Open Forum

 View Only
Back to discussions
Expand all | Collapse all

Fundraiser Ideas

  • 1.  Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-16-2015 18:30
    This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Student to Student and Open Forum .
    -------------------------------------------

    Hello!

    I am part of an 11 member school student theater board. We are working very hard to come up with some fun, new, and exciting fundraisers to help raise money for our troupe. Our troupe is currently selling chocolate bars, which has been a huge hit, and we also have a few ice cream/dinner night fundraisers at some local establishments coming up too. 

    I was just wondering if there were any troupes out there with some favorite/successful fundraiser ideas. We would love to kick off this spring with some rockin new ways to bring in more funds for our thespians!

     Thank you so much!

    ------------------------------
    Jill Goodman
    Student/Thespian
    Class of 2016
    Troupe 830
    Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania

    ---------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-17-2015 07:19
    If you are near a larger city. Host a food truck gathering. Ask the trucks to donate a portion of their proceeds... Invite everyone you know... Set up a small stage and invite a few local musicians to play and put tip Thespian tip jars everywhere. Good revenue... Not a lot of work... Besides the major clean up afterwards ------------------------------ Corey Mitchell Charlotte NC ------------------------------
    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-18-2015 21:33
    Corey - I'm so glad to hear that this worked!  I'm doing my 6th grade show in a public park space and I won't be selling tickets (no way to really control the crowd to come in just one way).  I literally just called a food truck the other day to see if they would do this!  I was going out on a limb, but it sounds like it worked for you!

    ------------------------------
    Jennifer Simmons
    Lexington SC
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-17-2015 08:22
    Two major fundraisers we do which are theatre centered as opposed to just selling stuff is a very popular haunted house in October which we create and stage in our auditorium.  Students come up with the room ideas, build and man the house for the weekend around Halloween.  Another thing we do are Drama Days which are essentially one day theatre camps run by the theatre students.  They come up with the curriculum which teaches elementary and middle school kids about theatre--both the performance and backstage sides--we hold one for lower elementary, one for higher elementary, and one for middle school.  We also have a comedy improv troupe which performs four times a year in our commons and has developed a large following.  If you'd like more information on any of these, feel free to contact me or check out our webpage-- www.appletonnorththeatre.com   Good Luck

    ------------------------------
    Ron Parker
    Appleton WI
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-17-2015 08:32

    We recently began sending characters out to parties.  We have princesses and super heros and have had a blast.  I have a parent who coordinates the visits as we have at least two per month, sometimes more.  We are in a smaller community so we charge between $30 - $100 depending on the length and number of characters.  It has been a great fund raiser and also uses my student's improv skills!

     If this is something that interests you, I'd be happy to give you more details!

     We also run a giftwrap booth at the mall during Christmas - crazy hours, but pretty good money.

    We have also sold School Spirit Coffee - you can find them online.  They create your packaging to match your school colors or whatever you want.  Reasonable prices and great products.

    Have a great day!

    CG

    ------------------------------
    Carolyn Cork Greer
    Owensboro KY
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-17-2015 09:27
      |   view attached

    Hi Jill,

    This is a little different fundraising idea, but we are performing arts workshop intensive who profit shares and offer commissions for every new student school, groups or people help raise. We have an intensive in Newtown, PA which is approximately an hour from Fairless Hills, PA. Our host school is an international boarding school, which offers housing and full meal plan.

    We pay $25 for every student a group helps register to any of our 5 summer intensives. That money could go back into supporting your wonderful program, while offering your students an exceptional arts education.

    We also offer profit sharing on our weekend workshops. We are currently partnered with the Susan G Komen foundation and through our summer intensives and weekend workshops, we have helped them raise thousands of dollars.

     You can view our program at www.BroadwayBreakThru.com.

    Once you begin working with us, between our casting office and our intensive workshops, I'm sure we can help your group in many creative and successful fundraising endeavors.

    Please do not hesitate to contact us at workshops@broadwaybreakthru.com or 917-686-6367 with any questions or for additional information.

    ------------------------------
    Steven Brandt
    Program Director
    Broadway Break Thru
    New York NY
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-18-2015 15:37

    We did a new fundraiser this year that was a big hit: A Faculty One-Act. The teachers auditioned and my President and other officers did the casting and directing. We raised a significant amount of money with the tickets sales and concessions.

    ------------------------------
    Kristi Jacobs-Stanley
    New Orleans LA
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-19-2015 01:02

    First off I have to say that I am going to steal your idea Kristi.That's great!

    Do you teach improv? We have a "competitive" improv troupe and we make quite a bit every show. In our case the money goes into a different account since it is a different theatre club, but it has performed and given the proceeds to other groups on campus. The shows are about 90 minutes long and tickets are only $3 at the door. We've made anywhere from $200-$450 every show. If available, I'd see if any of your local improv troupes have a student league your school can join.

    ------------------------------
    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-24-2015 21:26
    Did you produce an original script or pay royalties for a published piece?

