PTO Ideas Blog

Learn to Shop for Free With Kathy Spencer on March 27th

2012-02-18T17:37:00.003-05:00

Woburn, MA - On Tuesday, March 27 at 6:00pm, St. Charles School will host "How to Shop for Free", a coupon class taught by coupon expert Kathy Spencer.

Kathy is author of the book, How to Shop for Free: Shopping secrets for smart women who love to get something for nothing and star of the PBS special, How to Shop for Free.

Gather all of your bargain-loving friends and come out for a night that will change your life, one coupon at a time! Kathy will share her secrets on how to shop for free. Learn to combine store promotions, coupons, rewards programs, and store credits to maximize savings.

Just by following a tip from Kathy, I received over $26 in free products at Staples this week. This is the new way to shop!

Kathy will be teaching this seminar at the Saint Charles School Auditorium, 8 Myrtle Street, Woburn, MA. Book signings will take place at the end of the event.

Admission is $20.00 per person. Checks payable to Kathy Spencer and mail to: Saint Charles School, c/o Fundraiser, 8 Myrtle Street, Woburn, MA 01801. Please include your email so we can send you a ticket.

Online ticket sales are available thru Eventbrite at http://saintcharles.eventbrite.com/

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Saint Charles School.

Get your tickets today!

Vicki Blaze

PTO Ideas

Parent-Teacher Organizations Sharing Ideas

www.ptoideas.com

How to Get More Parents to Read Your PTO Webpage

2012-02-16T14:02:00.000-05:00

Have you built a great PTO webpage but just can't seem to get your school parents and teachers to visit it often? Would you like to provide your parents and students with more information?

Try creating a School Blog.

A blog is a journal of posts published on the web that are displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first.

Originally, blogs were defined as a personal journal; but today, they've evolved into more of a log of related articles by individuals, businesses, and organizations.

For instance, this PTO Ideas Blog and my Woburn Patch blog are blogs related to school parent-teacher organizations and within them you'll find articles related to school fundraising, grant opportunities, family-fun events, increasing PTO involvement, administrative issues, and the like.

A blog can help increase traffic to your school website when it offers valuable information your readers want and need. For a school blog, include articles related to homework tips, school lunch ideas, student news, or anything related to your school community and education.

The difference between a school blog and a school newsletter is that blog information is submitted by several parents, teachers, staff, and students. Of course, posts should be monitored by a single individual or group to ensure they are appropriate and in keeping with school-related topics.

Posts can be original content or, as long as you note the original source, a link to another informative article.

To make your blog successful, allow readers to post comments about the articles. Articles spark ideas. Comments allow readers to brainstorm together and keep ideas flowing.

Hear from the professionals. Invite bloggers who are experts in their field to post their related articles on your PTO blog.

Finally, come up with a creative name and tag line for your school blog.

Vicki Blaze

PTO Ideas

www.ptoideas.com

Hurld School Raises $10,000 With a PTO Ideas' Math Challenge

2012-02-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Hurld School of Woburn, Massachusetts who raised $10,000 with a PTO Ideas' Educational Challenge. For the second year in a row they adapted this Challenge to be math-related.

Nice work everyone!

Vicki
PTO Ideas
Parent-Teacher Organizations Sharing Ideas
www.ptoideas.com

Organize Your Car with the Legacy Sport Trunk Tote

2012-02-11T14:44:00.003-05:00

A new friend of mine, who I met through mutual friends, recently introduced a new product to market. Wouldn't this Legacy Sport Trunk Tote make a great auction basket. Just fill it with car cleaning or camping supplies and presto! a unique auction item!

I think it's great and I just ordered one for myself to get my SUV in order. The trunk tote speaks for itself. So please click on the image, watch the infomercial, and if you think you could use a trunk tote, make a purchase.

Can you please help Meaghan get the word out about this great, new product by forwarding this article to family & friends too.

Thanks to you all,

Vicki Blaze

PTO Ideas

Parent-Teacher Organizations Sharing Ideas

www.ptoideas.com

(Trunk Tote Image: Courtesy of Legacy Sport)

Take Your Charity Auction to the Next Level

2012-02-11T14:14:00.002-05:00

If you've been organizing a successful live auction for a few years in a row, but your earnings remain level, it may be time to add an online element.

But before we go there, we need to be sure you've gotten the live auction event right. To do this you have to understand what works:

1. Your Audience. Running the auction for at least 3 years in a row will give you a clear understanding of the demographic market that your organization is attracting to it's event. Is it primarily community business people 40 to 70 years of age or a younger sports-minded crowd in their 20's?

