Beyond the backpack drives, car washes, and bake sales, there are a number of ways to support classrooms as kids head back to school this Fall. The following are a few of our favorite:
- Utilize one of the education focused giving platforms that already exist like Donor’s Choose or Adopt a Classroom. Spread the word via social media sites and encourage friends and family near or far to get involved.
- Ask a teacher for their greatest need and then search online for grants. Many companies offer education grants, from technology companies, to both large and local businesses such as Farmer’s Insurance’s Thank America’s Teachers program and Lowe’s Toolbox for Education
- Host an Up-All-Night School Sleepover and decide on a variety of different fundraising options. Perhaps it’s a pay for admission fundraiser where just the privilege of being at school after dark is enticing enough. Perhaps there is a babysitting component, which allows parents to have a date night while students play games or craft on campus. Or perhaps the classrooms compete to host different carnival style games during the sleepover. However you structure it, the allure of being up through the night offers a unique and exciting venue to fundraise for your classroom.
- Go out to eat at a predetermined restaurant that will offer a percentage of sales back to your school. California Pizza Kitchen and Chuck E Cheese are both incredibly family friendly and offer these types of community events, and you can check out a list of dozens of other restaurants you can approach here.
- Auction off Teacher for a Day Privileges. Auctioning privileges can be done in an egalitarian and non-chaotic way for your school. Consider distributing equal numbers of ‘dollars’ to each student, or giving privileges classroom by classroom, so that there’s a level playing field. Also, consider offering privileges that don’t affect the natural classroom hegemony, like going off campus for lunch, which maintains the teacher’s authority in the classroom.
If you’re trying to support a specific teacher or classroom, always check in with them directly to find out more about their needs and special requirements. For example, some districts require all funding to be channeled through them or through the school foundation or parent teacher association for example. Similarly, be sure that you focus on age appropriate fundraisers. For example, an overnight sleepover might be better for younger classrooms rather than high school aged students and would likely be an evening activity and not literally an all night sleepover.
Do you have a unique way to fundraise for your classroom? Let us know at @StarfishMarta!
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