Fundraising Ideas

Submit your success stories on fundraising ideas!

COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE

Ask a local business if you can hold a community wide garage sale in their parking lot. (Places that are closed on Saturday or have big parking lots works best!) You can raise money to attend PC and they will get free advertising. Advertise your garage sale to get participants - maybe place an ad in the local paper or hang posters in businesses and schools around town. Sell each parking space for $20.00. Once you sell enough spaces, assign each person a space for a booth. Remember to provide cleanup after the event. If you have extra time, you may want to help everyone set up their booths.

This idea was submitted by a PC alumna who sold 30 spaces and made $450.00. She also suggests that if you have friends in a band they may provide free entertainment at your event. You may also set up a booth with baked goods and have a family member run the booth for you.

INTERNSHIPS

Make an arrangement with a local business to work for them as an intern. The employer agrees to reward you for hours worked by sponsoring your trip with a tax-deductible contribution instead of paying you directly. (Checks should be made out to Presidential Classroom.) The contribution amount will need to be negotiated based on the number of hours you work.

MATCHING GIFTS

Find out if you parents/guardians' employers offer a matching gift program. We recommend your parent/guardian take a copy of the Presidential Classroom brochure for their employer to review for information about the program.

YOUR CAPITOL HILL CONNECTION!

This activity is done either by approaching individuals in the community that you know (neighbors, church, parent's workplace, etc.) or by setting up a booth outside a grocery store or shopping mall (get prior permission from the store manager's office). Encourage people to write a question or an opinion about an issue that interests them. Then ask participants to contribute to your Presidential Classroom trip. For a donation ($5 - $10), you agree to take these questions to their designated representative, senator (or staff members) when on Capitol Hill during the Presidential Classroom program.

WORK YOUR WAY TO WASHINGTON

Advertise by flyers or word of mouth that you (or a group) are able to perform jobs in return for a tax-deductible contribution. Some ideas include raking leaves, chopping wood, babysitting, pet-sitting or a dog-walking service. The holidays are a great time to try to set something up if you know people who go out of town. Businesses or community organizations may have various other jobs you can do. Contact them directly to offer your services.

POP FOR PC!

If your school has a soda machine, ask someone in the administration office if, in return for stocking the machine weekly and maintaining the accounting, you can receive the profits for a specified period of time. Be sure to explain that the profits will go toward your trip to Presidential Classroom.

FILIBUSTER YOUR WAY TO WASHINGTON

(This idea works best as a group fundraiser.) Set up a podium at lunch or arrange to conduct a filibuster session about a current political issue in the auditorium and invite social studies classes (civics, government, history, etc.) to attend. Before the event, get pledges for each hour that you filibuster. You may also consider doing this in a public location such as a store, park or shopping center (get permission first) and accept donations on site in addition to pledges you receive.

"PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY" RAFFLE

After obtaining permission from your principal, sell raffle tickets to classmates for a chance to be "Principal For a Day." Possible cost could be $1 for each ticket or perhaps five tickets for $3. The winner shadows the principal for a day.

PLEDGE AND DONATION CAR WASH

Hold a FREE car wash. Instead of charging per car, get pledges per car washed prior to the event. For example, if you get 20 pledges of 25 cents per car and you wash 50 cars, you would make $250. But that is not all! At the location, advertise that you are accepting donations as a fundraiser to go to Washington, D.C. on an educational program. Once people know the cause, many will often give more to you as a donation than you would receive by charging a set amount for a car wash. To cut expenses, find a location that will donate the cost of the water and another source to donate the other supplies you will need (soap, rags, etc.).

Remember

Get permission first when planning to conduct a fundraiser at school or public location. If you have questions about any of these ideas, call Presidential Classroom toll free at 1-800-441-6533 or send e-mail to scholarships@presidentialclassroom.org.

Submit your success stories on fundraising ideas!