Books, desks, white boards—they all cost money; money that your school, and many others, may not have to spend. School fundraisers, from Read-A-Thons to silent auctions, are a great way to get that money and put it to good use in your school.

The only way to get that money, however, is to be successful. Your ability to raise the amount you need is affected by a variety of factors like which fundraiser you choose or how you promote it, both internally, among students, parents and teachers, and externally. Use these tips to ensure you raise every last dollar your school needs.

• Choose a fundraiser everyone can participate in. Students leave school at 3 p.m. but many parents work until late in the evening. This makes product fundraisers like selling wrapping paper difficult. Other methods require a number of volunteers to organize and run the fundraiser, like a jog-a-thon. Look for opportunities that allow the entire school to participate, like ReadaFun’s online Reading-Raiser.
• Choose a school fundraiser that teachers will support, not push against, by finding one that doesn’t interrupt learning time.
• Spread the word. Organize a school assembly to get students excited and then use other promotion methods, like Facebook, to make it easy for everyone to follow along. Schools can also use weekly newsletters to update current participants and encourage new people to join.
• Provide incentives. Students get more excited, and competitive, about school fundraisers when they know they can win movie passes or a gift card to the local arcade.