By Ananya Gogula
Uplift North Hills Prep
Fall is the perfect time for fundraisers – before DECA competitions and before school becomes too busy!
Here are some basic ways to promote all of these events:
Flyers – Make eye-catching flyers to hang around school or even local businesses (for some events). Make sure to include information like time, date, location, and cost of the event!
Announcements – Take advantage of lunch or morning announcements!
Social media – Make consistent posts, videos, and stories leading up to the event!
BAKE OFF
Having a baking competition with winners being voted on by students/guests can be a great fundraising idea – I mean who doesn’t like baked goods! You can charge an entry fee for tasting as well as for competing.
Promotion:
Flyers! – Make sure the flyer contains important information like prices to enter or taste the baked goods; you can even include a QR code to sign up. Post these around school and even local businesses.
Planning:
Make sure your school allows the sale of homemade food and get the event approved!
Materials: tables, signs, cutlery + bowls, etc.
You may need volunteers to guide people coming and to manage the food.
To incentivize joining the contest, add a prize to win; it could be anything from a gift card to a DIY themed trophy.
Game Night
Game nights are very versatile events; you can pick the type of game, make it a competition, or make it more of a hangout!
Promotion:
Social media – Use social media not only to promote, but to give people coming choices! Make polls or open-ended responses to figure out the type of games people want.
Planning:
Make sure you get all the games you need! Borrow them from people or buy them. These could be board games, video games, or even games like chess.
If you are making it a tournament/competition have an idea for how you want to run it, brackets or free-for-all?
If you want the event to be more self-paced, maybe you could have a movie running in the background!
Movie Night
This is also a very versatile event that can be very low cost! Play a movie (themed for fall or Halloween) and that’s it!
Promotion
Social media – Use social media not only to promote but to give people choices! Make polls or open-ended responses for movie selection.
Planning:
Depending on the number of people coming, you may want to use a classroom projector or a movie screen with a projector.
If you want to sell snacks for the movie, have those ready!
Pie a teacher/officer
This is a fun, low-cost fundraiser! Have people come and pie a volunteer teacher or club officer for a price.
Promotion:
Flyers! – There is a lot of opportunity for a fun, eye-catching flyer! Take advantage of visuals of the event.
Planning
Make sure you have people willing to be pied!
Have supplies like whipped cream and pie tins ready!
Hot Chocolate Stand
A hot chocolate stand is a very fun and seasonal event idea! There’s not too much planning as well!
Promotion:
Announcements! – Be specific with the announcements to let people know what they can get (this is important if you are selling more than just hot chocolate).
Planning
Figure out the logistics of making and distributing the hot chocolate! Buy a hot chocolate mix and use a thermos!
Sell extra treats if you want – things like cookies and cupcakes!
Hopefully these fundraisers can help your chapter raise money in fall! Make sure to have fun with these ideas!