Beyond the Bake Sale: The Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book [Paperback]

Jean Joachim (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

All the ideas and step-by-step help you need to raise thousands and thousands of dollars for your school

With education budgets across the country slashed, parents of children in both public and private schools are taking up the slack. Parent-driven fund-raising keeps classrooms stocked with computers, libraries filled with books, and teams supplied with uniforms and equipment. Beyond the Bake Sale is a comprehensive guide to foolproof methods that will raise the maximum amount of money for any elementary or secondary school. Learn how the pros:

- set up a fund-raising team
- find national organizations that will give your school a cut of sales
- put on events that leave bake sales and car washes in the dust
- run a pledge drive
- involve parents and get them to volunteer
- account for and distribute the money you raise

Complete with school-year timelines and innovations from fund-raisers across the country, Beyond the Bake Sale is the only blueprint you’ll need to start making money for your school this year.

About the Author

Jean Joachim is part of the fund-raising team at one of New York City’s award-winning public schools, P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She has helped raise over $200,000 a year for the past six years. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (February 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312304838
• ISBN-13: 978-0312304836
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #485,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Meaty, Step-by-Step Guide, January 23, 2003

By	Marilyn R. Lee "Marilyn Reisse Lee" (Natick, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Beyond the Bake Sale: The Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book (Paperback)

I heard the author interviewed on the radio which prompted me to buy this book. The part that got my attention was the fact that she was part of a fund-raising team that raised over $200,000 for her local public school each year for the past 10 years!! How could this be possible? Well, she clearly explains how they built up to this astonishing figure. The part about how to run a successful auction was very insightful. We ran a silent auction at our church this year for the first time and did quite well, but the ideas in this book will really help for next year. This is a meaty, step-by-step guide by someone who has been there and thus has a lot of credibility.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good resource, March 13, 2006

By	Outlander Musican "Jess" (Sunbright TN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Bake Sale: The Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book (Paperback)

Very helpful. I found many ideas that I could use in my small, rural school.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Blueprint for any Parent Group, February 1, 2009

By	LegoMom "LegoMom" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Bake Sale: The Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book (Paperback)

Beyond the Bake Sale provides a blueprint for turning your fundraisers into FUNdraisers, an important distinction when dealing with children. From detailed instructions to holding a successful fundraising carnival to the specifics on putting together an auction gala that will raise money and provide an adults only activity for your school's parents, Beyond the Bake Sale excels at details. Pulling off big events can be an overwhelming and daunting task the first time you try it, so having details like what sub-committees to break things down into, and how to pull it off without spending money up front is extremely beneficial.

The reviewer who stated that the book is more about setting up a fundraising structure is correct, which is kinda the point. Anyone who's ever run a parent group can tell you that some sort of structure is a necessity to maximizing the limited number of parent volunteers, enticing more members to your group, and more efficiently improving your child's school. It's also true that the author's experiences as related are specific to PS 87. However, they are easily adaptable to the school of the reader. The plans included provide the needed detail to get started while leaving enough of the specifics to the reader that an event can become his/her own instead of being an exact replica of the PS 87 event.

All in all this is an outstanding book for any parent group who is interested in taking their fundraisers to the next level while still having a good time doing it. I highly recommend it.