• Contact local retailers and request free samples; obtain coupons/booklets to sell at your fundraiser. Retailers such as local car washes, quick oil change garages, beauty salons, restaurants and shopping malls are glad to participate in return for free advertising.

• Door-to-Door fundraiser with coupon booklets, chocolate bars, cheese, etc. People tend to purchase coupon booklets from local retailers a lot more than typical candy and cheese.

• Regal Greetings & Gifts provides products for school fundraising efforts.

• BBQs; craft sales; yard sales; etc.

• Pet Walk-A-Thons; Read-A-Thons; Spell-A-Thons.

• Dime weeks: collect dimes from kids and parents for a two week period. Have a colourful jar displayed predominantly for the playground fund.

• Raffles, 50/50 draws.

• Bingo nights.

• Sell T-shirts with school logos.

• Way to Grow Products Inc. is a Surrey manufacturer of bagged garden products: soils, rock, bark, manure, etc. and they sell their products to school PACs at the wholesale price. Some products can give a 200% - 300% return. For more information, please contact Brandis at 604-590-5889.

• Encorp Pacific (Canada) is a federally incorporated, not-for-profit corporation, in charge of B.C.'s non-alcohol beverage container recovery system. Last year 286 schools participated in the program, and together they collected 2,186,646 containers equalling $153,952.20 in deposit refunds. For more information, click the logo.

• Silent auction with prizes donated from local retailers.

• Casino night: Everyone pays an entrance fee and are handed a certain amount of Monopoly money. After everyone has had an enjoyable evening of gambling (see if casino table rentals can be donated), auction off donated gifts to be purchased with the Monopoly money.

• See for more great fundraising ideas.