Fundraiser Ideas For Marching Bands
Looking for successful marching band fundraiser ideas?
Yes sirree…We got ’em! We have dozens of ways to raise money for your school band.
Additionally, you get everything you need to succeed with our free high school marching band fundraising program.
But first…
Here is some marching trivia you might enjoy:
- Did you know that bandsmen were originally enlisted into the army to boost the morale of troops on the battlefield?
- Additionally, did you know it was this theme of fighting to the end that connected marching bands with American college football?
- For instance, did you know that the oldest American college band is the University of Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish? It was founded in 1845 and performed at its first football game in 1887.
- Furthermore, did you know this fighting theme continued as schools embraced their own “fight songs”? A Fight song is usually played by high schools and colleges at the game. This is because they want to boost the old school team spirit.
- And finally, today many school bands include majorettes, dance lines of color guard, baton twirlers, flag holders, rifle holders and saber holders too.
- Different styles include military style, corps style, traditional style, Carnival bands and also Scramble bands.
So why do need to do Raise Money For high school bands?
Players in the high school band need to raise money for all different kinds of reasons, so it is important to get everyone involved before you ever start.
It is also important to have the band director and drum major on board as they are looked up to by the rest of the band members.
You will also need to have that same fighting spirit if you are going to be successful in raising funds for your school. Remember, all of the money goes to the band that wins. So you must fund raise to win!
The good news is that we have several profitable fundraising programs to help you raise funds for your music program. They are all free and simple to follow.
Our step-by-step proven band fundraising formula means you will have a successfully be able to pay for your music education.
Tips for raising Funds for Competitions & Colorguard Events
Here is a fundraising idea to try. Did you know that the first national marching band competition was held in 1923? Today competitions are popular all over the country.
The competition may also require tournament entry fees for the band. This can become very expensive, especially if there is a fee for every member of the band.
Additionally, the band will need to rent buses to transport themselves to the location of the competition. This will also cost a lot of money, especially if the competition is held in another part of the state or out of state.
And finally, some of these high school band competitions can be several days long. Combining this with travel time means you’ll need to pay for hotels as well.
As you can imagine this can get very expensive quite quickly. Talk to one of our fundraising experts about how our gourmet popcorn fundraising brochure can help you. It is simple to sell!
Successful Ways To Pay For uniforms
Band members all need uniforms. Additionally, dance lines, majorettes and the auxiliary unit members also need uniforms. Many times these are Military style uniforms with the high school’s color, name or symbol.
Where does the money come from to buy marching uniforms? Holding a school band fund raiser is a great way to raise money for these. Otherwise, each member may have to purchase their own uniforms, band shoes and hats too.
Additional items that will need to be purchased include music, Pom-poms, batons, sabers, mock rifles, horizontal and vertical banners, streamers and tall flags.
All of these require money to purchase. Our cookie dough fundraisers or winter fundraising catalog would be perfect for this.
Learn how to buy new Instruments
There may be anywhere from 20-500 band members per school. That is a lot of musical instruments to buy!
The high school marching band often has brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Thankfully our band fundraising ideas can help you pay for your music education.
Brass instruments include:
- Marching band tuba
- Trumpet
- Trombones
- Mellophone
- Sousaphone
- Contrabass bugle
- Cornet
- And French horns also.
Woodwind instruments include:
- Clarinet
- Fife
- Flute
- Oboe
- And Saxophones also.
Percussion includes:
- Marching band drums
- Bass drum
- Snare drum
- Tenor drums
- Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Xylophone
- And Triangles also.
It cost money to repair and replace these beautiful music instruments. Our school fund raising ideas for marchers can help you to raise the funds you need.
They work because we have a simple fool proof system to follow. Ask about our popular Snackin’ in the USA fundraising brochure.
Summer Music Camp Activities
To get ready for the new school year, many schools hold a band camp during the summer months.
Why do they have a camp?
It is going to be a busy year for the band members. There are parade performances, field shows, sporting events and also competitions.
That means they need to practice before the school year starts. Band members will learn and practice their extended high step, the ankle-knee step, and the chair step too. Furthermore, they practice the glide step or roll step.
