Recently I had the pleasure (or displeasure?) of being the chair on our schools PTA. Normally this is glory for nothing however there was the small matter of actually doing something the marred the golden title!
The summer fair loomed and with little time we had to pull it out the bag! Amazingly the fair was the best ever on record, raising nearly £4000 in 4 hours! I know! So, I thought I would share some secrets of our success(or luck, take it as you will!)
- Be prepared to work very ,very hard for a short time, this is important to get the' mind set' right
- Advertise in all the free press and on line.We used the councils events listings, shops, community centres etc, you name it, I contacted them.
3.Also we advertised for external, non school stalls. We looked for a variety of low cost, interesting stalls including some charity stalls. This last bit gives you kudos!
4.We examined previous stalls and which drew big money, for us it was food. So we included a bigger variety of food stalls but kept all the prices low.
5.We ran a raffle, nothing new there, but I solicited everyone for free prizes! Anyone you can think of local football clubs, restaurants etc. But, even more useful were the parents, many of whom had hidden talents! We had cakes donated, Oh my... donated a fab baskets full of yummy goodies, Anything you can think off. Use the talent base that exists, for free, in the school! Parents are always happy to show off their talents...
6.Have a good mix of food/stalls and games. Keep some low price food/games and also some more pricier activity's.This way you ensure that there is something for everyone!
- Bouncy castles? well we always have variety. This is really a great way to generate money. After the initial outlay, it just prints money needing little supervision, usually one adult.
8.Keep everyone happy! Make sure everyone has what they need i.e floats, refreshments, time off to enjoy the fair with their kids. Happy stallholders mean success.
9.Keep checking EVERYTHING! every week check all details over and over again.
10.Arrange for the sun to shine all day long, ( ok, this one is a little difficult!)
There will always be someone who will try to rain on your parade...but keep calm and turn all negatives into a positive. Remember, this is for the school...