- Partner up: Get many different groups to take part. Are you on the soccer team? Get them on board! Are you a member of student government? Pull them in too. The more people are involved, the more successful your drive will be.
- Clean out the Competition: Compete with your friends or set up a competition between grades or homerooms to see who can raise the most donations. The winner gets bragging rights.
- Shovel Snow or trim grass: Shovel snow (or if it’s warm out, mow lawns) in exchange for donations. It's simple and you’ll get exercise!
- Host a Movie Night: Charge a donation as the admission price. Take it a step further: ask a local movie theater to host it. Now you can get hundreds of people & loads of donations!
- Have a Pajama/Dress Down/Crazy Hair Day: Petition your principal. Set a goal. (Like, if 50% of the students bring in a donation, you get to dress down.)
- Use Any Upcoming Event: Holiday party? Big b-ball game? Hockey tourney? Have the cost to take part be a donation to your cause. After the event/game, deliver donations together.
- Create a Raffle – Win Cool Stuff!: Visit a few local stores (try a pizzeria, deli, video store) and get good prizes donated. Price of a ticket? A donation to the cause.
- Lock Up Your Teacher: Columbus High School in Iowa did it last year. They put teachers on the school roof on a drizzly, cold day. (Seriously!) Each donated item added a minute of lock-up time. The result? 6+ hours on the roof! We all have teachers we’d like to see locked up....
- Hot Chocolate or Lemonade Stand: Pick a good location. Get fun people to work it. Pick a good time—like right in front of school in the morning or right outside of the mall on a Saturday. Advertise it with posters a few days before: "Want some hot cocoa (or lemonade)? It’ll cost you a donation!" Tip: If it’s hot chocolate, give extra marshmallows to those who contrib mad threads. If it’s lemonade, give them an extra large cup.
- Sponsor a sculpture contest: Get awesome prizes donated. The person or group with the craziest sculpture made out of donations (cans, jeans, whatever it is you’re collecting), gets the loot.
- Days of the Week: Make a theme for each day of the week & tell people to bring in donations that fit the theme:
- Manic Monday
- Tacky Tuesday
- Wacky Wednesday
- Thick Thursday
- Fake Friday