In addition to that, they have to practice marking time, lateral marching, changing direction and a backward march too.
So are you operating a summer band camp? We want to help.
There are costs associated with band camp. Our school fundraising programs can certainly help you to raise the money you need for band camp this summer. So talk to one of our fundraising agents about our delicious coffee fundraising program!
Summer camp for recruits
There may be younger students that are interested in music. Others dream about being able to march in the school band one day. You could give them a chance to learn all about your wonderful school program. They can also learn some of the march steps, techniques like how to use the baton, and wave the tall flag. This is a great way to earn extra money while recruiting future band members at the same time. Your volunteers will help you sell tickets for your music camp.
How to find things to sell?
It takes a little creativity to find things to sell for your school band fund raising event. Thankfully many musicians are creative. So here are a few band fundraising ideas to get those creative juices flowing.
Successful band fundraisers in the past have had success with sales selling items like these:
Cookie dough.
There’s very few people that can resist the aroma of fresh cookies baking in the oven. Your marching band can help create that nostalgic memory of smell for generations to come. Chocolate chip cookie dough, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin, etc. We have it all!
In fact, there are many other delicious flavors to choose from. Each cookie dough tub weighs 2 pounds and can be kept in the freezer to maximize its freshness. And the best part is your marching band can earn up to a 50% profit on every sale they make. Simply put this program platform works.
Pretty good, huh?
Is it expensive? I think you’ll agree this is a deal because you get 2 pounds of fresh gourmet cookie dough for only 10 bucks. Our customers say this is a good deal because you get 2-lbs of gourmet dough for this price. Learn more about how to raise money with cookie dough sales here. Then set a day to start your campaign then get to work.
Get marching with this annual gourmet popcorn event.
Popcorn has been a favorite snack for over 100 years. so we have an amazing popcorn fundraising program for your band. You get free beautifully designed brochures that show all the delicious flavors.
Who can resist seeing a photo of gourmet popcorn drizzled with chocolate and not want to taste it? The mouth watering photos in our brochures work very well.
Furthermore, we have sweet and salty varieties for every taste bud. And again, your band can earn up to a 50% profit on every sale. Learn more on how to raise money selling popcorn for music here. Joe and Chris would like to help you start your first event.
Sell gift wrap this holiday season.
School bands all over the country have had success selling gift wrapping paper. Our free band fundraisers helps your schools band raise the money you need.
When you work with fundraisingzone.com, you get beautiful Winter Wonderland catalogs to show to your friends and family. Each fundraising brochure is filled with all of the items your family will probably be looking for come the holiday season. Each catalog contains photos of beautiful gift wrap, ribbons, bows and affordable gifts for every member of the family. Finally, your band members will be elated to earn up to 50% profit on every sale. Check out our winter fundraising catalog here.
Booster club parents try these next!
Your band booster club can also organize and schedule these events for this school year.
March band gigs
Is it possible to get paid for marching? You might be surprised that high school bands and drumlines earn thousands of dollars of year doing this gig type fundraiser. Imagine getting paid good money for marching with your band!
The garage sale and yard sale.
Each member of the band can go to their friends, family and neighbors and tell them they are having a garage sale to help the band. They can ask for donated items that they can sell.
Additionally, be sure to put up lots of fliers and posters and remember to also advertise on craigslist and Facebook.
The musicians bake sale.
Your band booster club can help support your students by making all kinds of baked goods. High school students love to eat homemade desserts like brownies, cupcakes and muffins. You could raise several hundred dollars a year for music this way.
Try a car wash.
This is a great way to raise money on a spring afternoon. If you advertise this correctly, you can raise several hundred dollars very quickly washing cars.
Here are some fun events you can put on to raise money for the band.
March-a-thon fundraising
Here is a little marching band spin on the classic walk-a-thon fundraiser popular with many schools.
How does it work?
Talk to your family and friends and ask if they would be willing to sponsor you for every lap around the school track you march. The idea is to get as many sponsors as possible.
So let’s say you got 5 people willing to pay you five dollars for every lap around the high school track. That’s $25 per march around the track. If you practice, you would be able to do this a couple of times. This can add up very quickly!
