Holiday Cards Fundraiser

It may be August, but it’s not too early to start thinking about holiday fundraising at your kids’ elementary school. And a holiday cards fundraiser, where the students draw the images for the cards, may be the perfect complement to your annual fundraising plan. Here’s how it works…

.

Planning a Holiday Cards Fundraiser

.

STEP 1: Arrange an afternoon for students to draw holiday images. The images should be simple line drawings with lots of white background.

• For Christmas cards ask them to draw a Christmas tree , Santa Claus, reindeer, jingle bells, candycane, gingerbread man, snowman, dradel, menorah, etc.
• For Thanksgiving cards, draw a turkey, maize corn, pilgrim, native American Indian, Fall leaf, pumpkin, apple pie, etc.
• For Easter, draw a bunny, chick, decorated egg, basket, etc.
• For Mother’s Day, draw a single flower.
• For Father’s Day ask them to draw a single tool (hammer, screwdriver, wrench, drill, etc.) or item related to sports (baseball, football, soccer ball, golf club, fishing rod), etc..

Tip: Ask the art teacher to work on these drawings during an art class.

STEP 2: Choose 12 of these images (as in the 12 days of Christmas) or 18, or 24 images. Scan the image, save a png file (transparent background), and work with a local printer to print a single image on the front of a 3″x5″ white card (that’s a 6″ x 5″ folded to 3″x5″).

Tip: If you provide the 12 images to a printer, they have graphic designers on staff who can scan and design the cards for you.

The paper can be a white 100# or heavier matte stock. Ask the printer for their recommendation.

At a minimum, ask the printer to score the card stock so it can be folded easily. If cost allows, you could have them fold the cards for you. If not, you can sell the flat (scored) cards or volunteers could fold them.

.

STEP 3: Wrap cards and accompanying envelopes (also provided by the printer) in sets of 12 using baker’s twine or ribbon in your school’s color. You can purchase colored baker’s twine on Amazon HERE.

.

STEP 4: Sell the card sets to school families, friends, and others in the community. The goal would be for every student’s family to purchase a minimum of 1 set of cards. Although ideally, each family would purchase two or more.

.

How Many Cards Do We Print?

It will be most cost effective for your printer to print a large single batch of cards once. Speak to your printer about their minimum print runs. At a minimum you will want to print a number equal to your student population. If you have 200 students, print 200 sets. The hope/goal is for each student’s family to purchase at least one set of cards. Hopefully families will purchase two or more sets.

Then if your printer’s minimums allow, take orders to print a second bath. These orders should be placed at least 4 weeks in advance of the corresponding holiday so you have time to print and distribute the cards at least 3 weeks in advance of the holiday.

.

At What Price Do We Sell The Cards?

Let’s assume your printer charges $100 to print 200 cards, score the cards, and supply the accompanying envelopes. This price is an estimate. Your printer may charge more. This means your cost is $0.50 per card and $6.00 per set of 12 cards. Add to that the twine = $6.25 cost.

If you sell each set of 12cards for $12.00, you will profit $5.75 per sale. If you sell 200 sets, your profit will be $1,150. If you sell 400 sets, your profit will be $2,300.

It’s very reasonable for you to sell the cards for 1.00 each. Set of 12 for $12.00; Set of 18 for $18.00; Set of 24 for $24.00.

.

How Do We Sell The Cards?

Gather a small group of volunteers (5-10 people) who will be your core salespeople. Assign each person a primary media on which to sell the cards. For instance:

• Sales Table at Pickup: Set up a sales table every day for 1 week outside the school where parents gather to pick up their child from school.
• Facebook: One parent can primarily be responsible for consistently posting on Facebook, but all parent volunteers should share the information. Ask them to:
  • Post “lives” about the cards being for sale at school pickup
  • Post photos and videos about the students painting the images for the cards
  • Post a Facebook “Event” about the card sales. Have all volunteers respond to the event as “going”, because the more people respond, the more Facebook will show the event.

• Instagram & Twitter: same as Facebook. For Instagram, post “Reels”.
• Email: One parent can primarily be responsible for emailing announcements and reminders about card sale to school families.
• Website: One parent can be responsible for posting an advertisement on the school’s website. Include a PayPal and/or Venmo link for online orders.
• Sales Table at School Events: If your school hosts an event where parents visit the school (play, holiday show, parent-teacher conferences, etc.) set up a sales table.

Supply Volunteers With Advertising Details

As the fundraiser Chairperson, you should draft a single brand page to share with your volunteer salespeople so that you are all sending out the same message and accurate information: Include:

• Title: Holiday Card Sales – Gift Sets featuring custom designs by our own ___________ School students!
• Quantity: A set of 12 unique cards, hand-drawn by our own students
• Price: Set of 12 unique cards for $12.00
• Due Dates: Place your order by ________________________.
• Encouragement: We encourage you to purchase multiple card sets for your holiday cards and to give as gifts to family and friends.
• Electronic Images: Be sure to provide electronic images to the volunteers to they can post photos of the cards online. I suggest overlapping a few cards and taking a photo. Take a photo of the full set tied with the colorful bakers twine. This will give viewers a peek at the cards but they will not be able to print and duplicate them.
• School Logo: Provide an electronic version of the school or PTO logo so they can brand and even watermark any images they post online.

.

Check out even more elementary school fundraising ideas HERE.