How to Help Children with School Fund Raisers

School fund raisers are necessary for most schools, but for the kids who can’t make many sales, it’s a sad time. The fund raisers generally promise large prizes for big sales and, every kid dreams of grabbing run of the nicer prizes, but for those kids who don’t know many people it can be impossible. Of course, they give a small prize out to all who participate but a box of Nerds hardly compares to a new skate board or video game.

Going door-to-door to make sales used to be the way that kids gathered money for their schools, but nowadays, that’s not too safe. And, it can take a long time to make only a few sales, since there’s likely several kids in the same neighborhood helping with the fund raiser. But, if your child takes his fund raisers elsewhere, he can not only grab the big prize, he can do a lot to help his school.

A great place to get lots of orders in a factory. There can be hundreds of customers at one factory, making it one of the best ways to get orders. If you know someone who works at a factory ask if they can take the book to work with them. If you don’t know anyone who can help, check with the office to see if it’s okay to leave the booklet and some order forms in the break room.

Underline things like the date by which the money is due, and the date the orders will be delivered. Write on the order form that payment must be left in the office. Ask for checks only to eliminate money coming up missing. Make arrangements to leave a manila envelope with the secretary for collecting checks.

You will be responsible for getting the orders to the customers when you receive the merchandise. Allow more than one day to pass out the merchandise since some of the customers may work different shifts and some may be absent on the one day you deliver. Try going to the factory at lunchtime, breaks, or after shifts to deliver. You can also ask if you can leave the goods at the office for pick-up, saving yourself a lot of hassle.

If you’re a parent that belongs to a group or club, take the books and order forms with you to a meeting. Don’t waste the entire meeting with the fund raiser, simply explain what it is, what school it is for, and leave the book around, throughout the meeting, for those interested to view. Take orders after the meeting so as not to interrupt their order of business.

Barbecues, swimming parties, family reunions and other get-togethers are great places to promote the fund raiser. Make sure you wait for the right moment to present the fund raiser. Don’t do it during dinner, for instance.

Look for other opportunities to present the fund raiser to a large crowd. If you have a friend that works in an office, for instance, ask if he can take the fund raiser to work. Or, if you’ve done business at the same dry cleaner for years, ask if you can place the book and order form there. The customers can then pick up their merchandise when it arrives.

Your child doesn’t have to be sad every time there’s a fund raiser at school. Try different tactics this year and he’ll help out a good cause and come home with a smile – and a nice prize.