Let’s face it, everyone likes to be rewarded or recognized for hard work – even kids. When it comes to school fundraising, do prizes actually boost sales? In some cases yes, they do and in other cases no, they don’t.
If you’re working the door-to-door popcorn circuit, offering cool prizes to the top sellers can motivate some students to herculean efforts. For others though, it can be discouraging. They can’t compete with friends who give their catalogues to Mom and Dad, who then tap their coworkers for low-hanging fruit.
Knowing you won’t be among the top popcorn-pushers discourages a child, and participation declines. The less financially fortunate families often cannot afford to buy oodles of candles or magazine subscriptions. Schools that do offer prizes often find that swag cuts into their profits in the end. If you do choose to go the prize route, make sure the prizes are something that the kids will want and lower the barrier for winning a prize.
It’s hard to get students motivated about much of anything these days outside of sports or keeping up with their bffs on their smart phones. Yet there are ways you can get the whole class motivated for your next fundraiser without awarding prizes.
Instead, offer incentives to the whole class. For example, a pizza party is a great way to reward all the students for reaching a fundraising goal. This way, every child has an incentive to participate. If pizza isn’t to your liking, there are a ton of other creative ideas to motivate your students. How about pizza AND a limo ride with the teacher, when you reach your fundraising goal? It’s not everyday a child experiences a cushy ride in a limo.
Involve the principal in your plans. Maybe he needs a haircut. Who wouldn’t love to 
These are just a few of the ways to motivate students for that upcoming fundraiser, without limiting the fun. Incentives in contrast to prizes, build teamwork. Each student is motivated to reach the goal. And by focusing on the goal and the end result, your efforts will spark interest and excitement, making it an easy sale indeed.