When you do a fundraiser, does your principal have your back? Is she your biggest supporter—one of those zany types willing to perform a silly stunt if the students meet a fundraising goal?

Then we want to hear all about it!

If your school has a principal who goes that extra step, submit your story and your parent group could win $500! PTO Today, in conjunction with the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Suppliers, is running the Celebrate the Principal Difference Contest through August 2014. Just send us a short summary of what your principal has done to support fundraising. AFRDS will review the entries each month and select one winner for a $500 prize.

Check out these stories from the winners so far. They are sure to inspire you!

• The Whit David Elementary parent group in Athens, Ga., was the first winner of the Celebrate the Principal Difference contest in September 2013 for sharing a story about principal Derrick Maxwell’s willingness to support a coupon-book fundraiser. This principal agreed to ride a child’s tricycle while students tossed water balloons at him because they met their fundraising goal.


• Another prize went to Madison Elementary PTA in West Allis, Wis. Often sports tickets or vacation rentals are the big ticket items at school auctions. But at Madison, one of the top auction items was the right to dump buckets of water on principal Tom Holtgreive. A student was the highest bidder for this prized auction item and had a great time giving the principal a good soaking.


• In Amsterdam, N.Y., a PTO that supports three elementary schools won for its fun story about a trio of gung-ho principals. The principals agreed to do something silly if students met a fall fundraising goal. The result: Two principals were taped to a wall and one principal wore a helmet with a lovely Mohawk attached to it as she rode around her school on a kid-sized scooter.


• Our most recent winner: Gehlen Catholic School in LeMars, Iowa. It holds an annual chocolates fundraiser that generates more than $50,000 a year. The school credits principal Lorie Nussbaum for much of the program’s success. She’s the chief cheerleader to get kids motivated; she’s even willing to dress in a bird costume (the school’s mascot) to help bring attention to this fundraiser.