2. Your Sponsors. It's important to match your audience to your sponsors. Seek out sponsors that offer products and services that appeal most to your audience, because the sponsors will be more willing to support your cause if there's a shared, vested interest.

3. Auction Items. Now that you know who attends your auction and who may be willing to sponsor or donate to it, seek out the exact products and services that will be of most interest to the audience - the buyers.

4. Location. Choose a location that fits your audience and the atmosphere that will attract them. Do you need to offer a formal affair or a more casual, outdoor environment? Yes, it's true that you can decorate most any environment to fit a theme, but my best advice is to be sure you choose a location that's large enough to accommodate the number of people you expect to attend.

5. Ticket Price. Set a ticket price within the means of your audience. Research other events they've attended and what they may be willing to pay. In some instances your ticket income will be your prime income source for the auction. You've seen tickets priced at $100, $500, $1,000 or more. If this is the case, just be sure to offer an atmosphere and meal that fits that bill.

However, if you're organizing a school auction, keep the ticket price as low as possible (typically covering the cost of food and the hall), so that guests will then be willing to bid a litter higher on the auction items.

Now to take it to the next level...

If you've done all of this and feel as though you've found a good balance between your audience, sponsors, items, location, and ticket price, and your earnings have leveled out, then it's time to try taking your auction online.

So how do you do it?

Partner with a professional online auction company like Auction Pro or BiddingForGood.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel. There's no need to spend time and money to build your own website to showcase your auction items when these types of companies have already done the legwork for you. Register your organization and input your items along with photos into their templates.

These companies charge a small fee for their service and handling the transactions, but that fee could be minor compared to the spike you'll see in bidding.

The Newburyport Education Foundation seemed to get it right with their Lighthouse Auction. This school-based organization did a great job using their online auction to complement their live and silent auction event. Here are some tips on how they did it:

1. As you receive donations, place them online and open the bidding well in advance (preferably a few weeks) of your live event. Be sure to post a photo along with each item. If an item is for a particular resort, restaurant, or company, link directly to that so the buyer can quickly research the item.

2. Designate some of these online items as "Available Online Only". If you have 200 items, decide how many you'll showcase during the live event and how many you'll move to the hall for silent auction bidding the day of your event. This will be based on how much display space you have available. The remaining items will be "Available Online Only" items and bidding can close on these anytime, but most commonly no later than 24 hours after the live auction is complete.

3. Continuously email the online list of items out to potential bidders. Advertise the auction website address.

4. The day before the live event, print the bid sheets for your live and silent auction items you'll transfer to your event. The highest bid received for each item is now the starting bid on these bid sheets. Presto! Most of these items now likely have a starting bid higher than if you had not allowed online bidding first.

Online bidding could be the boost your auction needs. It also allows those that aren't able to attend the live event to still support the organization.

Best,
Vicki
PTO Ideas
Parent-Teacher Organizations Sharing Ideas
www.ptoideas.com

An Amazing Deal on Dining Chairs

2012-01-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

Have you set up affiliate programs on your PTO website to earn commissions when people click through your site and make a purchase? Read our website page to learn more about affiliate programs.

Then, once you have them set up, increase the chance that readers will make a purchase by updating them on great deals like this...

If you like the Folio Chairs from Crate & Barrel, you'll love the Steve White Leather Chair from Target - only $203.99 for a set of 2!

I've decided to use my Great Deals page to post amazing deals like this that I find - so check it often!

If You Can Plan & Promote, You Can Fundraise

2012-01-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

Hello from PTO Ideas:

I've been speaking with Jim Berigan of EverybodyHatesFundraising recently. His company name certainly grabs your attention - doesn't it?!

He has some good ideas. The main one being that he likes the idea of returning to those old fashioned, do-it-yourself type of fundraising events because school groups can hold onto a much larger percentage of the money donated by supporters.

This is the exact concept behind my PTO Ideas' ebook titled
Fundraising with a School Spelling Challenge,

a DIY fundraiser designed for the PTO to hold on to

about 98% of the money donated by supporters.

It's nice to see another site like PTOIdeas.com that's teaching school groups how to plan those DIY fundraisers.

To be honest, I love fundraising! I know I'm one of the few crazy ones; but it gives me a chance to use my creativity. It's a complete Marketing challenge for me - which I love!

If you can plan & promote, you can fundraise.

What I don't like is when I see school groups that don't plan effectively or they rely solely on outside fundraising companies. DIY fundraisers should definitely be a part of your plan.

I believe fundraising is like the stock market.

