Fundraising for Prom

We have all figured out by now that prom is expensive for everyone. The girl, the guy and the parents are all dropping hundreds of bucks for a great prom night. But there are more people out there who are spending tons of time and money to make your prom the best one ever. This is the undercover prom committee, a group of students, teachers and parents who work for months beforehand to make sure that their classmates, students and children have the best venue, food, music and overall atmosphere for their prom.

The first thing a prom committee must do is work out a budget for the grand evening. Plan to spend the most or the least amount of money on the prom venue. Of course, if you decide to hold prom in the school gymnasium, it's going to be free, but if you want to go for something a little fancier, like a hotel or a rented-out clubhouse, be prepared to drop thousands for the evening. Also keep in mind what night of the week you are holding prom. Most high schools reserve a Saturday night, which is the best time for girls and guys to get ready for prom. If you can rearrange it where prom falls on a Friday night, you may only have to pay a fraction of the cost you would pay for a Saturday night.

Food will be the next most costly item. The amount of food you will need will be determined by the number of kids going to prom and what kind of meal you are having. If you are having a menu with a wait staff, you will need options and it will definitely cost more to have individual plates prepared. The most economical way to go is the buffet. You can have assortments of food and the cost stays low. Just remember to work everything into your budget including costs of labor and tableware.

Music is a must-have for prom night and it has to be GOOD music. Live bands are usually too expensive for most prom budgets so the best way to go is to hire a good disc jockey. Go with a professional so that he or she will bring along the best equipment, the hottest tunes and a great DJ personality.

Do not forget to budget for decorations. The prom-goers have to get into the mood somehow and great decorations will do just that. Go for a theme and build around it. Some popular themes we are seeing these days are New Orleans style, red carpet events, Las Vegas casinos or wintery romantic themes. Your prom committee can make the decorations by hand or cough up the dough to get ready-made ones. See what everyone has just lying around, old Christmas lights or decorations from a previous party.

Even prom tickets cost money, but it is how you do them that will determine how much money. Some committees like for their tickets to be professionally designed and printed. Well, guess what? Nobody is going to look at the ticket after you hand it over to get into the prom. However, there are some people that might want to keep their ticket as a prom favor to keep the memory alive. This is why you should spend less money and buy nice paper from a supply store and print the tickets yourself using the school's printer.

As for prom favors, cost depends on what kind of favors you choose to give. You want for you all of your friends and prom-goers to have some sort of party favor to remember the evening, like a key-chain or a picture frame. These can be personalized with the prom year and the name of your school. It definitely will cost more to get them personalized, but if you order in bulk it will be must cheaper and there will be plenty of favors for everyone.

Everyone wants their picture taken at the prom so Prom Committee's duty is to make sure that there is a photographer on the set. While prom-goers will be paying for the actual prints, you still have to cough up the dough to pay for the photographer's time and equipment. You may need multiple photographers and they might need to bring their own backdrop. Fees usually depend on the photographer.

Now that you know what you will be spending your money on, it's time to figure out how to get the funds to actually pay for it all. The best way to make money without spending money is to use what you have and get a lot of people's attention FAST. We have tons of ideas to help you along the way.

- Car Wash: This is a classic fundraising idea that actually works! Don't charge for the actual car wash, but work for tips or donations Pick the most popular street corner in your hometown and watch drivers start to line-up for a "free" car wash. Do this every weekend for a month and you will be banking enough cash to cover some easy expenses.

- Pets: Everyone loves to show off their precious animals. Host an event with an entry fee where families can pretty up their dog, cat or reptile for the whole world to see. You can have a panel of judges to determine the best looking pet or the one with the greatest talent. This isn't only fun, but a great way to earn some prom cash.

- Ice Cream: We all love a little ice cream and an ice cream social after a football game would be a great way to please your peers and rack in the cash to help pay for prom night expenses.

- T-shirt Sale: This might cost the prom committee a little cash up front to pay for the T-shirts, but students love prom T-shirts with cute little slogans about their high-school prom. If you order them in bulk, you can buy them fairly cheap, at around $5 a shirt then turn around and sell them to students and teachers for $15 a pop. An instant money-maker.

- Tournaments: People will always pay to watch others duke it out in one tournament or another, whether it is a sports tournament or a Nintendo match. These are great ways for the prom committee to get in their and turn some profit. Host a video game tournament or a hacky sack tournament. Charge an entrance fee and provide cheap snacks and beverages.

- Team up with a local restaurant: Local fast-food restaurants love helping out with fundraising events because it makes them look good and it brings them more business. You can make this happen by printing our fliers for a small discount on a fast-food purchase at a certain restaurant and make sure that everyone goes on a certain day. If they show their coupon, they will get the discount and the restaurant will split the profits with the prom committee. You can make some serious prom cash if you spread the word.

- Bake Sale: This is the most traditional way to do your prom fundraising, but it doesn't cost much and it always works. For two weeks, have members of the prom committee sell their home-made baked goods at lunch time. The income will be small, but it will be something and really tasty!