3 Useful Preschool Fund Raiser Ideas

If you’re running out of bake sale ideas for your next preschool fund raiser, it may be time you think outside the cookie box. Partner with local businesses so that they run the fundraiser and your preschool gets to keep part of the profits.

Book Sale

Many national book publishers have local organizers and consultants who are always on the lookout for another place to have a book party and what better place to showcase books for young kids than at a preschool fundraiser? You practically have a captive market; parents with kids nagging for books and few, if any reasons for them to say no. If it were toys or candy that you were selling, the outcome may not be that positive. But who can say no to a child who wants a book?

Look for local representatives of Scholastic or Usborne books; you never know it may happen to be the parent of a student who could offer even more generous incentives like free books for the teachers to choose for their classrooms based on the number of books sold. Many preschool fundraisers are cleverly tied to a school function like a concert or open house; that way the parents are sure to be there, they need not make a special trip to attend the book sale.

Portraits

Everyone likes school portraits and preschoolers with their separation anxiety jitters and ‘first’ moments are even more precious to record. Arrange for a portrait studio to come and take pictures of the kids individually as well as in a group and sell the portrait sheets to the parents. If you let them know that part of the proceeds go to the preschool, they might just order a bigger package and send extras off to Granma.

Gym Sale

An indoor version of a garage sale can be a gym sale where parents rent a table (or two) as part of the preschool fundraiser and then get to sell kids stuff just like at a garage sale. This can be a successful idea because the sellers and buyers have a lot in common – young kids. So if one is fed up with Buzz Light Year and would rather have Mr. Incredible, he can sell that off and look for a bargain on the other.

Some preschool fundraisers discourage selling clothes because of health and safety issues; others do not mind. It is a win-win situation either way; the preschool makes money from the table rent and the parents get to dispose off some unwanted stuff without having to spend a day in the garage!