Fundraiser Information - Quick overview and then VERY DETAILED outline!

 

🐝 McMillan PTA Fundraiser: Everything You Need to Know

Our annual McMillan Elementary PTA fundraiser is here!

If you are new to McMillan—or if this is your first time participating in a school fundraiser—you may have questions about how everything works. We want this fundraiser to be as simple, low-pressure, and easy to understand as possible, so we’ve put together all of the details below.

⭐ Short on Time? Here's All You Really Need to Know!

1. Your child will bring home a fundraiser page with an attached envelope on Monday, September 28.

2. Our fundraising goal is $50 per student, but this is a goal—not a requirement. Any amount helps!

3. Donations can be made by cash, check, or online. Checks may be made payable to McMillan Elementary PTA.

4. Write your child's name on the fundraiser page and record the donations received, including the donor's name, amount, and payment method.

5. Put any cash or checks inside the attached envelope, seal it, and send the fundraiser page and envelope back to school with your child. Online donations should still be recorded on the page so we can match them to your student.

6. Simply returning the fundraiser card earns your child a small prize + one drawing ticket—even if you don't collect any donations!

7. Students earn an additional ticket when they reach $50, plus another ticket for every additional $10 raised over $50.

8. Students get to choose which of our 75+ prizes they want to try to win!

9. Everything is due Tuesday, October 6. Winners will be drawn Wednesday, October 7, and prizes will be sent home with students that day.

That's it! Keep reading if you'd like all the details. 🐝

---

Why Do We Have a Fundraiser?

McMillan PTA helps provide many of the programs, activities, and experiences our students enjoy throughout the school year.

These include things like:

• Field Day
• STEM Fair
• Spelling Bee
• Art Literacy
• Family activities and events
• Student celebrations and birthday recognition
• Books and educational resources
• Field trips
• School-wide activities
• And much more!

Rather than asking families to participate in multiple fundraisers throughout the year, this is McMillan PTA's one main fundraiser.

Our goal is simple: raise enough money now to help fund PTA programs and activities for our students throughout the school year.

🐝 Our Goal: $50 Per Student

We are asking families to help us reach a goal of $50 per student.

Please know that $50 is a goal—not a requirement.

Every donation helps, whether it is $5, $10, $25, $50, or another amount that works for your family.

Students are also welcome to ask grandparents, extended family members, family friends, neighbors, or others who would like to support McMillan Elementary. PLEASE do not have your child go door-to-door, though! Safety first :)

Several smaller donations can be combined to help a student reach the $50 goal. For example, a $10 donation from Grandma, $20 from an aunt, and $20 from a parent would together help that student reach $50.

And, of course, there is never a requirement for a student or family to donate in order to return their fundraiser card and participate in the fun!

What Will Come Home With My Student?

On Monday, September 28, students will bring home their fundraiser materials.

Each student will receive an instruction/fundraiser page along with an attached envelope.

The fundraiser will run from Monday, September 28 through Tuesday, October 6.

You do not need to wait until the last day to return the envelope. Students may bring their fundraiser materials back to school on any school day during the fundraiser.

How Do We Participate?

We have tried to make this as easy as possible.

First, look over the fundraiser page that comes home with your student.

If you would like to participate, decide whether you would like to make a donation yourself or invite grandparents, relatives, friends, or others to contribute.

Donations may be made by cash, check, or online.

On the fundraiser page, please record the name of the donor, the amount donated, and how the donation was made. This is especially important for online donations so that we can match those donations with the correct student.

If you are returning cash or checks, place them inside the attached envelope and seal it. Checks may be made out to McMillan Elementary PTA.

Then simply send the fundraiser page and envelope back to school with your child.

That's it!

What If Someone Donates Online?

Online donations absolutely count toward your student's total.

Because online donations do not physically come back to school inside the envelope, we need a little help connecting those donations to the correct student.

Please list the donor's name, donation amount, and indicate that the donation was made online on your child's fundraiser page.

This is especially helpful when a grandparent or another family member makes the online donation under their own name.

Keeping this information on the fundraiser page allows us to verify the donation and make sure your student receives the correct credit. We will do so when your child comes to the reward table during school hours.

What If We Already Donated $50 During Registration?

