Chicken and Garden Themed Fundraising Ideas�From Chickens.org

Before You Fundraise

• Create a list of what your program needs are (this can simply be items from the Coops and Gardens Wishlist) to share with community members.
• You may find donations from your school community for common items such as 5-gallon buckets, old towels, and any extra recycling and garden supplies they may have at home. 

​

Involve students and parents

• This process should be fun and exciting for all involved. You are getting chickens! Boosting parent and student morale will increase the success of your fundraisers.

Start fundraising! 

• Use the following ideas as a launching board for your fundraising ideas! Let us know how we can help you in this process.

Overview

*Our Favorites!

​

Find more fundraising ideas here

​

Food Based Fundraisers

• *Create and sell recipe books
• Bake sale
• Seed/plant sale/swap
• Chicken-grams

​

Ticket Sale

Fundraisers

• *Chicken drop bingo
• *Host a raffle/silent auction
• Guess the number of eggs

​

Pledge Based Fundraisers

• Chicken dance-a-thon
• Egg spoon walk/race

​

Other

Fundraisers

• *Spare change for change
• *Art sale
• *Sponsor a brick
• Teacher in jail
• Book/rummage sale
• T-shirt sale
• Car wash
• Create Hanging Flower Arrangements

​

FOOD BASED FUNDRAISERS

CREATE AND SELL RECIPE BOOKS

Overview

• Together with students, create a recipe book (bonus points if students illustrate or take photos of the recipes)!
• Include old family recipes, students’ favorite recipes, etc.
• Use a company such as Walgreens or Shutterfly to create a book that you can sell to community members for profit (there are so many ways to get this done, we can talk about it).
• Or use binders and print and bind yourself (see photos)!

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries, etc.
• Post about the sale on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email reminder to parents.
• See if you can promote the sale at your local library or bookstore.

​

Tips for Success

• Make sure to use coupons when creating the books!
• For the book sale, host a potluck with the various foods where people can try out a recipe and buy the book!

BAKE SALE

Overview

• Have students bake (or have parents contribute and bring items in) for sale at your school.
• Invite school community members, city counsel, local business owners, church members, etc.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school

​

Tips for Success

• Make sure to have some options that are gluten free, sugar free, and vegan to cater to all potential customers.

SEED/PLANT SALE/SWAP

Overview

• Host a seed sale or swap (there may be regulations in your area around selling seeds).
• Ask for donations in exchange for seeds from your school’s garden.
• Sell plant propagations, bulbs for fall planting, or starts.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school
• Partner with local community groups or sometimes the local library has a seed swap.

​

Tips for Success

• If there are things from your school garden, make sure that is clearly marketed!
• Have signs explaining your school’s Coops and Gardens Program.

CHICKEN-GRAMS

Overview

• Sell “chicken-grams” with candy or notes that students can buy anonymously during school and have delivered to another student.
• This is like common candy-grams sometimes sent during Valentine’s Day.
• Each gram should be sold for $3 or less. Have select students pass out last period of the day for a week, or however long the campaign lasts.
• Add a cute card with a chicken on it and use lots of cute chicken-puns. We have a print-out of chicken-valentines here!

​

Event Marketing

• Post signs at school
• Send email or flyer home with students
• Give announcements in assemblies

​

Tips for Success

• Here is an example of a school candygram flyer/purchase form.

TICKET SALE FUNDRAISERS

CHICKEN DROP BINGO

Overview

• This is a 50/50 type raffle.
• Chickens are set on a fenced off board with numbers painted (or added with tape) into squares.
• Before chickens are set in the pen, participants pay for tickets with the number they think the chicken will poop on.
• The chickens walk around the pen and the first number to be pooped on is the winner!
• All tickets with the winning number will split 50% of ticket sale proceeds, and the school keeps the other half for their Coops and Gardens Program.
• To make the event last longer, have multiple rounds with new ticket sales and new chickens entering the pen.
• Having concessions at this event will also help increase profits.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.

Chicken drop bingo-raffle tickets sold for each number and wherever the chicken poops is the winner of a 50/50 raffle!

Tips for Success

• Ensure chickens eat and drink before being put in the pen.
• Keep chickens in a dog crate away from crowds before they are put in the pen, and after.
• Have crowd quiet down while chickens are on the bingo card, as not to scare them.
• Play background music!
• Double check with city law enforcement to make sure this event is legal in your state. Call raffle tickets donations.

HOST A RAFFLE/SILENT AUCTION

Overview

• Have parents and students reach out to local businesses for donations to be raffled off.
• Put together baskets to be raffled off with various prizes.
• Can do silent auction style or pull raffle tickets for a winner.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.

​

Tips for Success

• Group like prizes together in baskets. Make them look pretty!
• Always have something physical raffle winners can take home. Did they win a massage? Print a coupon.

