The fact that budgets are tight in business, government and school districts is not a reason to cancel a field trip. Instead of eliminating trips entirely, many school groups are implementing creative ways to raise funds so students can still take educational trips to places like Washington DC, New York City, Boston, and Chicago. A student trip is a fun and educational way to learn about history, art, culture, science, and more.
The great thing about student travel fundraising is that contributors only need to make contributions of $5, $10, or $20 to make a difference. The best fundraising happens when the whole community gets involved.
Fundraising efforts may include several different methods executed throughout the school year. There are some tried and true methods of raising money for school trips and there are some new ideas making their way into the mainstream that have proven effective as well.
I will offer a brief overview of effective student travel fundraising techniques that students, teachers, and parents have shared with me over the years.
– Chocolate bars: Seeing a child or parent with a box of chocolate bars is a sign that some kind of fundraising is going on. In the workplace, or even at school, people are willing to satisfy that craving for candy or chocolate to help school-age children by buying candy to finance a school trip. Buying a chocolate bar is easy and relatively inexpensive. The person buying the candy feels better buying the candy from someone she knows, rather than heading to the vending machine or leaving the office to visit a store. There are many vendors available who will sell candy in bulk at wholesale prices so that students can sell it at retail price and earn the profit from their field trip.
– Selling citrus fruits: Another way to earn money for school trips is by selling oranges and grapefruit. The idea is to buy the citrus in bulk during the harvest season in areas where fruit crops abound. Students take orders from family, friends, and neighbors and collect the money. When the time comes, boxes of fresh fruit are delivered to the buyer, along with a thank you from the school group.
– Valentine’s Day Rose and Carnation Sale: Student group leaders and administrators simply locate a flower wholesaler in their town and arrange to buy wholesale roses and/or carnations at a decent price. Individual students then take pre-orders and distribute the flowers on the holiday or volunteers set up a table at a school, dance, or other public event and sell them on Valentine’s Day.
– FREE Car Wash: The marathon car wash can be a busy but fun day for school-age kids who want to raise money for their trip. Simply identify and reserve a public place with easy access to water taps, such as a church or bank parking lot on a main thoroughfare. Have students announce themselves with signs visible to drivers. The charge is usually $5-8 for each car wash. Some groups even offer FREE car washes and make more money. Offer a FREE car wash and then ask for donations. Often donations will exceed the $5-8 mark and make the fundraiser more profitable. Try this fundraiser as a FREE car wash with voluntary donations and see what happens.
– Selling Scratch Cards: This new popular way to raise money for student trips is a great idea. Student travel organizers buy scratch cards similar to lottery cards but very different. The school name and logo can even be placed on many cards for an additional fee as a way to identify the fundraiser. The buyer is not gambling, they are simply donating money for the class trip. The student hands the card to a donor, the donor scratches off one, two, or three of the hidden numbers and donates the amount indicated on the card to the fundraising campaign. Scratch cards are worth up to $100 per card and are quite profitable. The card recipient receives discount coupons for area businesses as a thank you for her participation in the fundraiser.
– CD or DVD Fundraisers: This type of fundraiser can happen in two different ways. The first is to partner with a CD or DVD catalog company that offers top-tier Hollywood movies and/or music CDs featuring the work of popular artists. Students sell these titles and receive a portion of the proceeds from each sale. The second way is to record a high school band, ensemble or orchestra on a CD and sell this product to the community. Other options include recording school group events or recitals, homecoming or graduation videos, or the actual school trip as a way to retain memories of the event and sell these professionally produced audio or videos at a profitable price.
With so many great fundraising strategies available, there’s no reason to cut back on field trips. Just be sure to start fundraising efforts early in the school year. For maximum funds, try two or three different methods during the school year. Your group will be pleasantly surprised with the result! Community members love helping school-age children on their educational journey. Schoolchildren will be more excited about the fundraiser when it works. Whether the class heads to Orlando, Florida, or Washington DC, the school group will be further strengthened if the kids work together to raise funds beforehand.