How to Have a Penny Drive Fundraiser
-Learning all about how to have a penny drive fundraiser is a good idea, regardless of your cause. These fundraisers are very successful. Some schools have raised thousands of dollars for equipment or local charities. You could also modify the steps to use the system at work. Here’s how to get started.
The Way the Game Works
Penny drives are games between teams consisting of student homerooms, business offices, departments in a workplace or other groups that would like to compete. The game typically runs for five consecutive days, Monday through Friday, a school or work week.
Containers are created and labeled for each team. Team members put pennies in their own containers on a daily basis and silver coins or bills in the containers of the other teams. Each day, the pennies are counted. The team earns one point for each penny. The catch is that points are deducted for the coins or bills placed in the containers by the other teams.
For example, at the end of the day, a container might have 100 pennies, 5 nickels and 2 dollar bills. The team would end up with -105 points for the day because they were basically attacked by their opponents. A daily winner is usually declared, as well as a winner for the week.
A running tally is kept of each team’s points. You can use a white board or a bulletin board for this purpose. The funds should be deposited daily. The teams can get really competitive, especially as the end of the week approaches.
How to Be Successful
Learning how to have a penny drive fundraiser is easy. Being successful takes a little more thought and some planning.
First, you will want to pick a good week. You’ll want to avoid holidays and be sure to pick a week when there are five days of school or work. If you plan to conduct the fundraiser at work, pick a week that is right after, not right before payday.
Start telling everyone about the week you have selected at least a month ahead of time. Make announcements and post fliers to try to get everyone excited. You might call the game “Penny Wars!” and say something like “The Penny Wars Are Coming!”
Having some sort of prize for the team that wins every day and the one that wins for the week helps to keep contributors motivated. Schools often use small trophies or pennants that go to the homeroom for the day and stay with the homeroom winner of the week.
Those are the basics of how to have a penny drive fundraiser that is successful. So, start saving your pennies and tell all of your friends to do the same.
Category: Fundraising Tips, Ideas and Strategies
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