​

GUESS THE NUMBER OF EGGS

Overview

• Fill a large jar, fish tank, or other clear container with eggs (real, fake, cany or any other kind).
• Charge community members to guess how many eggs are in the container. (for example, 1 guess = $1)
• Whoever guesses the closest wins a prize (all the candy eggs, a donated prize, etc.)!

​

​

Tips for Success

• Place jar in the front office, or a common place.
• Set a designated guessing period (one week?).
• Take to school sporting events.
• Have a flyer explaining what the money goes for.

​

PLEDGE BASED FUNDRAISERS

CHICKEN DANCE-A-THON

Overview

• Students collect pledges for how many times they do the chicken dance.
• The good thing about this event is it gets students moving and can be held in person or virtually!
• Corporate sponsors are a good source of funding for this event. Have students reach out to parents’ workplaces and local businesses for pledges.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school
• Make sure to create flyers about why you are hosting this event with instructions (we can help with this!).

​

Tips for Success

• Learn more about planning a dance-a-thon here.

​

EGG SPOON WALK/RACE

Overview

• You can be creative with this event. Do you have relay teams that get pledges? Do you have multiple rounds? Do you walk as a school across a pre-determined path and each 20 ft you walk without dropping an egg earns a pledge?

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school

​

​

Tips for Success

• Learn more about a successful egg spoon walk here.

​

OTHER�FUNDRAISERS

Henny’s Pennies

Overview

• Pass out fake eggs (plastic, wooden, or paper mâché) to students, parents, community members, etc.
• Have each person fill their egg with spare change and return to school.
• Bonus: Pool all collected change into an even larger egg to be placed in a public place to see your progress! Or, fill in a giant egg on a poster as target amounts are reached.
• This can be an ongoing event and eggs can be reused!

​

Event Marketing

• Send email to parents
• Include in school newsletters
• Pass out baskets of eggs to churches, libraries, or local businesses to fill.

​

​

Tips for Success

• Send out quarterly reminders for eggs to be returned.
• Keep a basket of empty eggs in the front office for people to take and fill. Make sure to include a small sign explaining what the eggs are for.
• Come up with a fun name! Our ideas are: Henny’s Pennies, Chicken Feed to Feed Our Chickens, or Chick Change

ART SALE

Overview

• Ask students to make chicken/garden themed art to showcase at a gallery type sale.
• Invite community members to attend and buy or bid on art!
• Any arts and crafts media should be encouraged!

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school

​

Tips for Success

• Display art as if it were in a gallery (a school hall works well!).
• Offer concessions for extra money.
• Invite attendees to dress up a little!

SPONSOR A BRICK

Overview

• Community members pay a certain dollar amount to have their name engraved on a brick (or other construction material) to be used in the construction of your garden chicken area walkway.
• Sponsors could be individuals or corporations.
• Use a company like BricksRUs or Brick Markers USA to help.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to sponsor a brick.

​

Tips for Success

• One built, have a party to open the chicken area to the public where sponsors can see their bricks in action!

​

TEACHER IN JAIL

Overview

• Classes raise funds (admin can set a reasonable $ amount) to put their teacher in ”jail” for a class period.
• Students raise funds up to the day of the event.
• If a class hits their goal (say $50, meaning every student contributes $2 or so), their teacher is put in jail.
• Visit this blog to learn more about this fun event.
• You could call this event “cooped up” or something chicken-related.

​

Event Marketing

• Send email to parents about the event
• Include in school newsletters
• Tell students in classes

​

​

Tips for Success

• Give students ideas about ways to save money for this event (ways to find spare change, don’t buy a candy for a day, etc.).

BOOK SALE/RUMMAGE SALE

Overview

• Ask community members and students to donate old books and gently used items
• Have a book sale one day!
• If choosing to do a rummage sale, make sure you have lots of volunteers.
• Organize items by category.

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school

​

Tips for Success

• Have clear aisles, keep items organized.

T-SHIRT SALE

Overview

• Design a cute shirt with a logo or funny saying for your chicken program.
• Sell off shirts to raise money and awareness of your program!

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries etc.
• Post about the sale on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents asking them to spread the word.

​

Tips for Success

• Order shirts in neutral colors so people will want to wear them all the time.
• Order a variety of colors.
• We recommend using Custom Ink, just because we have had great luck with them in the past!

CAR WASH

Overview

• Host a car wash at your school where people offer donations for students to wash their car.
• Make sure to have a large poster or flyers to hand out to each car explaining why you are hosting the wash.
• Have sponges, hoses, buckets, and soap (we recommend an eco friendly soap).

​

Event Marketing

• Make sure to post flyers around town at community posting boards in coffee shops, feed stores, grocery stores, libraries, etc.
• Post about the event on your school social media platforms.
• Send an email to parents reminding them to spread the word.
• Have kids write letters to city counsel members and local business owners inviting them to the event.
• Day of event: have signs out at front of your school

​

​

Tips for Success

• Create a good flow for incoming and outgoing cars, such as your school pickup line.

​