The idea of a carnival fundraiser is a popular one on many different levels. Carnival fundraisers work great for elementary school PTOs, and they're something middle- and high-school students can organize on their own as a way to raise money. They even work in a college setting.
They can bring in people from the community in addition to students and families, and they're fun and festive. Carnivals work well as fall festival fundraisers, but you can also have them in spring or summer.
If you're in charge of planning a carnival fundraiser, keep the following in mind.
Have a Goal in Mind and Pick a Theme
Before you do any specific planning for a carnival fundraiser, set a specific goal. Along with the goal being to raise funds for a specific purpose, what else do you hope to achieve? Set some metrics as far as the number of tickets you like to sell and the number of attendees you'd like ideally like to see as well because this will make it easier to work toward those goals.
Along with setting goals, the next thing you should do is create a great theme.
Yes, it's a carnival, but go with a theme beyond that.
You want something original and creative, and if your carnival becomes an annual event, you might change the theme every year so it's still fresh and fun to come to year-after-year.
When you're planning a carnival, beyond the goals you have in mind for fundraising, there are two big things you'll have to think about that you wouldn't have to with some other types of events. The first is what your inclement weather plan will be. You'll have to decide whether inclement weather will mean rescheduling or you have a place where you can move the event instead.
Depending on where you live and where you're going to have the carnival, you're also going to need to consider possible permit requirements, especially if you're going to have rides and foods. Your local health department may have regulations regarding serving food. Additionally, consider if you'll need any special insurance before you hold the event.
Location
With a carnival or festival fundraiser, you need a lot of space. That means either you need to have that space available at your school already, or you're going to have to find someone willing to donate that space to you for the event.
Along with have the space to set up the event, think about parking. You need ample parking so that people don't have to walk too far.
Check with your city or town about traffic and parking requirements that go along with having an event.
If you don't hold your event on school grounds, either a local business could donate their parking lot to you, or you might be able to work with a city park for the event.
Don't feel obligated to hold the event outdoors either, just because it's a carnival. Logistically you may find it's much easier to have the event indoors and that's okay. Then you don't have to worry about making plans for inclement weather.
Timing
You need to hold your event at the right time to get maximum participation.
Check your community calendar and make sure there are no competing events. Consider school holidays where a lot of families might be out of town.
You might also want to consider local sports schedules and think about extracurricular activities kids often participate in.
A good time for a carnival can often be the early evening on a Friday, as long as it's not a holiday weekend.
Define Your Audience
Knowing who your likely and targeted audience can help you design your carnival around them.
If it's just for members of the school, that's fine, but it may be a good idea to make it a community-wide event because you'll be able to raise more money the more people are involved.
Marketing
For any fundraiser to be great, marketing is essential. You want people excited, and you want them there on the day of the event.
Think about it as if you're marketing a business.
Some of the free or low-cost forms of publicity you can utilize include press releases, signs and banners, and fliers in different locations throughout your town.
You can also encourage other families at the school where you or your student attend to get the word out in the workplace and throughout the community.
Use an Online Volunteer Platform
Organizing a fundraiser of any kind is a huge undertaking.
There are a lot of moving parts that go into it. If you're heading up the event, create subcommittees. Get them as specific as you can.
You can also ask for volunteers to sign up online. This might include not only volunteers who are going to help organize the event but people who will sell tickets, sponsor the event, and donate to the event.
If you have one centralized place where everyone can go it can help you spot anything that you're missing and make sure everything is taken care of. It will also show people where help is needed, so they'll be more likely to sign up.
Create a Facebook page that's just for the event planning, too so you can regularly update everyone on what's going on. Make the page shareable because this will not only help with planning and organization but also let more people know about the event so they can attend.
Food
With the food, you have a lot of different options. One that's popular for fundraisers right now is having food trucks come. This way, people can pay for their food as they want it, so you don't have to get it donated or cover the costs, plus it's a fun perk of attending the event for a lot of people.
Once all these considerations are in place, you can start planning the specific activities and how you'll get the word out and hopefully raise a lot of money for your school or organization.
