Every art teacher probably feels like they could use more money for supplies, right? Here are 8 art teacher fundraiser ideas I’ve used that have raised the most money for my art program. You can always use a fundraising company to help you, but I am always disappointed with the amount of money the companies keep. These ideas are all fundraisers you can do yourself that will give you more bang for the buck or even 100% profit!
Art Club or Summer Art Camp
This is my biggest fundraiser. I have done several art clubs and summer camps. I always charge enough to pay myself for my time as well as art supplies. For example, I charge $50 per student for an art club that meets one hour weekly for 8 weeks. I only accept 25 students. This gives me $1,250 for supplies and my fee. In this scenario, if I did a clay lesson, drawing lesson and a painting lesson, I will have $700-800 to use toward general art supplies for all of my art classes.
Art T-Shirts
This idea is pretty simple and my favorite of the art teacher fundraiser ideas. Sometimes I design the shirt and other years I have each of my students design an art shirt. I choose my top 5 finalists and the students vote on their favorite design. Our school works closely with a t-shirt company that can print the shirts for about $5 each. Of course, this is printed with just 1 color on a solid color shirt. I can charge $15 per shirt and make $10 profit. I encourage all my students to buy them and we wear them on our field trip. This year we printed our shirt on a white tee so we could tie dye the shirts. My students LOVED this and said it was one of the reasons they bought the shirt. I had 60 students and staff order, which gave me $600 for sculpture supplies! This years design is pictured below and there is a link at the end of this post to download the printer-ready file if you would like to use it!
Art Auction
Our school has a few different family fun nights throughout the school year. These events are a perfect opportunity to sell artwork. Silent auctions are perfect for collaborative art pieces. It is a artwork all students have interest in, therefore, a bidding war may occur if one student or family really wants the art piece. I have also sold prints (color copies) of artwork, printmaking prints, leftover clay pieces (students didn’t take home), cards and small paintings. Many times it is the parent that purchases the artwork, however, the staff at my school loves buying student art and the students purchase quite a bit of the artwork as well.
Class Coloring Book
My 6th graders rotate through their electives. Since they stay together as a class, I created a community building activity where the students created a page for a mandala coloring book. My students thoroughly enjoyed creating the mandala and learning the meaning behind the significance of the circle and mandala. In addition, the students added an inspirational quote to their page. I created a simple cover and photocopied the pages back to back and stapled the book together. I took orders for the coloring book and made copies for the students who purchased the coloring book. Students paid $2 for their coloring book. About 10 students per class ordered. I have 16 classes, so approximately $320 for paint and supplies! You can watch the mandala video tutorial below.
Painting Party
The painting party trend has been around for years. I have had after school painting parties with students as well as family painting parties. I usually do a guided painting on 16X20 canvas. If you buy the canvases in bulk, you can get the canvas for less than $5. I use the Apple Barrel acrylic paints at $1 per bottle. I charge $25 per person. The more people at the event the more profit you make. However, the larger the party the more assistance I require. I have had a student volunteer to assist distributing paint or give help to the artists when needed. I have made $400 profit on one event.
Snack Sale
This is another great school-wide fundraiser. Similar to a bake sale, but snacks are sold instead. I ask parents to donate prepackaged chips, small candy bars, soda, cookies, etc. I make a list of items donated and charge $1 to $2 for snack items depending on the size of the items. At the end of class we set up a table in the hallway and my students assist with sales between classes. I usually do this for a week. This is also a fantastic fundraiser as it is pure profit, as the snacks are donated and it is zero expense on my part. This is a perfect fundraiser for middle and high school students because they are always hungry!
Jeans Day
My students wear uniforms. On select Fridays I am allowed to sell wristbands for $2 that allow students to wear jeans. The last time I did this fundraiser we made $450 with no out of pocket expenses or prep on my end. Easiest fundraiser ever! Plus this type of fundraiser involves the entire school, which opens the door to a larger audience. In a non-uniform school this same idea could work with hats, as this is also something that is typically a dress code violation.
Parent Teacher Associations
Every year I work with PTSA and their Reflections Art Contest. I require my students to create a work of art for this event. I assist with the reception, display, and organize the judging for this event. In return, the PTSA always approves my classroom grant year to year. I have bought everything from paintbrushes, displays, clay and glaze, and acrylic house paint for murals with PTSA grants. The PTSA/PTA is a great place to start when looking for additional funds. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. 🙂
These are a few of the ways you can make some extra money for art supplies. We all know supplies are expensive and consumable. With budget cuts and inflated prices, I hope this gives you a few ideas for raising money at your school.
Click here to download my FREE Art T-Shirt design.
As always, thanks for checking out my blog – Trista
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