Knock down the stacked blocks, come on toss these rings around the bottles. One dollar for three darts come on, pop these balloons. You’ve probably guessed by now we’re hosting a Summer Carnival Fundraiser.

As host/hostess you’ll be the coordinator of all the festivities and food selections that come with hosting this fundraiser. Don’t worry, this fund raiser is a bit different from the rest, you wont need to purchased prizes and such for the games.

Why you ask, well I’ll tell you. All will be playing for the ultimate prize at the end of fundraiser. A weekend trip to an amusement park for four or water park nearest your area. Instead of prizes you’ll be handing out tickets to the winners for a drawing.  Here’s how this carnival works:

1.   Select a place to host this carnival: Get any permits which might be needed and take the time to get with the city council and see if there are any restrictions on hosting this type of event in the city/town you live in. Be sure to let everyone involved know this is for raising funds for the school system to help pay for events or activities that aren’t included in the schools yearly budget.

2.  Get volunteers to run the different booths where the games will be played. Decide on what games will be played at your fundraiser. Ring toss, Balloon popping, Throwing the ball to knock down bottles, A dunk tank, and so on are a few you might consider. These games are intended to earn part of the money for the school.  So find your best hecklers, draw those crowds in with teasing remarks and taunts, get them to spend their dollars at your booth.

3.  Find volunteers to run the snack bar area: Think about the foods you’d normally find at a carnival and purchase them. Corndogs, chips, sodas, cotton candy, hamburgers, hotdogs, pretzels, nachos, funnel cakes and so on are a few. These food items and drinks you sell will be part of the revenue you earn for the school. So price accordingly and within reason. You want to sell!!!!

4.  Coordinate a clean up crew for after the carnival event. Be sure you restore the area to the best condition you can, if not better.

5. See about borrowing little ponies to sell rides on for the smaller kids. Small kids love this kind of attraction. You might even be able to arrange for hayrides to be given for a small fee.

Mostly this carnival is about activities, not so much carnival rides, but don’t limit yourself to these selections here. If it’s within your power do what you can to make this a worth while fundraiser.

Yes, some funds will need to be spent arranging for the grand prize. If your savvy enough, you might be able to convince the parks management to donate a few passes for a family of four. Tell them they’ll be donating towards a great cause and specify what it is.

Food items will need to be purchased as well. Go by Wholesale  and see if they’d be willing to donate food items and drinks towards your fundraiser. They carry a wide selection of items.

Go by party supply stores for you carnival game needs, again ask about getting donations before you pay out of pocket. Most businesses enjoy fundraising opportunities as it’s a great source of advertisement for their business.

If you get sponsors be sure you mention them.  You can do this by making banners with their names on them and display them at your carnival. Too once the fundraiser is over, put an ad in thanking everyone who helped out and a special thanks to your sponsors.

This fundraiser may appear to be hard, but once the ball gets rolling, things will fall into place. Delegate responsibilities to all who help. This way you’ll have an eventful fundraiser and one everyone will enjoy participating in.