| Experience can be your guidepost when gathering | | | | an auction to benefit your event. Seeking the |
| school fundraiser ideas. Schools, churches and other | | | | benevolence of a record store might yield you some |
| local groups are able to provide their unique | | | | music downloads. If a supermarket is willing to donate |
| perspective on the best way to go about planning | | | | food, ask for cake mixes, muffin mixes and anything |
| your event. Relying on experience can help you avoid | | | | else you can make to provide a little more value than |
| some of the pitfalls you might not see. | | | | just a box of store bought cookies. |
| With this in mind, we move on to our first idea: raid | | | | The last of our easy school fundraiser ideas is: go |
| the dollar store. | | | | online. |
| Bring a creative friend to the dollar store with you, | | | | Most retail websites will partner with you to help you |
| get some makeup and you have the makings of a | | | | choose items to add to a web page, allowing you to |
| clown. Find a package of balloons and imagine them | | | | run your event virtually and eliminating a lot of stress. |
| nailed to a board with enthusiastic kids throwing darts | | | | Promotion through fliers and via email can generate a |
| for points (and profit for your event). An entire mini | | | | lot of excitement and encourage people to buy in |
| carnival could be planned with a few trips to the local | | | | the name of your cause. |
| dollar store, if you have the imagination to see the | | | | To make this even easier, some sites will do the |
| potential. | | | | legwork for you and allow you to partner with them. |
| Now we move on to our second idea: take | | | | In turn, they deal with the websites themselves, |
| donations. | | | | leaving you only to conduct business via email with |
| Businesses, both local and chain, will often be willing | | | | one entity instead of many. With so much to do |
| to donate an item or items to your event. A few gift | | | | these days, it's certainly a nice option to have. Unless |
| certificates to a chain restaurant or from a movie | | | | they have a lot of time they don't know what to do |
| theater will grab the interest of lots of people. These | | | | with, an online partnership is the direction many |
| can be used for a raffle, or as a door prize of your | | | | people choose to go. |
| choosing. Larger, more tangible items may be used in | | | | |