The Summer months are winding down and just around the corner the tolling of school bells will be heard. Excited chatter and scurrying feet resound throughout the halls of different schools, as now begins another school year.

All those school activities will start taking place and could be teachers are racking their brains, trying to come up with different types of fundraisers so money can be earn to support and help out these school activities.

Here’s one such fundraiser which can be held, anytime, through the coming school year. In fact this fundraiser could even be supported by the school and take place in the school. This is a “Cookie Lollipop Fundraiser”.

A selection of the most popular cookies, baked as lollipops and situated in a flower pot to create an exciting and delicious array of yumminess. The great thing about this fundraiser is, the cooking of the cookie lollipops are done in the schools cafeteria.

You could ask for volunteers to help bake the cookies, or you could see if the school would be willing to ask help from the cafeteria ladies, in the baking of the cookies. They could for the most part bake the cookies with the sticks in them and the decorating and arranging of the cookie flower pots can be done by volunteers and students.

After the plan for the fundraiser is set to motion, then can begin the selling part of the fundraiser. This can be done via the newspaper, handouts, and just good old word of mouth exposure. Have students take part by selling to family and friends, even knocking on the doors of neighbors.

This will be a two part fundraiser. The first wave sells, then  the second …delivers. So as these  arrangements are sold, names and addresses will need to be written down with the choice of cookies they’d like in their flower pot arrangement. This will require a list of cookies which will be baked.

There needs to be at least four selections to choose from. Some could be peanut butter, chocolate chip, sugar and oatmeal. Don’t limit yourself to four, if more can be bake, the greater the variety the more chances you have of selling these cute little arrangements.

Regarding the baking of these cookies. The cookies will need to have sticks baked into them in order for them to stand up in the flower pot without breaking, so the round sucker sticks should probably be used. Too these cookies will need to be thick enough to house the stick, but not to thick they’ll topple over or break apart because of the weight. A few trial runs, of small amounts of each cookie, can be done beforehand to see what way works out the best.

When it comes to the packaging of the cookies prior to deliver, here’s where creative decorating comes into play. Because the cookies will be standing up, supported by flower Styrofoam or flower clay, actual decorating should be kept to the individual wrapping of the cookies.

Bright and colorful cookie wrap can be used, each tied off with a twist tie. Then a few strands of pretty ribbon can be added to each pop to ape leaves. Arranging of the cookie pops can be left up to the creativity of those helping to put them together. Each pot should hold about twelve cookies.

Once the arrangements have been made, then delivery should take place as soon as possible. At the time of delivery, the funds for these cookie arrangements should be gathered. Before hand you will have decided on how much to ask for these cute little cookie treats. The ultimate goal is to raise fund for the school, so people will expect to pay a little more than they would at the bakery.

To recap a bit. Plan the event, make arrangement for the event to be held, then follow through with your plans ASAP. Always explain to those you’ll be approaching,  this fundraiser is being held to raise funds for the school year to help cover whatever needs will come up the school itself doesn’t cover.

Let your yes mean yes and follow through with your plans as stated to those who would be giving donations or funds to whatever event is being held. Even if would be buyers don’t want to participate, never over an opportunity to ask for voluntary donations. Take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Don’t limit yourself to just friends, family and neighbors, think outside the box and hit businesses, clubs, community centers and so on. Remember to ask for permission though when entering a business.

Hopefully this little fundraiser will be something your school can do. However you go about it, make it fun. Your school is worth all the effort it takes when it comes to raising funds for it.