While teachers would prefer it if their students prepared for their tests, rather than just guess on them, they surely will not mind if these youths follow their instincts during a guessing jar fundraiser. This method of raising money for student travel opportunities is easy to implement, and most of all, quite fun! Use these six steps as a guide for helping your guessing jar fundraising efforts.
1) Gather Troops
Who’s involved in your fundraising effort? A definite perk about this fundraiser-on-the-fly is that it’s low maintenance yet can result in high participation. Find helpers whose fundraising goals are aligned with yours. Once you have a small team gathered, you can then move on to the next phase of the planning process, as everything should be a team effort from here.
2) Pick a Venue
Work with your school officials to locate the best space for your fundraiser. Chances are they will want to have the jars out in a heavily trafficked area so that more eyes can spot them easily which means ample opportunity for guesses. Picking a crowded area will not only accelerate the flow of incoming donations, but it can also create buzz and generate positive publicity, if the fundraiser is for a particular cause.
3) Decide Pricing
A ballpark price to charge for each guess should be $1 or more. Depending on situation, the school may work with your team to provide the prizes for the closest estimations. Regardless, you’ll need to make a clear game plan with your team, and remember to consider the cost of the supplies needed to execute the fundraiser. The key point is to always keep in mind the fundraiser’s financial goals and create a plan that works toward that objective.
4) Get Supplies
First, you’ll need a few large glass jars or clear containers. Once you have that, you can choose the small objects you’ll use to fill the jars. Jars can contain everything from candy and marbles to tiny paper clips, for an extra difficult guessing game. Depending on the cause or purpose of the fundraiser, you could choose fillers that have a connection to the theme for added meaning. The contents of the jar could also make for a decent prize. You will also want to pick up some posters, and have the organizer with the best handwriting create a few beautiful signs for your fundraiser.
5) Set the Scene
Depending on the availability of the venue, setting the scene can happen any time that’s most convenient for the organizers. In most cases, your setup can happen as late as the hour before your fundraiser kicks off. In addition to the supplies you’ve prepared, you’ll also need to gather any equipment such as tables and chairs. By this stage in the process, you should have finalized how many days and hours the fundraiser will last.
6) Choose a Winner
You’re wrapping up the fundraiser, and now it’s time to pick the winners! Organizers will have to carefully count out each and every item inside of the jars, record the totals and hide them in a safe place until all the guesses come in. After everybody has had a chance to guess a few times, each jar’s totals should be announced and prizes can be distributed.
By applying these steps, we are certain that your fundraiser will be a success, and more importantly, a one-of-a-kind experience. Best of luck!
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