You must diversify and offer something for everyone.

Some of those ideas will be highly productive and offer a great return on your investment (i.e. auction, golf tournament, yard sale) and some may require less effort but offer a much lower return (i.e. cookie dough, magazines, bracelets, popcorn, or candy).

The key is knowing how to make an effective, diversified plan and market it to the fullest extent!

Vicki Blaze

Author of Fundraising with a School Spelling Challenge

PTO Ideas

www.ptoideas.com

Free School Fundraising e-Course

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

Hello, Everyone!

I would like to introduce you to a new friend of mine- Jim Berigan.

Jim is author of the Free School Fundraising e-Course at EverybodyHatesFundraising.com.

After having talked with Jim about various fundraising strategies, I feel that he and I share many of the same beliefs about how the fundraising strategies of non-profits and schools should be run.

For example, Jim is a big supporter of our Fundraising with a School Spelling Challenge. This is a perfect example of a fundraiser that draws people together, promotes academic achievement and raises a lot of money efficiently.

Like me, Jim wants to teach people how to raise money in a positive way that respects donors and keeps the money local.

I highly encourage you to read more about Jim's e-Course at PTO Ideas.

Also sign up at his site, EverybodyHatesFundraising.com to receive this Free e-Course in your Inbox yourself.

Enjoy!
Vicki Blaze
Editor & Publisher, PTO Ideas

Fundraising for 5th Grade Activities - Part 2

2011-12-24T12:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's holiday sale which included a lottery wreath raffle, scarves, pies, and breads yielded just over $550. Not bad for an hour's worth of volunteer time.

Today, I also wanted to tell you about the Home Alone Safety Workshop we ran to raise funds for 5th Grade year-end activities. The workshop was designed to teach young teens personal safety. A complete description can be seen here.

We charged $30 per student and had about 24 students attend. The class was simple to organized - it simply required sending out flyers to all 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students in town. We also advertised in the local paper.

Easy, profitable, and only one volunteer required to organize.

Vicki

Fundraising for 5th Grade Activities - Part 1

2011-12-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Our 5th Grade is in the process of raising money for their year-end activities - graduation, field trips, field day, gift to the school, etc. I'm going to have a few blog posts that tell you exactly how we're doing it.

But first, let me begin by saying that most of our 5th grade parents work and there's little time for volunteering. So we've chosen fundraisers that give us the biggest bang for our buck - profitable but requires little time and effort to organize and run. Isn't this what we're all looking for?

Today our school had their holiday performance. The auditorium was packed with parents and grandparents. To take advantage of this audience, we set up a few tables and offered items for sale:

1. Homemade Scarfs - One of parents is gifted in that she can knit and crochet (- not one of my own talents I must say). She made about 20 scarfs and easily sold them for $10 each. These scarfs are beautiful - I even purchased 2 myself! You would find these scarfs at mall stores for between $30 - $70.

2. Lottery Ticket Raffle - Each 5th grade parent donated a single lottery ticket. They were displayed on a wreath and raffled off for $1 each or 6 for $5.

3. Homemade Breads and Pies - Parents baked pies which sold for $10 each and Cranberry, Poppyseed, and other types of breads which sold for $4-$8 each.

The sale was very successful and easily thrown together. I'll let you know how much we raised when I get the final numbers. Stay tuned!

Vicki

Year-End Fundraising Can Bring in the Funds You Need

2011-11-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

It's not too late to raise additional funds by the end of the year. Not only are people in the giving holiday spirit, but they also know they have to make a donation by Dec. 31st in order to claim it on their upcoming U.S. tax return.

Did you know that a large amount of donations are submitted on the last two days of December?

With this in mind it's time to get to work encouraging year-end giving through these avenues... Read the full article...

Increase Revenue in Your Product Sale Fundraiser

2011-11-30T11:59:00.000-05:00

I wanted to pass along a well-written article that includes 5 detailed way's to increase your product fundraiser sales. All of these points are ones I've discussed in detail on PTO Ideas. Read the full article...

5 Sure-Fire Ways to Increase Revenue in Your Product Sale Fundraiser, by Jim Berigan

Spelling Challenge Helps 225-Student School Raise $7,300

2011-11-12T21:18:00.001-05:00

Three years ago, a 200-student elementary school in town purchased my PTO Ideas' Spelling Challenge ebook. I'm so happy to say that they've made the Challenge their primary fundraiser for the 3rd year in a row now!

The first year, they raised $8,500. In year two, they reported raising $7,200. About two weeks ago I received the following feedback for this year's results...

