Sure, school's out for summer, but that doesn't mean that fundraising efforts for the good of the school need to be left until the fall.
Fundraising during the summer months is one of the best times of year! Why? Because the kids are available to help out anytime of day, and even parents will take holidays to help support their child's school.
In addition, kids and parents alike are looking for fun and a reason to get outside during the summer months – all the more motivation for a town-wide social event that will draw a crowd to come out and support your school fundraising campaign.
A school summer fair or a street fair fundraiser can range from a small group event focused on games and contests (that charge a small competitor's fee), to, if your goals are greater, a summer street fair fundraiser for children – complete with arts-and-crafts booths, games, petting zoo, and even entertainment. Street fairs are known to raise a great deal of donations when an admission fee is charged, and when tickets for individual games and rides are sold in addition to admittance.
There are endless ways to make money with a school summer fair or street fair fundraiser – for example live music, food vendors (candy apples and cotton candy), vendors selling arts and crafts, baked goods, kissing booths, dunk tanks, balloon animals, duck and turtle races, fortune tellers…the ideas for fun and games are cheap to organize and up to you!
Here are our personal favorites:
Kid's Artist Walk
Charge a small admission fee for parents and kids to stroll the artist's path, featuring student's work, which is displayed for passer-byes to enjoy and vote for their favorites.
Clowns & Face Painting
Every child likes to have their face painted – especially when it's Bobo wielding the paintbrush. Charge $2 per face creation and let kids have flowers, shamrocks, hearts, and skull and cross bones painted on their mugs.
Paper Airplanes
Sell sheets of colored paper for kids to fold into their own paper airplanes and decorate with markers. Mark a course and host a flying contest – the furthest distance wins a prize.
Balloon Creations
You can have volunteer clowns making balloon animals and selling them, or you can sell loose balloons and have clowns help kids create their own. And last but not least, you can host a balloon competition, where each contestant pays an entry fee to twist their own balloon and enter it in a judged competition to win a prize.
Balloon Stomp
The balloon fun doesn't end at making balloon animals. Offer kids a balloon stomping ground, where they can enter a room or tent and stomp on balloons until they break one with a prize ticket. Insert the tickets into balloons before blowing them up.
You can use donated movie passes, food coupons, and etc. Keep in mind, if you're featuring balloon-related events, you can approach companies that distribute biodegradable balloons – a smart, environmental choice!
Cotton Candy
Cotton candy machines can be rented for the full day for a reasonable price. This machine provides entertainment as well as a yummy, sugary treat. All you need to do is mix sugar and food coloring in the machine's basin.
Heaters melt the sugar, and as the mixture meets the air, it solidifies into fine, string-like cotton candy. The strings collect around the edge so it can be spun onto a stick holder and enjoyed.
Turtle Races
Our hard-shelled friends make a great competition at a summer fair. Children pay a small fee to place a bet on the turtle of their choice (one bet per turtle). The child who bets on the winning turtle gets a prize (give away donations from sponsoring companies – such as free ice cream cones, free movie passes, or even a free cotton candy at the fair). You can also raise extra funds by offering photos with the triumphant turtle.