    ------------------------------
    Jerry Seeger
    Director Of Drama
    Plantation FL
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-25-2015 11:07

    Steal away! :)

    We did a published one-act whose rights were only $45 a performance, and did only one performance at $10 a ticket. We did the show "So You Wanna Be A Cheerleader" https://www.playscripts.com/play/2713. It was perfect because the format of the script allowed rehearsals to happen as teachers were available. Only the 4 lead characters had to be at every rehearsal because all the other characters are only in one scene. It also had a lot of parts, so we could get many teachers involved. It was also a funny script with the opportunity for lots of sight gags. The kids really loved seeing their teachers be silly! 

    ------------------------------
    Kristi Jacobs-Stanley
    New Orleans LA
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-18-2015 21:42

    A few years ago we had to raise a whopping huge amount of money to attend the American High School Theatre Festival in Edinburgh. Our school is known for its tri-tip barbeques and the entire community knows it. We planned and executed a highly successful barbeque. Simultaneously, we held a giant yard sale (or student parking lot sale). We also sold sale space (that is, tables) to clubs and community members who had items or crafts to sell, for $20.00 a table. We raked in a lot of money for only providing tables. After all the bills were paid, we netted over $4,000.

    It was a lot of work, but well worth it. The sticking point is to find barbeque apparatus large enough to accommodate several hundred pounds of meat. Luckily for us, one of our FFA instructors has such a large grill. 

     Last year, we and another club held a much easier to handle tri-tip: we sold 3 lb. slabs of seasoned barbeque, a bag of salad and four dinner rolls for $25.00 a meal. That was much easier than the sandwiches we'd sold before, and the public came out in droves. 

    If you are interested in something like this, email me for the particulars. 

    ------------------------------
    Nancy Bernhard
    Salinas CA
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-26-2015 20:19
    Unless you're restricted to what you can charge at the door, ticket sales should fund you.  I've always said to my troupe that we have one fundraiser and that is to get butts in the seats. My kids work hard enough to put on our shows (and the myriad of other things they're involved in), that they don't need to put time or energy into raising money.  If we always perform to full houses, we'll always have enough dough in the bank.  Need more money, do more shows!

    ------------------------------
    James Mead
    Director of Drama
    Palmer AK
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-27-2015 07:54

    Glad your program is so successful James. Ours is very tiny and we drew only 35 sold seats this fall. The show cost almost $800 to do with royalties, minimal costumes, props, new makeup (old was unusable), etc. I picked a smaller show so that I could judge the interest level and abilities. I took over form someone who let it die off in a very painful way. Until I can get it back to where it was 10 years ago, some of us need other ways to get money.

    Our musical (School House Rock) is done by our choir person. She has sold only 20 presale seats. The show is this weekend. 

    ------------------------------
    Kati Heintzman
    Thespian Advisor
    Middletown City Schools
    Middletown OH
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 14.  fund raiser

    Posted 03-28-2015 13:32

    Best and easiest fund raiser is to pull together a performance with as many students as possible and have some parent volunteer to prepare food -> Dinner & a show for a $25 - $30 per person (depends on your demographics).

    I've done this - kids can prepare their own 1-3 min piece (They can do tricks, sing songs do dances) or you can toss out poetry, monologues, scenes... I pulled it together in a week.

    If you figure each kid can bring in about 4-5 people (parents, grandparents, uncles - neighbors etc.) and you get 60 kids on stage @ $25 - that's $7,500.00 with little to no overhead if parents donate their dishes. When I did it we had a fiesta theme & had all mexican food but it could be fun with Italian, Chinese, Indian or whatever fits the tastes of your students' families.

    Parents love seeing their kids on stage! 

    ------------------------------
    Elyse Tomlinson
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Fundraiser Ideas

    Posted 03-28-2015 17:05
      |   view attached

    I posted this in another discussion:

    The elusive high-grossing, low-effort fundraiser.

    There are a few things we're doing at Hebron to help fill the coffers a little at a time.

    "Hugs-N-Kisses": During the run of shows, every cast and crew member has a white bag with his/her name on it. Around the table are 1/3 sheets of paper with an image or something in it, and lots of pens. For $1, anyone can send a hug or kiss (a Hersey's Hug or Hershey's Kiss" is taped to the paper (card stock). Then, at the end of the show's run, the students get their bags. This has been a successful fundraiser, and every show I have to make more for the final show. I've attached the Word document that I use. I stole this idea from Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. 

    Signed Cast Poster: This year, the cast and crew are going to sign a poster that I will frame for each night. For $1 a ticket, people can buy a raffle ticket to win that. My cast has pushed me to do this. They saw it at Wheeler High School in Wheeler, Indiana. These aren't super nice frames.

    Selling Flowers: We are selling flowers at our shows now. I have an agreement with a local flower shop. I sell bunches of three carnations for $5 during the shows.

    I know this seems like a lot of selling, but it works. We're increasing the amount of money we raise each show, outside of ticket and concession sales.

    My newspaper class sells Texas Roadhouse rolls three weeks before Thanksgiving. For $4/dozen we get frozen dinner roll dough and distribute it from the high school cafeteria. This has been very profitable, and people want dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. Last year we made $1600 profit from sales! This year my kids didn't sell as strong, so we only made $900 profit.

    Hope this helps you out some.

    ------------------------------
    Jared Grigsby
    English and Journalism Teacher / Drama Director
    MSD of Boone Township
    Hebron, IN
    ------------------------------


    Attachment(s)

    docx
    Hugs and Kisses.docx   23 KB 1 version
    Original Message