"Our Spelling Challenge results were $7,300 for a school of 225 students. We think that is pretty successful! Thank you again for the PTO Ideas Spelling Challenge book!!"

Congratulations! I'm so happy to help raise money in such an educational way.

Vicki Blaze
PTO Ideas Editor & Publisher

SunnyD Book Spree - Earn Free Books

2011-11-03T13:19:00.001-04:00

Earn 20 Scholastic books for your child's classroom by collecting and mailing in UPC labels from eligible Sunny D containers.

According to the SunnyD website, all shrink-wrapped packs and bottles 16 oz. or larger are eligible. Cans and individual 12 oz. or smaller bottles are not eligible.

For more information, visit the SunnyD website. Hurry, the Book Spree ends 11/30/2011.

Thank you SunnyD!

Walk to School More

2011-11-01T07:10:00.000-04:00

Kaboom recently posted an article that talked about organizing a walking school bus. What a great idea!

When I was a kid, we always walked to school in groups. We walked at least a mile to and from school. Today, if you live less than a mile from school, it means you're on a bus route.

What does that also mean... It means our kids are getting far less exercise and missing out on the chance to enjoy the fresh air and enjoy a stress-relieving walk with friends.

So why not organize a walking school bus at your school. There's safety in numbers. A parent or two can easily walk a route that includes several children they can pick up along their way to school.

Thank you Kaboom, Love this idea!

Win a New Playground for Your School

2011-10-25T18:12:00.000-04:00

Enter Miracle Recreation's photo contest for a chance to win a new playground for your school.

Enter today. Contest ends November 1, 2011.

Make Money Sellng ads

2011-10-25T06:59:00.000-04:00

You've probably noticed my blog posts have been fewer and farther between. We'll that's because I'm currently working on three different fundraisers for three different organizations. It's been a busy month!

One of these fundraisers is a tournament for a sports team. As part of the event, we're selling ads for the tournament program book:

Full and 1/2-page ads from the players parents wishing their son/daughter good luck in the tournament. Prices: Full page $50, 1/2-pg $25. Photo included.
1/8-page Shout-Outs from the players' parents and grandparents. Text only. Price: $10
Full and 1/2-page ads from local companies wishing all teams Good Luck. Price: $50 and $25.

We've made it easy for the parents to place an ad that includes a photo, by (with parental approval) taking individual photos of each player for them. We also do all of the ad design for them. You don't need to be a graphic designer, we're actually using a desktop word processing program to get the job done.

Anytime you put together a program book for an event, it's a good idea to sell ads to make some extra money or, at a minimum, to pay for the printing costs of the book.

Click here for more information on placing ads in your school newsletters.

$25 Target Gift Card & $50 Restaurant.com eGift Card

2011-10-22T07:31:00.001-04:00

Today's Save from Eversave is really a great deal. Pay just $25 and get a $25 Target gift card and a $50 Restaurant.com egift card (a total $75 value)!

This Save has so many uses:

Donate one to your school's raffle basket
Gift as a [teacher] gift this holiday season
Treat yourself

This deal expires October 24, 2011, so get it today!

Use Your Parent Resources

2011-10-19T10:46:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to tell you what an amazing group of parents we have. In addition to school fundraising, I also help fundraise for sports programs. The logistics are exactly the same.

Our team was asked to put together a raffle basket for an upcoming event. Typically we would ask each parent for $5-10 to assemble the basket. This year, a parent suggested writing to sports teams so the lucky winner could attend college-level games -- a great way to show our young athletes that their hard work could eventually pay off!

Before mailing the donation request letter, I emailed it to my team parents. I'm so glad I did because they had so many contacts at their almamaters, they had commitments for donations from 5 schools in a week!

The moral of this story is to use your parent resources. They are amazing!

Earn Money for Your School with Market Research Surveys

2011-10-19T10:21:00.000-04:00

Earn fundraising dollars through market research surveys at OneOpinion.com. Drive people to your school PTO website and earn $1.50 for every person who completes a 60 second registration.

Learn more...

What Insurance Coverage Does Your PTO Have?

2011-09-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

Insurance protects your group from financial loss or theft and is a relatively small expense that has the potential to offset a much larger one.

Research & confirm exactly what coverage, if any, is available from the school then talk to the brokers that understand the types of coverage a PTO may need.

RV Nuccio & Associates, Inc. has worked nationally with PTOs, PTAs, Booster Clubs and School Support Groups since 1976. Their program of insurance products has been designed specifically with these school groups in mind and is insured by FIREMAN'S FUND, one of our nation's oldest and most respected insurance companies.

