Hey, just thought we’d let you know what we do for fundraising:
-See’s candy bar sales (although it sounds lame, our MESA club at school has about 30 people and we sold about $800 worth in about 2 weeks, and our robotics team is still selling). Also, we’ve found it’s easier to sell the kind that come in boxes, ready to sell (24 per box, $1 each, $.50 profit per bar), rather than the kind that people need to order.
-Raffles. We have made about $2000 in two raffles, selling tickets at school and outside of school, and at school sporting events. If you need prizes and don’t feel like buying them, ask around at local stores and see if people will donate items. Also, in order to excite more people about the raffle, we’ve found that drawing for little items throughout the course of the raffle (and announcing the winners to the school, i.e. over the intercom) helps to draw interest.
-Silent Auctions. We made a few hundred dollars in one silent auction which occured during the run of our school’s production of Rumors (people bid before the show, during intermission, and after the show). If you don’t know what a silent auction is, you get prizes for people to bid on and have sign up sheets that allow people to place bids on items (don’t forget to set a minimum bid) and, eventually, you close the biddding and the highest bidders pay what they bid.
-Refreshments at sporting events. Although we have not done this yet, many other teams at our school have done this. Basically, we volunteer (only people 18 or over, i.e. seniors and parents) to serve refreshments at local events (in our case, it’s at the San Jose Arena), and we get a share of the profits. This may be unique to our city, but I suggest that you check around to see if anything like this is available.
-Looking for sponsors. Yes, it’s true that the NASA grants have already been awarded (and we got one, luckily), but there are many other corporations out there looking to sponsor teams, so ask around. Also, local stores may also give you donations (e.g. food, supplies, etc.), so ask them too. But, also remember, if a business sponsors you, RECOGNIZE THEM. So, put their names on t-shirts, on banners, or on your web-site.
I think that’s all we do for fundraising, but it is getting us money. We know that the hope that no one will have to pay full price for nationals is an impossible one, but we are trying to cut down the cost for our members as much as possible, so everyone can go who wants to.