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High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

  • 1.  High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-07-2016 07:53
    Hi Everyone:

    I am the President of the Pope High School Parent Booster Club for our High School Theatre Program (Marietta, GA). We have no designated funding, no specific drama classes, but we do have a tremendous Faculty Sponsor/Advisor and dedicated kids. Our budget is based solely on the shows we do, membership to the Pope High School Drama Club, and any fund-raising, sponsors, or donations we generate.

    Do any of you have some suggestions for fundraisers that we could do that don't cost much on the front side?

    Thanks in advance!
    David M. Schwartz, Ph.D.
    Pope High School Drama Club


  • 2.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-07-2016 10:39

    Your fundraising event depends on how much money do you need, how many parents are willing to really help, and how much are your students committed to work. The best fundraising event is a once a year event that will raise a large amount of money with everyone working on the event, lots of things donated, and great publicity as well as building up a reputation each year so that it is an event people want to attend. 

    I hate nickel and dime fundraisers where you raise $100 or $500 when you need $5,000.00.

    ------------------------------
    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-07-2016 12:35

    I've only been involved in a couple of fundraisers myself, but have seen a number of them, and it seems that the most successful ones are those that specify up front where the money is going. For instance, and I'm just making this up on the fly:

    We want to raise $10,000 this year so we can:

    1. Buy a new light board ($2,500) so the students will be able to learn on current equipment and be better prepared when they go on to college theatre programs.

    2. Buy a new SawStop table saw ($2,700). Because this machine is so safe to use, we'll be able to teach the students...

    3. Buy two new sewing machines ($250 each) so the students can...

    You get the idea. You can even offer to put the donor's name on some of the bigger items. A lot of people love to see their name on stuff and on lists of donors.

    As the campaign progresses, you can do a "thermometer" to share how it's going. This also encourages some people to pitch in and help get you there.

    My old high school is a master at fundraising and hosts lots of "see and be seen" events, but they also do mass mailings telling us what the money will be used for.

    Good luck!  :-)

    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-08-2016 12:13

    George's idea is great! And I've found that once your need is posted someone finds a cheaper source or someone who can donate an item.

    ------------------------------
    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-07-2016 14:34

    Add something to something you are already doing!

    We do programs for the audience, but we also sell ads to go in there...

    We do a children's musical each year, but we also do a camp...  and get the little kids involved on stage...

    My one piece of advice is to NOT do something NON-theatre-ish and spend all of your energy trying to make the kids become salespeople... when what you love to to make great theatre!  :)

    break a leg... better yet break two!  ;)

    ------------------------------
    [Drama] [Dan] []
    [Drama Teacher/Director]
    [Dublin Coffman HS]
    [Dublin] [Ohio]

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-07-2016 15:57

    I inherited a fundraising tradition we call Coffee House.  Any student in the school is allowed to audition and we try to create an 60-90 minute showcase of student work.  We have had singers, dancers, bands, duo acting, occasionally a student written short play or short one act (10-30 minutes), karate demonstrations, magic, etc...  It's a great opportunity for kids to share talents that don't always have a spot in a show.  We charge $5 a ticket and serve...well coffee of course...and light snacks.  No set, no costumes, it's a great opportunity to train light and sound new comers and boosts kid's stage confidence in a low stress performance situation.  About $4 is profit per ticket.  It's very casual, my officers are responsible for the entire event and they also serve as MCs for the evening.  My parent's love it and if you have the student interest, it's a nice win-win.

    ------------------------------
    Amy Learn
    Ballwin MO

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-08-2016 08:31

    There are lots of ways to do a fundraiser! I agree with the former response.  Selling ads for your program is great.  We require each kid to sell one ad as part of their participation for the show.  The bare minimum one liner ad is 5 dollars and the largest ad is 100 dollars.  It adds up when everyone sells at least 1 ad.  We also have a sponsorship program where people donate money to get their name in the program for the year.  If you have fundraisers at your school, you can sell goods at the football games.  I know it's not theatre related, but football games draw a crowd.  By selling an item at the games, like home made baked goods, you can make about $200 a game.  Also, make it an opportunity to sell your program. Hand out flyers to upcoming shows, or create a season flyer that has all of your dates and shows. 
    I hope this helps!

    ------------------------------
    Evelyn Carlile
    Drama Director
    Canton GA

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-09-2016 10:37
    Try a haunted house this October. Been doing them for over two decades. Very little $ outlay. Can do it in your theatre, gym, hallways or off school grounds. Students love planning and performing in the rooms and you can use whatever flats, props, etc you have. No need to make things look good. Everything looks scary in the dark 😊 We also do several "Drama Days" where my theatre students plan and teach one day theatre camps for younger kids. Would be happy to give you more details on either. Just email me. We make between 5 - 8 K for a two day weekend haunted house around Halloween . And both HH and Drama days get kids utilizing their theatre skills as opposed to selling items.

    Sent from my iPhone

    Scanned by the Appleton Area School District Spam Filtering Appliance.


    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-09-2016 13:22

    Lots of great ideas here!  We used several other ideas, some of which were variations on ones already discussed.  We found the following were very successful:

    1.  Adopt a Costume:  Whatever the price of a costume rental was, patrons were able to "adopt" a costume  for an actor of their choice.  The name of the patron and the actor were listed in the program.

    2.  Adopt a drop, a prop, or any other expense for a show.  Ditto the program note above.


    Fine Arts Booster Club was another source of funding.  It started out as a Band Booster Club, but when the parents realized they could triple their fundraising amounts by involving Theatre, Dance, Poms, Color Guard, Choir and Chorus, and Visual Arts students, they added the other disciplines.  Some examples of FABC activities were:

    The FABC sponsored a Craft Fair each year which raised a LOT of money.

