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Original poster

How to raise money in school in an inclusive way

37 replies

PickAPark · 01/09/2023 23:55

DCs (and friends) want to improve a neglected area of their primary school site - probably make it a flower and veg garden or similar. School says yes but they need to raise the money themselves.

All their ideas (making and selling things, sponsored events etc) just don't hit the mark. Lots of families at the school will be struggling and won't want the pressure of giving extra ££ to their children.

Has anyone found ways for kids to raise money which doesn't exclude some kids / families?!

They would be thrilled if they could make a few hundred £.

OP posts:
nancy75 · 01/09/2023 23:59

Maybe approach local business to sponsor a whole class/ whole school fund raising activity? Tell them you’ll be promoting it (and the business) heavily on local Facebook groups/ with the local newspaper

nancy75 · 02/09/2023 00:02

Estate agents local to us will pay if x amount of houses have a board outside for a couple of weeks (obviously that’s not the kids raising money)
kids could offer car washing /front garden sweeping in local area ( depends age of kids & how much parents are willing to supervise)
Ask a local supermarket if kids can pack bags at tills with a collection bucket

WhateverMate · 02/09/2023 00:03

Can't see the kids being able to raise it tbh.

Many moons ago I used to help out on the school fundraising committee and we found that raffles (with prizes donated by local businesses), school fetes and £1 for non uniform days were the biggest money raisers.

The non uniform days were definitely the quickest and easiest way but I think you'd need to make the school promise they wouldn't make an example of kids who couldn't afford to bring in £1, and just let them wear their own clothes anyway., You'll still raise loads.

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EllaMenopee · 02/09/2023 00:07

We did a Halloween costume sale a few years ago - children donate their outgrown/unwanted costumes in mid October and other kids can buy them for £1/2 for their own Halloween costume. Handy for recycling too.

Elfer13 · 02/09/2023 00:14

Ask you local MP to lobby the government for extra funding, but as that is probably a waste of time are there any local allotment societies nearby?
Many "experienced" or, let's be honest, older gardeners like my DH would welcome the opportunity of passing.on their knowledge and interacting with the younger generations. That's what he said anyway.
It sounds a great idea so good luck.

Lyricallie · 02/09/2023 00:17

Also if there are any big organisations nearby. Thinking like the big banks etc. They quite often look for corporate volunteering. So they may be willing to pay for the supplies to offer the volunteering to their staff.

CyberCritical · 02/09/2023 00:20

Could they approach it differently and have a list of stuff they need to improve the garden area and ask for that instead?

If I went out to my shed I'd be able to find a couple of packs of seeds and some plant pots I don't need anymore, maybe half a tin of fence paint etc.

They might be able to get everything they need without having to deal with any cash.

If they had it as a wishlist then people could claim the things they can provide so they don't end up with just a random collection of duplicates.

Example of website that does a free online wishlist - www.thingstogetme.com/how-it-works

CyberCritical · 02/09/2023 00:20

Oh and local garden centres might be willing to donate end of season stock at this time of year too.

UsingChangeofName · 02/09/2023 00:55

Lyricallie · 02/09/2023 00:17

Also if there are any big organisations nearby. Thinking like the big banks etc. They quite often look for corporate volunteering. So they may be willing to pay for the supplies to offer the volunteering to their staff.

This is what I was going to suggest.

It is quite "fashionable" amongst the business community to be able to say they have "community projects" or "community action" and will send out all their staff to clear the area one day.
Then a plea on local Facebook should have lots of local gardeners delivering spare seeds / seedlings / expertise, and maybe even some tools, and you could probably get a local store to donate some compost.

You might still need some funds to buy a few more tools, but you'd be a long way forward from just the original idea.

sleepwouldbenice · 02/09/2023 01:18

What about selling their time. Dog walking, babysitting, cleaning, car washing etc

toomuchlaundry · 02/09/2023 01:31

Have you got a local men in sheds? Sometimes groups like the Lions will donate for projects like this or actually help with the work

Assssssssssss · 02/09/2023 01:33

Car boot sale

HirplesWithHaggis · 02/09/2023 01:37

Lots of brilliant ideas here, but also companies like B&Q sell off their end of season seeds very cheaply, and if not sold chuck them. Pretty sure you could get the "about to be chucked" free, though you probably won't have 100% germination.

