How about a spring concert?

 

And why can't you sell food? Dinner shows can be very popular and lucrative events.

I sold Krispy Kremes & made a large amount of money, but we also do hat or mp3 days at our school.  Our kids pay $1 to wear a hat all day.  The MP3 day is the same thing; $1 to use your MP3 player, but it must be approved by each teacher and used at appropriate times - lunch, during quiet work or reading time, etc.  I did it on a PBS Day (Positive Behavior Support Reward) where the kids were doing fun outside activities and it worked out pretty well.  I also made a good bit of money doing a dance with pizza and drinks.  (I also sold the leftover Krispy Kremes at the dance.)

Dear Shannon,

 

I'm not sure what your target goal is, but I do know that the Music in the Parks events can add up to a considerable amount per child. I was president of a parent-run choral boosters organization, in a magnet middle school located in an underserved suburban area, but with an out-of-consortium population from around the county. Fundraising was our main focus. Our most successful campaigns took some time and planning, or depended upon the structure of an organization in place. However, you don't have a lot of time. Here are a few ideas that we had success with, and that might work for you in the time allotted:

 

1. Paying gigs .... A local senior center paid us $200 for our Chamber Choir to perform at one of their events

2. Dine-Out fundraisers .... You're probably already familiar with these, a local restaurant agrees to give your organization a percentage of the profits for one night, and you promote business to the restaurant for that night by asking all families to come and invite others to the restaurant that night. You can also do this with businesses other than restaurants; one of our best was with Five Below.

3. Corporate sponsor ... Approach local businesses that might make a donation in exchange for thanks and mentions in all your communications (flyers, announcements, programs, web page)

4. Selling food -- is your concern that you don't want to sell "fundraiser food" like the usual pizzas, cookie dough, etc.? Or do you mean selling food of any kind? At our concerts, we always cleared at least $200 and often much more by selling concessions in the lobby. If your concern is selling homemade food products that might contain allergens, you can resell store bought foods. One of our favorites was selling pizza slices, and the beauty of that is that the pizza is delivered, and yields 3 times its cost.

5. When parents send in the payment for their child for the festival, include a line on the form for "extra donation" or "sponsor a child in need" and you may be surprised how many can kick in a little extra money, even in an urban area where many families are already stretched. It may only be a little, but it may add up to cover the cost of one child or more.

 

Other fundraising ideas take a little more time. One of our most successful was sales of a CD. That takes investment and a long time to plan, obtain rights and permissions, and studio production for a high quality CD.

 

Also, applying for grants can provide significant funds, but requires considerable hours of work and someone knowledgable (or willing to dig pretty deep and learn).

 

Another successful idea that took no time or investment (but an organization in place) was what we called the "Five-Minute Fundraiser" in which we created an email that families could forward to family and friends asking for small donations into a PayPal account. In order to do that, however, you need to form an organization with a bank account, establish a PayPal account, etc. I'm not sure you could do it legally without the structure of a boosters organization, but you could consult your school administration. You also have to be careful about soliciting out of state, conforming to your own state laws about soliciting funds, and accounting for the funds raised.

 

There are many other ways to raise funds that take some planning. I think the key for you is to call the parents together for a meeting, tell them what you need, and use them as your first resource. They know your community best, they know local businesses, and they know what your families can do. It's amazing how people will respond simply because they were asked.

 

Hoping some others here can give you ideas of quick and easy approaches that will work for you in the time you have. Best wishes for successful fundraising, and an enriching experience at Music in the Parks!

 

Mary Twillman

Past-President, Lions Choral Boosters

A. Mario Loiederman Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts

Silver Spring, MD

 

 

Hi Shannon,

 

maybe that helps: http://www.interkultur.com/leftnavi/fundraising/fundraising-tips-for-choirs/ ?

 

Good luck for you!

Here are a couple of ideas from my blog:

 

 

 

 

There are other ideas you can adopt on the blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I once helped raise a fair amount of money for a MS by having a Silent auction. Parents solicit items or gift certificates from local merchants who donate them to your organization. On the night or afternoon of the auction, you serve dessert (also donated) and coffee while winners are announced. You could even have the choir sing a few songs to entertain the group.