From Kimberly L. Keith,
Your Guide to Parenting of K-6 Children.
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Parents who are looking for new ideas to raise money for their child's school will want to look at the latest trends in school fundraising that are generating major revenues for schools and non-profit groups. Fundraising purchase programs such as Scrip offer lots of benefits for parent fundraisers. In addition to the potential for excellent revenue, purchase programs let donors contribute to their school while doing their everyday shopping. Your school simply gets a percentage of the sale on items that parents would be buying anyway. Another benefit is that well-managed programs generate steady revenue throughout the year.

What is Scrip?

Scrip is a term that refers to paper that substitutes for money. Scrip has been used for various purposes through history, but its latest incarnation is as a fundraising tool used by schools and non-profits. School supporters purchase scrip at face value from the fundraiser, who purchased them at a discount. The fundraiser makes a profit, and the supporter uses the scrip to make their regular purchases. PTO Today provides an excellent overview of the pros and cons of Scrip fundraising, plus tips for coordinators.

The newest twist to the Scrip concept for fundraising takes place on the Web. These programs send rebates for online shopping back to your school. They are a giant step forward in ease of use for donors and school coordinators. All you do is sign up your school to participate. The key is to publicize heavily to get good participation from tech-savvy parents. Now that online shopping is a mainstream obsession, it should be easy to get the numbers you need.

Take a look at the major school fundraising programs using the percentage-of-purchase approach, then get your school involved to begin seeing results. Use these steps to plunge right into a great new fundraiser this school year.

1. Make contact with the fundraising programs that interest you to get the details for your school.
2. Meet with your parent group this summer and present the fundraising plan to your group. Come to the meeting prepared with all the details, and ask for a motion to proceed.
3. Make the necessary school contacts to explain the program and make arrangements to promote it at school.
4. Obtain promotional materials and management documents from the fundraising program to start in the fall.
5. Set up an information table at your school's Meet the Teacher day this year. Gather email and snail mail addresses to send information to donors throughout the year.
6. If you are using a Scrip program, have Scrip cards available for purchase at your information table, and at school gatherings throughout the year. Scrip can also be purchased online in some programs.

Next - Percent-of-Purchase Fundraising Programs for Schools