WeetabixTowels · 02/09/2023 03:35

Does the PTA have funds they could use?

Failing that - sponsorship from a local business with naming rights

Rainbowqueeen · 02/09/2023 03:39

Not in the uk but my school is a polling place for elections and we always run a cake stall and bbq on election day. You can either donate cakes for sale or time working the stalls and it means that the local community buy stuff rather than just school families. Some families are unable to donate but that’s fine.

ittakes2 · 02/09/2023 03:59

We did a guess the baby photo of the teachers competition - teachers gave in baby photos, the children if they wanted to paid 50p to guess which baby photo was which teacher.
We also used to do cakesless cake stalls - donate the money you would have spent baking a cake.

Patchworksack · 02/09/2023 04:08

Does your local supermarket support projects? Our Tesco and Coop do - shoppers vote with a token which project to support and they divvy up cash after a term or so. Men in sheds/rotary club might be able to donate or time/skills or money. Any local wildlife charities/city farm - might be happy to donate plants, bird boxes, hedgehog house.

gerispringer · 02/09/2023 04:17

B and Q, Homebase, Wickes and the like all have some community funds . In our area a group has renovated some neglected areas- all these stores donated something - compost, plants etc. You could set up a JustGiving page with a target and / or appeal for donations of tools, plants etc.

DibbleDooDah · 02/09/2023 05:21

A line of pennies. Each class has a collection pot in their room. They bring in spare pennies as and when they get them. At the end of the term lay masking tape lines around the playground, each class teacher opens the collection pot and splits the contents equally between the children in the class. They stick their pennies to the masking tape and the whole school gets to see how “far” they have saved.

The masking tape makes it easier to pick up the pennies off the floor.

Last time we did it we got over £100 - school of just over 250 children. Everyone can contribute in that it’s easy to donate just 1p if that’s all you have.

SharonEllis · 02/09/2023 05:57

DibbleDooDah · 02/09/2023 05:21

A line of pennies. Each class has a collection pot in their room. They bring in spare pennies as and when they get them. At the end of the term lay masking tape lines around the playground, each class teacher opens the collection pot and splits the contents equally between the children in the class. They stick their pennies to the masking tape and the whole school gets to see how “far” they have saved.

The masking tape makes it easier to pick up the pennies off the floor.

Last time we did it we got over £100 - school of just over 250 children. Everyone can contribute in that it’s easy to donate just 1p if that’s all you have.

Great idea, love this!

sashh · 02/09/2023 06:03

My first proper job was at an electrical wholesalers, we often donated things to raffle.

Ask for donations from relevant businesses, maybe a garden centre.

I love the idea of the haloween costume sale.

Places like the rotary club often have funds.

Does the school have a choir? Could they put on a show? Invite people who are not parents but live locally, lots of older people are quite lonely and would love to pay £1 to see a children's concert.

Second hand uniform sale? People donate used uniform, the children can organise the sale.

Depending on the age of the children packing bags in a supermarket on Saturday.

How diverse is the area? I had a group of ESOL students and we made a recipe book of traditional food and sold it, this was in a college though. I supose it doesn't matter if it is a diverse school you could do something like, "my favorite food" then ask if local shops could sell it.

Obviously get the local paper and radio stations involved.

HugoDarracott · 02/09/2023 06:38

Some business will do matched funding. For example HSBC did and may still do. So if you have someone who works for a business like that get them involved and they will contribute what ever you raise again.

Also lots of businesses are expecting employees to volunteer. My DH is expected to volunteer during work time a few days a year.

If you can create a Facebook page about the project with a very clear list of what needs to happen. A big project can be overwhelming but if there's a list people might be keener to volunteer for specific bits. Share this with parents.

I would also create a just giving page too and get people to share it. Local parents might be feeling the pinch but there maybe a few kids with generous well off relatives. Moving our pta fundraising requests online doubled the amount we raised.

pinkiepies · 02/09/2023 06:44

Many years ago we used Bag2School bag2school.com - could the children organise a collection?

Looksonthebrightside · 02/09/2023 06:53

Get people to donate unwanted stuff for sale on eBay - we did this recently and raised loads. It’s surprising how much you can raise! You may have to specify exactly what you do and don’t want otherwise you end up with loads of tat that you can’t sell. We sold a lot of playmobil and other toys and did very well. It’s a good way of people feeling like they’ve contributed without having to give money

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