Click here to learn more about the types of insurance.

Visit rvnuccio.com for more information on their PTO insurance programs and pricing.

Have a Ball With a 50/50 Golf Tournament Raffle

2011-09-28T06:58:00.003-04:00

Some ideas just work and work well. Charity fundraisers use them again and again; but we're always looking for creative ways to put a new twist on an old idea. That's why when I heard about the “50/50 Golf Ball Drop”, I just had to share. Not only for you to use at your next golf tournament, but also to get you thinking creatively about every event you plan.

At a local nonprofit's recent charity golf tournament, they decided to sell numbered golf balls instead of paper tickets for the 50/50 cash raffle. Each ball sold for $10 and the winner received 50% of the funds raised from this raffle.

About 3 hours into the golf tournament, they hoisted the basket of golf balls high into the air over the practice tee hole. This can be done with the assistance of a local trucking company or ladder truck from the fire department. The balls were all simultaneously dropped to the ground. The winner is the ball that makes it into the hole first; so if multiple balls fall into the hole, the ball at the bottom wins. If no balls fall into the hole, the ball closest to the hole wins.

How fun is that to watch!

Here's a few administrative tips:

1. Ask a local driving range to donate the used golf balls.

2. Print one number on each golf ball using a permanent marker. Place them in egg cartons to keep track and ensure there's no duplicates. Keep a printed list of who purchased each number.

3. This particular organization used paper forms as they sold each raffle to record the name, address, phone number, and email address of the buyer. Just prior to the day of the tournament, they assigned each buyer their ball number(s) and emailed the numbers to the buyers ahead of time. Using this method means the buyers wouldn't have to be present to win.

When I first heard about the 50/50 Golf Ball Drop idea, I thought 'how fun to be able to hand the buyer their golf ball(s) when they buy into the raffle. They'll be able to hold onto them and possibly display the ball(s) on their desk at work as a constant reminder of the organization they've supported'. I was thinking ADVERTISING beyond just this golf tournament.

But, this would mean that every buyer would have to attend the tournament in order to participate in the ball drop. So as an alternative, if your budget allows, purchase a second set of golf balls printed with a Thank You from your organization. These can be purchased online for about $1.00 per ball and would be for the buyers to keep. The used balls donated by the local driving range are kept at your organization and these are the ones included in the actual ball drop.

This creative thinking should be applied to every event you organize. Take an old idea and make it new. Relate it back to your event theme. It will keep supporters interested and your organization profitable.

Click here for details on how to plan a charity golf tournament.

Re-Invent Your PTO With the New 4Ps

2011-09-25T13:59:00.000-04:00

Tad Griffin of GolfTournamentSupplies.com is always passing along great ideas to me. This week he emailed me an interesting article by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.

In John's article titled, The 4P's of a Fully Alive Business, he re-invents the the 4 P's of Marketing from the 1960's to fit today's market.

John talks about the new 4 P's as:

Passion

Purpose

Positioning

Personality

He says, “The leader of a business must have a great sense of passion for the business, but they also must be able to connect that passion with purpose in order to bring out the desire to commit in others.” And, “Brands that start with purpose over product can effectively enter most any market with the same positioning and compete with entrenched category leaders.”

This may be a business article, but it fits what I've been teaching you about operating a school PTO like the small business it is. If your PTO needs a new marketing strategy to increase it's membership or promote it's events you'll find John's full article very helpful.

Healthy Eating and a Chance to Win $1,000

2011-09-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

Have you signed up for Grant Wrangler's Bulletin yet to receive their email updates on K-12 school & teacher grants? It''s a great resource. This week they featured what I like to call a healthy challenge.

Produce For Kids (PFK) is offering K-6 classrooms a chance to win up to $1,000 in their Play With Your Produce Challenge. Simply track students' healthy eating routine for a week and incorporate fruits and veggies into a creative lesson plan. Entry deadline is October 30, 2011.

Visit Grant Wrangler or PFK for details on the Challenge. Visit PFK's Lesson Plan Ideas page and PTO Ideas' Health & Wellness page for some creative ways to incorporate fruits & veggies into a lesson plan.

Good Luck!

How to Use Social Media to Promote Your PTO

2011-09-19T06:43:00.001-04:00

I'm constantly talking about the importance of getting connected to potential sponsors & donors, staying connected, and building these relationships.

I read a great article this morning by Kym McNicholas at Forbes titled How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Small Business. It had some fantastic tips that I thought can easily be adapted to a PTO, which is essentially a small business.

Check out the full article...