MS Band Director
For music educators - By music educators
Middle School Fundraising
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Matt Doublestein on -
We've sold poinsettias through a local nursery. They sell them to us at cost and the kids sell them higher so we make the profit. There's no risk for us because even if we sold only one we'd make a profit. It's not great that we still have to sell something, but that's the nature of the beast. Perhaps the best part is that it's all local so we're building relationships with local merchants - even supporting band families' businesses.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Weaver on -
Could you tell us about the delivery system and how much work is involved on the Director's part with this fundraiser? I would also be interested to know the pricepoints so that if I were to approach my local nursery, I would be able to site a reference. Sounds pretty cool, I believe this is the 2nd group from Ohio that I've heard of, that sells poinsettias. My boosters are always looking for new ideas! Thanks Matt
Matt said:We've sold poinsettias through a local nursery. They sell them to us at cost and the kids sell them higher so we make the profit. There's no risk for us because even if we sold only one we'd make a profit. It's not great that we still have to sell something, but that's the nature of the beast. Perhaps the best part is that it's all local so we're building relationships with local merchants - even supporting band families' businesses.
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Permalink Reply by Ed Nagel on -
We have been doing poinsettia sales for many years, and they have been very successful. The big change we made a few years go was...we worked with a local florist to get the best price, then we sold vouchers for poinsettias. All we had to deliver was the voucher, and the customer get to pick to color and plant they want. It has been a win, win situation.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Weaver on
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This sounds like a really good delivery system. Do your boosters print up the vouchers? If so, is there a template of sorts that you can upload for everyone to use?
RW
Ed Nagel said:We have been doing poinsettia sales for many years, and they have been very successful. The big change we made a few years go was...we worked with a local florist to get the best price, then we sold vouchers for poinsettias. All we had to deliver was the voucher, and the customer get to pick to color and plant they want. It has been a win, win situation.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Doublestein on
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Hi Russ-
Our florist sells them at $9 each, and we sell them at $13-14. It's a good profit. Our plants are delivered the day of our winter concert and parents pick them up afterward. It makes for a bit of extra work, but we get parent help, etc. The nicest part in my mind is how nice they look as decoration for our stage at that concert. We put them all out on display and it looks really nice. HTH! MD
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Permalink Reply by Russ Weaver on
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Wow! This is a great plan. I can't wait to share this with my boosters. Awesome idea Matt.
Thanks so much for posting.
Russ
Matt said:Hi Russ-
Our florist sells them at $9 each, and we sell them at $13-14. It's a good profit. Our plants are delivered the day of our winter concert and parents pick them up afterward. It makes for a bit of extra work, but we get parent help, etc. The nicest part in my mind is how nice they look as decoration for our stage at that concert. We put them all out on display and it looks really nice. HTH! MD
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Permalink Reply by Russ Weaver on
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OK so we are doing the Poinsettia thing now and it is incredible! We printed up cards and the folks buy them for $20 and the nursery sells them for $10. After 2 weeks we have sold enough to insure that this becomes a yearly event and the local church where we are to perform is putting it in their bulletin and it appears we are going to double sales. We are allowing folks who purchased the cards to use the cards for admittance to the December performance as well. Thanks to both Matt and Ed for sharing this wonderful idea, it has changed the lives of my students and because of it we will be taking a trip this year, most likely to grand NAI.
thanks again,
RW
BTW it's really easy.
Russ Weaver said:Wow! This is a great plan. I can't wait to share this with my boosters. Awesome idea Matt.
Thanks so much for posting. Russ
Matt said:Hi Russ-
Our florist sells them at $9 each, and we sell them at $13-14. It's a good profit. Our plants are delivered the day of our winter concert and parents pick them up afterward. It makes for a bit of extra work, but we get parent help, etc. The nicest part in my mind is how nice they look as decoration for our stage at that concert. We put them all out on display and it looks really nice. HTH! MD
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Permalink Reply by Tracy Gilmer (Mr. G) on
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We are doing a movie/fun night. We have a stage set up in one end of the cafeteria at the middle school. There are several rooms attached to the cafeteria building. We plan on utilizing a projector and a dvd player to have a movie theater. We'll use the cafeteria to serve popcorn, coke, candy, etc. We're also getting students to bring in gaming systems, xbox, play station, etc. to set up an arcade. Our overhead will be almost nothing, kids will be involved, and it will last only a few hours. I hate long fundraisers that go on for weeks of selling stuff.
We've also sold Krispy Kreme Donuts, and sold construction paper turkey feathers to put on paper turkeys of homeroom doors. The turkey with the most feathers got a pizza party. However, I'm hoping this movie night will be a big one.
Everyone should find a book called "Beyond the Bake Sale." I forgot the author's name but it has wonderful ideas for school/club fundraisers. It goes into detail about what committees are needed for organization, how to plan, and how to advertise.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Doll on -
I borrowed an idea from a band director friend of mine and it was great last year. We did a service project fundraiser.
In a nut shell
1. Each student was given a form to come in with 12 names and addresses of family and friends. (Small prize given to kids who turned them in on time and complete)
2. We had an addressing party. I created a form letter describing what we were doing. We would participate in a different service project at each of our concerts (ie: clothing drive, canned food drive, gently used toy drive, gently used book drive, etc.) We asked for each person to make a donation to our band program for our participation in these service projects. THere was also a place for each student to add a personal note. WE had the kids make the envelopes look inviting with color, stickers, etc. It was a big party with snacks, drinks, loud music, etc. during each band class for one day. We donated clothing to local veterns, food to a local food bank, toys to a local children's shelter and books to a local children's hospital. It was a win-win-win-win situation. Band earned money (100% profit minus cost of mailings), parents got to clean out unwanted things from their houses, local folks benefited from our efforts, no product to deliver
3. I mailed approximately 750 letters.
4. I received approximately 350 replies worth more than $6000 in donations. Pure profit minus cost of mailings
5. I sent thank you notes to all who sent a donation.
If interested, email me mdoll@rock-hill.k12.sc.us for more details. I didn't do it again this year for various reasons, but plan to do it again next year.
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Permalink Reply by Russ Weaver on
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Mike,
Great post! Was the $$ generated specifically from the donated $$ or did the agencies "buy" the items from your drives? Could you upload the letter that you used for others to download and "customize?" Sounds like something I might like to try for next year. Just need a few more details.
thanks,
Russ
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Permalink Reply by Mike Doll on
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I donated all the things that were brought into local charitable groups. As I said, it was a win-win situation all the way around. Sometime, when I am on the correct computer, I'll upload the forms that I used.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Doll on
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Here are the forms we used!
The first attachment is the letter I sent home to parents explaining what we were doing.
The second attachment is the form I sent home for the students to collect addresses of friends and family.
The third attachment is the volunteer info so that parents could help. - Attachments:
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