School parent groups like Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) need to fundraise to bring in money to do all the wonderful things for their school communities they do.
The best plan for school fundraising is to organize a fundraiser so successful that your PTO only needs to hold one or two per fundraisers each year.
One of the best ways to boost participation in your PTO’s fundraiser is to incentivize students to participate with good prizes.
Let’s get into what the best school fundraiser prizes are and why cheap plastic trinkets are doing your PTO more harm than good.
Why Trinkets Don’t Work Anymore
Back in the 1980s, those little collectible pom-pom critters with the sticky feet were the ultimate fundraising prize gold.
Kids would do just about anything to collect all twelve.
Would the same fundraising prize work today?
Probably not.
The truth is that if a child wants a sheet of stickers, a neon bouncy ball, or a cheap plastic gizmo, their parents can walk into the local dollar store or order a 50-pack on their phone for next day delivery.
Cheap tchotchkes simply do not hold the same novelty or value anymore because they’re easily accessible and everywhere.
Worse yet, annoying, noisy trinkets actively cause parents to roll their eyes.
Remember Who Does the Actual Fundraising Work
With the younger grade levels, the kids aren’t the ones doing the real fundraising work, the parents are.
For elementary and middle school fundraisers, parents are the ones hauling order forms into the office, texting the family group chat, or pulling out their own wallets to buy items out of pocket.
If the prize incentive is an annoying plastic toy that will end up stepped on or in the trash can by Tuesday, parents have zero motivation to help their kids reach that goal.
This means you’ll need to adjust your fundraiser prizes to be something that appeals to students and their parents too.
Because of the parent doesn’t want it around, they’re not going to put in the work they need to get the prize.
Not only do you need to choose a good fundraiser to start with, you need to choose solid incentives too.
The Power of the Unbuyable Experience as a Fundraiser Prize
If you want parents to happily bring order forms to work or church, you need to offer unique experiences that money can’t easily buy.
Case in point: My son’s upper elementary school offered a tiered prize poster for a catalog fundraiser featuring a variety of products.
Selling a few items got you a sticker sheet; selling a few more got you a paddleball.
Standard stuff.
But the top-tier prize?Â
A limousine ride to McDonald’s for lunch.
Now, this did nothing for me personally since I’m not a fast food fan.
But my then nine-year-old was so incredibly starstruck by the idea of riding in a real limo with his classmates that I found myself loading up order forms, taking them to church, and buying extra items as holiday gifts just to ensure he hit the target.
Other parents did too and the fundraiser exceeded the income goal.
Why This Specific Incentive Succeeded
- It was unbuyable: No parent is going to renting a private limousine for a casual Tuesday lunch. The exclusivity made it highly desirable.
- It built community: The kids were constantly talking about who was qualifying and how much fun they were going to have together.
- The threshold was attainable. The PTA lowered the qualification limit to just 12 items sold. Because the goal felt reachable, participation skyrocketed, jumping from less than 10 winners the previous year to over 70 kids earning the ride.
High-Impact, Non-Food Fundraising Incentives
Many modern schools are incredibly strict about nutrition and school-day food rewards.
If a fast-food limo ride won’t fly with your administration, you can achieve the exact same level of high-energy participation with non-food, experiential rewards.
When working with a your fundraising representative to choose incentives, look for low-overhead events that aren’t the normal experience.
The Exclusive Magic Show
Instead of tying an event to a high financial sales quota, try a low-friction entry barrier.
Host a high-quality evening magic show right in the school gymnasium.
The trick?Â
The only way a student can get a ticket for their family is by turning in a completed family-and-friends address booklet.
No one has to actually buy anything for the student to qualify; the fundraising company simply uses the addresses to send out digital look books.
When my PTA tried this, the response was so overwhelming that we completely ran out of chairs in the gym.
It was a standing room-only event.
Human Hamster Ball Night
Another massive hit for upper elementary and middle school crowds is a tiered reward night featuring giant, inflatable human hamster balls.
Students who reach a mid-level sales goal get to stay after school or come in on a weeknight to race around the perimeter of the gym inside the massive inflatables.
It costs the PTO very little, requires zero cleanup, and creates memories the kids talk about all year.
Pro Tip:
If you don’t have national vendors in your area providing these experiences, look local!
Check for college student performers, exotic animal caretakers (like a mini traveling petting zoo), or local gymnastics centers that lease out interactive equipment for a night.
Over to you!
Stop wasting your PTO fundraising budget on bulk plastic prizes that parents secretly want to throw away.
If you focus your fundraising strategy on high-energy, accessible, and memorable experiences, your participation numbers will speak for themselves and you’ll have a massively successful PTO fundraiser.
Focus on the experience, keep the fundraising targets reachable, and let your community have some fun!
Fundraising Resources You’ll Love
The Fundraising Success Kit is the go to resource for planning and executing wild successful fundraisers!
This bundle of resources has everything needed to get organized as Fundraising Chair, get in the right mindset to choose and run the right fundraiser for your group and volunteer manpower.
You’ll love the insider secrets and tricks to maximize profits and minimize your time investment.
This kit makes one of the most challenging PTO jobs simple and removes the overwhelm at the same time.
