As events management gigs go, don't give up your day job. Although it's highly unlikely anyone who organises a scarf thing workshop for women on a Friday night has a stunning career, let's face it.
I can't believe that some posters are being so rude to the OP. She is putting time and effort into helping the pre-school, which in turn is helping all the families which use it, yet some posters here think she is fair game for rudeness and insults. The one above is the worst so far but there have been some others which are quite objectionable too. It would be interesting to know how many of you rude people ever volunteer to do anything.
OP, I help fundraise for our school. It is a pretty thankless task, to be honest, because lots of people are happy to carp from the sidelines but very few are willing to put in any time or effort. I keep doing it, however, because I know the children appreciate what we organise and the things the proceeds from our fundraising are able to buy.
I think the "research in advance" suggestion is good but sometimes you only find out if something is going to work if you try it. Your scarf evening might have worked if you had targeted it at grannies of the pre-schoolers and their friends.
In my experience, the things that work best are those which involve minimal outlay and which involve the children in doing something, maybe with their parents and siblings which only costs a small amount to take part in. Discos for pupils, Christmas fetes, book swaps, bake sales all work quite well for us but we have to balance getting money in with not asking for money too often. Finding a parent who can identify possible sponsorship from local businesses or prepare grant applications can be very fruitful for larger amounts.
I love (not) the suggestions of just asking parents to write a cheque for £x00 - oh to live in such rarified circumstances. Unfortunately, where I live - and in many other communities around the country - one in five children is living below the poverty line and finding this kind of money is just not feasible for many families.
Of course, the real question is why we have to scrabble around at all trying to fundraise to pay for things which are not really extras, and the answer is that public services have been cut back to the bone although there still seems to be money for expensive flights for the heir to the throne, massive renovations to Buckingham Palace, and major investment benefiting the south-east primarily, etc, etc, etc ...