Delicious Ways to Raise Money
Discover creative and profitable ways to raise money for your school or organization with everyone's favorite snack - popcorn!
Explore StrategiesSimply put, people enjoy a bag of popcorn to munch on. What would a movie or carnival be without a good old bag of popcorn to eat?
Popcorn can be sold for a dollar a bag or two dollars a bag. This will work if you get someone to donate the supplies and equipment and make the popcorn. Then you will need volunteers to sell the popcorn.
You can simultaneously do a bake sale with homemade baked goods. For example, you could sell cookies for .25 each and brownies for 1.00 each. If you want to make it more of a money-making event, sell larger items such as pies or BIG chocolate chip cookies for $2–$3 each!
Here are some popcorn fundraising ideas for your school to try. These are just some of the many creative fundraising ideas for elementary school students.
Most commercial stores will allow you to stand outside and fundraise. For instance, perhaps you have seen the Girl Scouts selling cookies or the Red Cross asking for donations outside of a Sams Club on a Saturday afternoon. Be sure to get permission from the store manager before setting up your table.
Have a popcorn sale during school hours. This is a great way to raise money and awareness for your fundraiser. Kids have pocket money and love to eat snacks. Many of them stop at the store on the way home for a candy bar. By offering a healthy snack at school, you can make it easy for them to make healthier decisions.
Have a popcorn sale at a local event. This is a great way to get people to donate to your cause. Does your community have an annual parade, a founders day festival, or something similar? Ask about selling as a vendor. They may waive the vendor fees if you are a nonprofit organization.
Have a popcorn sale online. This is a great way to reach people who may not be able to physically participate in person. Use your website, Facebook page, and Instagram. Talk about your event on TikTok too.
Have a popcorn sale at a school event. This works great for football games and baseball games. Prepackage the popcorn in sealed bags and sell it like they sell peanuts at the major league baseball stadium stands.
Advertise using word of mouth, texting, email, and social media. Remember to use old-fashioned flyers too. The more people know about your fundraiser, the more successful it will be.
Have a popcorn sale at a local business. Many businesses are happy to support community fundraisers, especially if they're for schools or nonprofits.
Sporting events, concerts, parent-teacher conferences, and other school gatherings are perfect opportunities to sell popcorn. People are already in a spending mindset and looking for snacks.
Local festivals, parades, and community days attract large crowds who are often looking for food and snacks. These events can be very profitable for popcorn sales.
Always get permission from the store manager, event organizer, or school administration before setting up your popcorn sale. Otherwise, you risk being asked to leave.
This depends on the way you run your popcorn event. If you do all the work yourself and actually make the popcorn, you will have margins of 50% or more. Be sure to allow for renting a popcorn machine and buying the popcorn kernels.
If you don't like to make popcorn, try this. Another option is to team up with a popcorn company and sell ready-made gourmet popcorn. For instance, companies like Fundraising Zone have a popcorn fundraising program where they do all the work for you. That means no sticky fingers!
They supply you with brochures that show all the fancy popcorn flavors. All your volunteers have to do is show the catalog and collect payment for the popcorn sold. Schools and nonprofits can earn up to 50% without any dirty work!
You can do something similar with stores in your local community that sell fancy popcorn. Just ask if they have a fundraising program. I'm sure they will be happy to work with you.
This approach eliminates the need for volunteers to handle food preparation, reduces cleanup time, and provides a professional product that often commands a higher price point.