Need summer fundraising ideas for parish school

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twk001

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just looking for some good ideas to help do some fundraising for our kids’ parish school that they attend.

we do a few during the school year, but never do any fundraising in summer. i’m trying to come up with a fairly easy and profitable idea that wouldn’t be too complicated. parents don’t necessarily want to drive to the school to DO an event, so either something from home or something that involves traveling one time and the event is done.

so far i was thinking of a ‘bowl-a-thon’ as one family at school owns a small bowling alley, or candy sales, or sub sandwich sales. any ideas??? i want something really SPECTACULAR and fun that the entire parish could get in on. generally dinners of some sort go over really well. any thoughts for a summer-time, after mass type dinner??
 
Wow a summer dinner sounds like a fabulous idea… especially after an evening Mass! 👍
I should bring that one up with my parish too!
 
twk001 said:
just looking for some good ideas to help do some fundraising for our kids’ parish school that they attend.

we do a few during the school year, but never do any fundraising in summer. i’m trying to come up with a fairly easy and profitable idea that wouldn’t be too complicated. parents don’t necessarily want to drive to the school to DO an event, so either something from home or something that involves traveling one time and the event is done.

so far i was thinking of a ‘bowl-a-thon’ as one family at school owns a small bowling alley, or candy sales, or sub sandwich sales. any ideas??? i want something really SPECTACULAR and fun that the entire parish could get in on. generally dinners of some sort go over really well. any thoughts for a summer-time, after mass type dinner??
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You are in the midwest: Brats

Brats and burgers after Mass are always a great fundraiser around here.
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
Two words- Parish Bingo:thumbsup:
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Which requires a gambling license and a whole ton of paperwork. If the OP goes in this direction, she will need to contact her diocese for the rules and regulations related to bingo.
 
while bingo would probably be a good idea, the Episcopalian church over across ‘town’ does bingo regularly. everybody goes there…

ooh- i LOVE the brats idea…and i happen to live in a mid-west state that has a VERY popular island that is a big travel destination, famous for a type of candy. was also thinking about doing a fundraiser of candy sales from there…good ideas. keep 'em coming!
 
We have fund raisers by partnering with Rita’s Water Ice and Friendly’s restaurants. I’m sure other businesses do this as well. You get a fundraiser date, advertise, and all people have to do is show up at the restaurant and eat. The business donates a percentage of their evenings profits to your school. Super easy!
 
TheRealJuliane said:
:eek: Run, children, you’re in danger!!!

LOL
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:rotfl:

Sorry, for those who do not live in the Midwest, I am referring to the sausage known as Bratwurst.

Totally foreign to me until I moved (from Texas) to the Midwest.

In TX it would be BBQ, hot dogs, hamburgers, no brats.
 
1ke said:
:rotfl:

Sorry, for those who do not live in the Midwest, I am referring to the sausage known as Bratwurst.

Totally foreign to me until I moved (from Texas) to the Midwest.

In TX it would be BBQ, hot dogs, hamburgers, no brats.
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There ARE no brats in Texas! We train our children to say, “Yes, Ma’am,” “No, Ma’am,” Yes, Sir, and “No, Sir!”

:yup::thankyou:
 
1ke said:
Which requires a gambling license and a whole ton of paperwork. If the OP goes in this direction, she will need to contact her diocese for the rules and regulations related to bingo.
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This never comes up as an objection whenever churches hold St. Pat’s festivities involving liquor, thus requiring a liquor licence. 🤷

BTW: It’s not that difficult to get a liquor and gaming licence. It’s a matter of going down to City Hall and applying for one.
 
I know our parish already has a small games of chance license that covers all parish activities. Whenever we do bingo for school or any other organization that is associated with the parish we are covered under the license. This may not be the situation in every state but it is worth checking on. You can find out all activities that are covered, also. Maybe you’ll get some ideas!

Anyway I think a summer fundraiser is a great idea because other organizations are usually not doing any.
 
HouseArrest said:
I know our parish already has a small games of chance license that covers all parish activities. Whenever we do bingo for school or any other organization that is associated with the parish we are covered under the license. This may not be the situation in every state but it is worth checking on. You can find out all activities that are covered, also. Maybe you’ll get some ideas!

Anyway I think a summer fundraiser is a great idea because other organizations are usually not doing any.
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Well not to be the skunk at the picnic…But a lot of people are vacationing during the summer, and maybe being thankful to have a break from the constant onslaught of fundraising during the school year…If I were the OP I would be loathe to break into that category, of having my hand out during summer too.
 
Can you organize a marathon and open it up to runners outside of the parish as well?
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Well not to be the skunk at the picnic…But a lot of people are vacationing during the summer, and maybe being thankful to have a break from the constant onslaught of fundraising during the school year…If I were the OP I would be loathe to break into that category, of having my hand out during summer too.
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I think it depends. The whole knock on the door, sell a hoagie fundraiser is hard to turn down and therefore frustrating and intrusive. Setting the order form out on the factory floor - not so much. I think every town has their own “favorite hoagie” supplier and welcomes an opportunity to order once in awhile. At least that is how it is here. Events are also good ideas because if you’re tired of fundraisers, you can just opt not to go. We have a few fundraisers that we have done annually and people actually ask about them, wanting tickets.
 
MomaMary8 said:
Can you organize a marathon and open it up to runners outside of the parish as well?
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5k run/walks and golf scrambles are extremely popular in my area for summer fundraisers. Plus anytime there is a community event with food booths, the parish school will also set up a food booth.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Well not to be the skunk at the picnic…But a lot of people are vacationing during the summer, and maybe being thankful to have a break from the constant onslaught of fundraising during the school year…If I were the OP I would be loathe to break into that category, of having my hand out during summer too.
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A parish near us used to have a bake sale in what turned out to be a bit of a bad time to bake. The Altar Society now has an annual “No Bake” sale at that time. They send out fliers to everybody they would usually have hit up for baked goods, and ask for a donation in exchange for the privelege of finally having a fundraiser in which no one has to set up, tear down, or bake anything! Yes, they make money!! 😃

For a school, you might have the best results if you have a “No Bake Sale” fundraiser for a specific goal the school would like to have funded and in place by the time school starts. You could also schedule a bake sale for September, and promise not to hold it if sufficient money is raised…the “Let’s Please Not Have Another Bake Sale” fundraiser.

Another idea at that parish is the annual “Christmas in August” fundraiser. Every summer, the parishioners go on vacation and the weekly contributions go down. The pastor sends out a letter asking for those who can to donate to make up the difference of the donations they aren’t giving because they’re attending Mass other places or just to help make up the shortfall. It also gets a pretty good response, too.
 
Another thing to do over the summer is simply to look into a year-around scrip program for the school. Scrip are gift cards the school sells for businesses from grocery stories to department stores to restaurants to sporting goods stores. The buyer gets a gift card worth face value and the school gets a cut of 3-8%, depending on the vendor. There are many ways to do it, so researching that could definitely keep a few organizers out of trouble over the summer. Once in place, these can make loads of money for the school. (Think of the school getting even 3% of your family’s annual grocery and restaurant bill! That’s a lot!)
 
thanks to all for the suggestions. they were really good! we’ve decided to do a brat/dog roast after both masses with beans and macaronni salad. should go over well. our tiny little town only has a couple restaurants and ALL the parishioners like to do something different after mass! hopefully it will go over well, no ticket sales or other pre-sales necessary, and the entire parish is involved. the only involvement from other parents will be i’ll need two or three to help prep stuff and refill. using throw away plates and the boy scout troop at school is responsible for clean up. should be pretty easy!
 
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