Host a concert
Everybody enjoys a good concert, don’t they?
A band’s reputation can make a difference. If they play well people will be happy to donate to your cause. You can host a concert in the winter with some of the holiday song favorites. You can also hold a summer series concert playing popular tunes that people enjoy listening to or even singing to.
Furthermore, remember to set up concession stands to sell refreshments. This is a great way to add additional funds to your program. You can either charge a small fee for people to come to the concert, or do the concert for free. Your money can be made on donations along with the profits made on the concession stands. Remember to offer a discount card for senior citizens and the military.
Hold a spring festival
This is a great way to give back to your local community. Talk to the local Chamber of Commerce and tell him about your idea of putting on the Spring Festival to the community. Tell them how you would like to provide music for everyone’s enjoyment.
Why would the local Chamber of Commerce be interested in helping you? Simply put, because it’s free advertising for all of the local businesses in the community. It is a free opportunity for them to get walk-in customers that come to the festival.
Battle-of-the-bands
Let’s talk about high school bands. What if you challenged some of the other local high schools to a Battle of the bands ? You could charge a small entry fee and sell food and drinks at the concession stand.
Additionally, you could also charge a fee for every vote from the audience. So people could vote as many times as they like with their wallet! You can see how this could add up quickly, can’t you?
Go Online
Fundraisingzone.com makes it profitable to raise money with their online fundraising programs. We give you the tools and resources you need to raise money online for your marching band.
For example, you get a PDF brochure that you can post on your school website or Facebook page.
Furthermore, you can use texting and email fundraising to drive people to your online brochure.
Additionally, we invite you to reach out to all of your friends, neighbors, coworkers and family using your favorite social media pages.
And finally, remember to use video that shows your band members talking about your fundraiser.
Parent letters — Customized for your musicians
A great way to get your student’s family excited about supporting the school fundraiser is by sending home fundraising letters.
Here are some tips that you can use when writing your band fundraiser letter:
- Tell the parents why you are raising money for the band.
- Explain to them what the fundraiser is about.
- Give the date of the fundraising event.
- Tell the parents exactly what you need them to do to help their child.
If you would like, we would be happy to help you with this. For example, we provide complimentary band fund raising letters for schools. It is just another value added service we offer to our customers.
How to make this all fun again
The key to the most successful fundraisers is to make it a friendly competition. Your band members know how to compete already, don’t they? Every year they compete against other school marching bands. Your school understands how serious this is. A little competition can bring out the best in all of us. It also makes us want to give our best.
So here are some ways to make fundraisers fun.
- Drum Major for a day.
- Pizza party if you reach your goal.
- Ice cream party if you reach your goal.
- Take part of the money raised and put it toward a special prize, and the top fundraising band member gets to win the prize.
- Ask local businesses if they would like to donate prizes for your competition.
How to find companies that donate to marching bands
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to find companies that donate to schools you will be disappointed.
The facts are that there are companies that are willing to donate to schools, in fact, there are companies that sponsor bands all over the country. So that means that if they can do it, then your school band can do it too.
But how can you do it? Learn how to find companies that donate to marching bands.
Finding Corporate Sponsors
You could be one letter away from landing a $5,000 a year sponsor for your high school band.
What would an extra $5,000 a year sponsorship do for your band program?
You are cordially invited to a free coaching call
In conclusion, you need to plan if you want to get the funding that you need for this school year.
We certainly respect there are many options out there to choose from including ABC or Gofundme. However, we want to earn the opportunity to help you. We’ve been helping schools raise money for five decades now. Simply put, our programs and resources work. In fact, band members all over the country love our free fundraising program for schools.
Please allow us the opportunity to show you what we can do for your school. And finally, you have our word that we will help you to find successful marching band fundraising ideas for your school.
You may also enjoy these articles:
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- Marching Band Sponsorship Letter Template For Sponsors
- Companies that donate to marching bands and school band
- How much does it cost to hire a marching band or drumline?
- How to find Marching Band Sponsor Ideas
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- What Is The Best Way To Raise Funds For Your School Marching Band?
- Try This Checklist For Raising Funds For School Marching Band
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- Do You Know These Secrets to a Profitable Band Fundraiser?