I have current Home INteriors fundraising info! Schools and organizations earn 50% of the sales, if you are interested in the information, I can email it to you. Our school did very good this year.

Personally I have found that the Tyson and Campbells programs, well... aren't worth the time or effort. We have a member at our school who takes pride in being the Campbells and Tysons labels lady, and I respect that. I keep the program only because she is so into doing it. But I have looked at the catalog of what you can get for the quantity of labels that you have to submit, and unfortunetely it is really awful. We're talking things like sidewalk chalk for 650 labels, a box of crayons for 900 labels, a guitar for 9250 labels, a microscope for 14,200 labels, etc. If you compare this to what I would call a very good program, such as BoxTop$ (which gives you 10 cents for each label) it doesn't compare.

A good box of crayons, which is 900 campbells labels, costs about what, $10? That same number, 900, in BoxTop$, equates to $90.

I also think of it this way... We as PTO's are always asking the parents of our students to support us through various ways. Please buy from this catalog, please clip BoxTop$, etc. Some grouos charge dues. Most groups hold events, that may just be breakeven, but the parents don't always see that. They just see that the PTO is charging $5 at the door for the harvest event, is asking for food donations for the holidays, is asking for donations for the basket raffles, is asking for BoxTop$, is asking for the kids to come in with money for the holiday shoppe, etc. And even though most of these things are not meant as actual fundraisers, the parents may not realize this. They may start to wrongly believe that your group is all about money.

So, the point, is that I recommend trying to limit your fundraisers. Pick the ones that make sense, are things that the parents will want to give to, and promote all of the good ways that your group is spending these funds.

Personally I would recommend one big fundraiser, such as the candle or catalog fundraisers, and just the BoxTop$, and maybe the inkjet on-going fundraisers, that goes home to the parents. Other types of fundraisers that target others, such as golf tournaments, poker tournaments, vendor markets, etc., are good as well.

Good luck,
PresidentJim

really easy programs... BoxTops, TYson Labels, Campbell soup labels, cartridges for kids (ink recyclers) we also did a holiday dessert sale (Not your ordinary bake sale) we asked for donations of baked goods (whole pies, cakes, dozen cookies, muffins, breads, etc...) not only did the parents bake and donate, but we also had donations from local bakeries and grocery stores. With no expense to the PTO we were able to claim all profit on this event and we made $1000.00 in 2 days. something to think about Good Luck!

With 750 students your organization is the perfect size for a fundraising program. Contact some local fundraising companies in your area - try Cristoline, Niagra Chocolates, and Kastle Kreations. These are three great companies that have good products.

Make sure you have the reps bring in samples of their products and test the quality. Fundraising is a challenge to offer a product that has a good price/value relationship (to get people to buy) and enough "markup" to give a high percentage back to the school.

Candles, Pizza, and Cookie Dough are the top selling items in fundraising. An organization of your size should be able to get free brochures, free shipping, free student packed orders and by signing a multiple year agreement - possibly some additional funds.

Stay away from "mom" in the organization that is involved with a direct selling business. Too many issues!!

We just did a candle fundraising event with heartlandcandles.com. They shipped orders via UPS directly to the home of the seller and gave us 45% of the proceeds. You may want to check them out for a Spring candle fundraising event.

We just did a fundraiser through Mabel’s Labels: Personalized dishwasher safe kids labels Stickers Iron on Shoe Bag tag Camp Clothing Skinny-minis Stickies Allergy Tag-mates Fundraising School Daycare Pre-school and it was great. You don't need any funds to start and it was really easy. All you have to do is fill out the form and they'll send the info out to you and some samples as well. HTH. CJ

Does your school have an art program?
A company, A+ Memories has a fundraiser that takes artwork and photographs and puts them on useful items for gifts and mementos.
Their website address is A+ Memories - Unique Keepsakes and Photo Gifts for Fundraising if you would like to contact them.
Good luck to you!