    4.  FABC ran concessions at the shows, and profits went into their fundraising account. 




    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-09-2016 13:47

    Oops. Hit "Send" accidentally.  To continue:

    FABC raised $30,000 - $35,000 each year, and gave $2,000 to each area every year.  Since it was a gift to each area, we could specify what we wanted, and were not stuck with "low-bid" items (eg, Shure wireless mic systems instead of Radio Shack).  We told FABC exactly what we needed, they purchased the items, and the items were gifted to the school.  This added up to $14,000 / year.  The remainder of the monies raised were distributed to the different areas on a rotating basis.  So every 7 years, each group got $15,000 to $20,000 dollars for a major upgrade.


    One thing we found that was really useful was to have 1 Fine Arts teacher and an administrator attend the FABC meetings.  1 reason was that they saw we were interested enough to take time to attend.  2nd, we were able to clear up any questions.  3rd, we were able to keep internal politics to a minimum.


    Every 2-3 years, the students would chip in and do something for the FABC.  We would buy tee-shirts with a saying like  "Hazelwood West Fine Arts Booster Club Member, Thanks for Helping To Keep the Arts Alive at West!", and then the students would sign the artwork before we went to print with the tee-shirts.  The parents would wear those shirts to every Fine Arts Activity they worked.  Donations averaged out to be around $ .50 / student to cover the costs of the shirts.  We would also take a Flat, paint a "Thank You FABC!" on it, have the students sign it, and display it in the lobby before performances.  


    Sorry to be so long-winded, but the FABC really made a huge difference in our funding.


    Bob and Marti Fowler

    Interactive Educational Video, LLC




    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-09-2016 18:17
    We sold roses to go back stage during intermission and after the show. Buying fresh is a risk, unless you have a source, so we bought inexpensive bouquets and cut them into individual stems. We made an assortment of "cards" to go with them and sold them for $1.00 each. It's not a huge fundraiser, but it does raise a bit and makes everyone feel wonderful! (Administrators even sent them to cast and crew!)

    If you are not participating in Trick-or-Treat So Kids Can Eat, you are missing out!. I made double sided orange cards; one side explained the program while the other listed our season. Although not a fund raiser, it raises awareness of your program, which increases attendance and a willingness to donate.

    If you actually have a season, you can sell ads for all your shows at once as well as ones for the individual show.

    If you are doing a kid friendly show, photos with cast members can bring in cash if someone is willing to donate their time, photo paper and a printer.


    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-08-2016 16:38

    Seattle Opera once did a fund-raiser / awareness campaign where they teamed-up with the local gasoline retailers association.  The deal was that they went to various participating gas stations around the city on Saturdays dresses in full Opera regalia and sang opera to the customers while they were getting gas.  They gave them bumper stickers that read: "Seattle Opera - It's a gas!"  They also received a few cents on each gallon of gas sold while they were there.  It is the unexpected that garners attention in the community.  Be creative with your local retailers and see what you can do out in the public.

    ------------------------------
    Erich Friend
    Theatre Consultant
    Teqniqal Systems

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-10-2016 20:52

    This isn't a home run money maker size wise, but it is a brilliant idea I took from a colleague that changes almost nothing of what you do, but brings in easy, easy money. I think the original name was mail boxes, but we call them mailbags. For our big musical, we set up a table right by concessions and every single kid involved with the show gets a paper bag, usually we use ones with handles that are maybe twice the size of a regular lunch bag.  As people are buying concessions for themselves, we encourage them to buy something for a friend or loved one.  We set out all of our department swag like shirts and mugs that we have extra of, buy and decorate note cards, and invest in a minimal amount of flowers.  I am in my third year overall at this school, and the mailbag program is two years old. In those two years, over a three show weekend, we've increased our concessions profit by $1000.  The bags are bought in bulk for around $.25 apiece, candy is donated by families, the note cards and decorative stickers come from the dollar store and cost about $5 for the whole weekend, and I'm sure everyone has a flower supplier. In the end, the only work it actually took was writing the names on the bags and decorating the note cards, all done by chorus members during tech week. Trust me when I say, DO IT!!!! It is free money, especially if you get a few very persuasive students working the concessions tables.  

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    Mark Johnson
    Theatre Arts Teacher
    Troy, MI

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: High School Theatre Program Fundraisers

    Posted 07-12-2016 07:54

    Fund Raising is such an important part of Theater in the United States. After student graduate and go into theater they are faced with the same issues – how to raise fund? There are grants one needs to know how to find. The Foundation Center is a good source for that. Then there is simply raising local funds or matching funds. There are all the social media fund raising sites online, all different kinds. One of the most powerful tools for ideas for fund raising can come from your students. Ask the kids for ideas for how to raise funds. Make it part of their educational experience. Let them know it is an educational experience for everyone. Have fun raising the funds you need. Lots of great ideas listed here.

    ------------------------------
    [Stanley Allan] [Sherman] [Custom theater mask making, Commedia dell'Arte masks & workshops. NYC winter holiday workshops and summer workshops]
    [Mask Maker, Commedia dell'Arte expert, Teacher, Mime, Movement, Actor, Director, performer, producer of workshops and shows.]
    [Mask Arts Company www.maskart.com]
    [New York] [NY][stanley@maskarts.com[212-255-2882][il-dottore@commediau.com][New York][NY][Roving Classical Commedia University* (*totally unaccredited) ]

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