets
• Fruit smoothies and slushies
• Gift baskets
• Gift items
• Gift wrap, boxes, and bags
• Greeting cards
• Hats
• Healthy snack items
• Holiday ornaments
• House decorations
• Jewelry
• License-plate frames with school logos
• Magazine subscriptions
• Megaphones
• Mugs
• Newspaper space/ads
• Personalized stationery
• Plants
• Pocket calendars
• Raffle donations
• Scarves
• School art drawings
• School Frisbees
• School spirit gear and accessories
• Scratch-off cards
• Spirit/seasonal flags
• Stadium pillows
• Stuffed animals
• Temporary/henna tattoos
• T-shirts and sweatshirts
• Tupperware
• Valentine’s Day flowers
• Yearbook covers
• Yearbook space/monograms |
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