I'm lucky in several senses that set us up for an easy, profitable fund-raiser. My school has a very busy activities program, so there are lots of kids on-campus after school most days for most of the school year. Also, we're a magnet school drawing students from all over the county, so a lot of these kids are stuck here until activity buses can take them home at 6 p.m. They get out of school at 2:55, but they won't be getting dinner for a while.
So we have an arrangement with a local pizza place where they deliver ten pizzas - five cheese and five pepperoni - daily Monday through Thursday. They arrive shortly before school gets out for the day. Troupe members take turns getting out of their last classes a little early (with those teachers' permission, of course) to set up in two high-traffic areas. When the last bell rings, we sell the pizza for $1 a slice. Our break-even point is only about $50 or $60, and we usually sell out, or come close. It's a rare day when we don't turn a profit. The pizza place bills us once a month, which makes things very convenient. The kids - including two troupe officers designated for the purpose - do most of the work of running this for us.
It's one of the easiest fund-raisers we've ever done, and it has become the backbone of our financing.
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Jeff Grove
Theatre Teacher
Stanton College Preparatory School
Jacksonville, FL