School and Group Programs
Fundraising Ideas for Schools
Fundraising can be a fun and creative activity. When students work together to raise funds for an exciting goal, the process becomes a fulfilling endeavor. Many schools that visit Olympic Park Institute give their students opportunities to raise their own tuition or funds for transportation to campus.
Community investment in students and schools increases when local businesses, civic groups, and families can participate.
Fundraising can be applied to many types of activities:
A-Thon
- Trash-A-Thon: Students collect pledges of $1 per bag of trash they pick up during a supervised community, school, or street-litter pick up.
- Read-A-Thon: Students collect pledges based on how many books they have read during a time period.
- Walk-A-Thon: Students are sponsored for miles trekked.
Community Yard Sale
- Organize a yard sale in which students’ families donates items to sell.
- Promote the event ahead of time and state what the sale benefits.
- Place a donation jar or basket in a prime location at the sale for additional donations.
Auction
- Consider a live or silent community auction.
- Ask local businesses, artists, and artisans to contribute goods.
- Advertise or list the auction in local papers.
- Recruit service clubs for help, such Rotary, Elks, or Lions.
Banquet
- Enlist students’ families to donate a favorite dish for a potluck dinner.
- Ask community center, service club, or church to donate space.
- Include entertainment such as a local band.
- Encourage students to talk about why the outdoor education experience is important for their education.
Coupon Book
- Collect coupons from local businesses and put them together in a book made from recycled paper and cardboard.
- Charge a price for book that gives buyers a savings on purchases.
Scholarship Letter from Students
- Teachers help students write a letter that requests financial help for their participation in the field science program at Olympic Park Institute.
- Students send letter to organizations, service clubs, parents, local businesses that support the school or science education, or other members of their family.
Other Ideas
- Bake sales
- Ice cream social
- Used book fair
- Popcorn sales
- Candy sales
- Dance marathon
- Singing valentines
- Donkey baseball
- Bingo
- Movie night
- Chess tournament
- Dog walk/pet sitting
- Battle of the bands
- Barbecue
- Lottery/raffle
- Candy apple sales
- Childcare
- Nature fact-a-thon
- Happy grams
If you have other ideas or past fundraisers that have been successful, we would love to hear about it! Call (360) 928-3720 or email opi@yni.org
