The audible groans of school staff members arise in concert each year when it comes time to raise money for their schools and students. But fundraising can be so much more, as it transmits valuable life skills to students.
Rather than seeing fundraising as something that is merely a necessity in these days of shrinking school budgets, why not use 
your school’s fundraiser as a learning opportunity? If you have to be a part of your school’s fundraising, you may as well make it fun for both teachers and students. There are a lot of lessons than can be gleaned from school fundraisers, which reinforce classroom principles.
Sales fundraisers in particular lend themselves well to a number of lesson plans. For example, explore with students how to make change or how to chart expenses, sales, and profits. Weight and measurement concepts or nutritional skills can be gleaned from reading labels, if you are selling food products.
Fundraisers can also teach teamwork, responsibility record keeping and how to follow instructions. Character building opportunities abound as well.
Teachers can also reinforce the idea that selling items develops honesty, character and even how to practice personal grooming and good manners, including accepting ‘no’ for an answer. And if there are prizes and incentives involved, students can also acquire motivation and a drive to succeed.
Fundraising doesn’t have to be something you dread. By incorporating mathematical concepts and character-building principles into your lesson plan and showing some enthusiasm to motivate your students, you can actually put the ‘fun’ back into fundraising.