I've been class president for 3 years (now senior class president) so I should be able to help. (Sorry this is going to be lengthy)
First there are some things you just have to accept...
What i can tell you is that no one is happy with your work no matter how hard you work. High Schoolers are ignorant and selfish and don't appreciate much, so you kind of have to live with that. Also, being an underclassman, any fundraiser is not likely to be as successful as doing it as a senior. Underclassmen have less school spirit and upperclassmen don't always want to associate with underclassmen.
High Schoolers are also stingy. They say they don't want to pay for things, but in reality they will. I usually remind them that it's usually their parents that pay for these things (at least that is how it is here).
The best fundraisers are the ones that cost very little to nothing to put on. That way you have no risks. When selling things preorders work best. In this case it doesn't take money to make money. Once you have a nice foundation of money things get easier.
Here are some successful events I've organized:
- Cheesecake & cookie dough fundraiser:
Basically like girl scout cookies only cheesecake & cookie dough. Hand out the order forms to students and they'll buy it. Offer a reward to the top sellers. We did this sophomore year and made about $900 off of it.
- Local Restaurants Dinner Fundraisers:
Many restaurants will give you a cut of everyone's bills if on a specific night if you get them to go. For example we've had a couple at Friendly's (I don't know if you have those where you are) and we get 15% of the total income that night which ended up being between $400 and $500 each time. Pick a good restaurant that kids like and is affordable. Encourage sports teams to have their team dinners at the restaurants. Also encourage staff and family to come. The Friendly's we use is close by, easily accessible, and next to an airport so loads of people go through anyways.
- Dodgeball, Ultimate Frisbee, Badminton, and Volleyball Tournaments:
These are excellent fundraising events. Hype it up (3 weeks before the event, any earlier people may lose interest), people will get excited. Make up a set of rules, have sign up sheets for teams, charge $5.00 per team member. Have a prize for the winners and best uniforms. Then charge $2 or $3 for spectator admission. Get some cool teachers to be the refs and make up a bracket. We also sold commemorative t-shirts. At our dodgeball tournament a couple months ago we brought in $2800 and there are less than 750 students in my school. It's a bit of work but its completely worth it, a lot of fun, and really brings the school together.
As for the brackets make all the freshman play the freshman, sophs play the sophs, and so on. Then have the champion freshman play the champion juniors. Then have the champion sophomores play the Seniors. In theory this will make for an exciting Junior versus Senior Team... unless it was like my event where the sophomore team beat the seniors (!).
-School Apparel:
This one is really easy and you make a lot of money. My school doesn't have a school store so this is very lucrative. Come up with a design for some school apparel- t-shirts, Class of 20XX shirts, sweatshirts, pants, etc. Talk to a local screen printer and get a quote. Make up and order form and get them distributed. In the past we've made anywhere from $600 to $2000 doing this.
-School Golf Umbrellas:
Parents love these. I think ours cost $15.00 or so and we sold them for $20.00. They were the school colors with mascott and school name. Think about all the parents who sit out in the rain to watch their kids lacrosse, football, soccer, field-hockey, baseball, etc games.
-Raffles:
These are a real good way to make money. Just make sure you follow proper procedure. Your school probably has rules about raffles and there are most likely state rules about them. We never do them because they are a pain because you have to get authorization from administration and the town with proper documents.
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Also remember that even if you make $200 with a fundraiser, that's good. Any little bit helps. The money from little fundraisers adds up quickly.
Be sure to advertise every way possible. Ay my school no one reads posters. If you have morning announcements of the intercom use that. Also if you have advisory/homeroom give out flyers for the teachers. Additionally if you can put up ads on the school website that is a great way to get the appeal of parents.
Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.