Some McMillan families generously donated $50 per student or more during school registration.

If that is you: thank you! Hopefully you received your thank-you note alerting you to our procedure. If not, continue reading:

You have already reached the fundraiser goal, and there is absolutely no need for you to donate again.

Your child will receive one drawing ticket for reaching the $50 goal. They may receive a second ticket and a small prize for returning their envelope with their name on it.

If you would still like to participate or invite family members to support McMillan, you are certainly welcome to do so—but it is completely optional.

🎟️ How Do the Prizes and Drawing Tickets Work?

We want every student to feel included, regardless of how much money their family is able to raise.

Simply return the fundraiser card:

Your student will receive a small prize AND one drawing ticket.

Yes—even if there is no donation!

We want students to bring their cards back, and every student who does so gets to participate.

Reach the $50 goal:

Your student earns one additional drawing ticket.

Raise more than $50:

Students earn one additional drawing ticket for every $10 raised over $50.

Return the card: 1 ticket
Reach $50: +1 ticket
Reach $60: +1 ticket
Reach $70: +1 ticket
Reach $80: +1 ticket

…and so on!

There is no limit to how many additional tickets a student can earn by going above the $50 goal.

Once students receive their tickets, they get to decide which prizes they would most like a chance to win.

Winners will be drawn on Wednesday, October 7, and prizes will be sent home with the winning students that same day!

🎁 What Can Students Win?

This is where things get especially fun!

We expect to have over 75 prizes available.

Instead of putting every student's tickets into one large drawing, students will get to choose which prizes they would like a chance to win.

Things like: Trader Joe's Takis, Squishy Dumplings, sports-themed hacky sacks, mystery plush animals, Chick-fil-A meal cards, a set of markers, a set of gel crayons, and more!

Students can decide where to place each of their drawing tickets.

For example, if a student earns four tickets, they could put all four tickets toward one prize they REALLY want—or spread those tickets among four different prizes.

This gives students some choice in what they would be excited to win!

Do We Have to Sell Anything?

No!

There are no products to sell and no orders to deliver.

Families are simply invited to make a donation or ask friends and family members who may be interested in supporting McMillan Elementary.

Our hope is to keep the fundraiser straightforward: rather than asking families to buy something they may not need, donations go toward helping fund the programs and experiences our students enjoy at school.

Does My Child Have to Raise $50?

No.

The $50 amount is our fundraising goal per student, not a participation requirement.

We understand that every family's circumstances are different.

A student who returns a fundraiser card with no donation will still receive the small participation prize and one drawing ticket.

A student who raises $10 will receive the small participation prize and one drawing ticket.

A student who raises $50 will receive the small participation prize, the return ticket, and an additional ticket for reaching the goal.

Every returned card matters, and every donation helps.

Can Grandparents and Other Family Members Donate?

Absolutely!

Grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, neighbors, and others are welcome to support your student.

They can contribute cash, write a check, or donate online.

Just remember to write the donor's information on your student's fundraiser page so that we can correctly match each donation to your child.

What If I Have More Than One Child at McMillan?

We are asking for every student to bring in $50 as the events/activities that we put on as a PTA benefit every single student.

What Happens to the Money We Raise?

The money raised through this fundraiser helps McMillan PTA provide programs, activities, resources, and experiences for students throughout the school year.

When you donate to the PTA fundraiser, you aren't purchasing a product—you are helping us provide things that directly benefit our McMillan students and school community.

Our PTA works throughout the year to stretch those dollars as far as possible and use them to support meaningful experiences for our students.

🗓️ Important Dates

Monday, September 28
Fundraiser materials come home with students.

September 28–October 6
Students may return their fundraiser materials on any school day.

Monday, October 5
Watch for a final fundraiser reminder!

Tuesday, October 6
Fundraiser ends and final materials are due.

Wednesday, October 7
🎉 Prize Drawing Day! Winners will be drawn, and prizes will be sent home with students that day.

Before You Send the Envelope Back…

A quick check can help us tremendously!

• Your student's name is on the fundraiser page.
• Donations are listed on the page.
• Each donor's name is included.
• The donation method is marked as cash, check, or online.
• Cash and checks are placed inside the envelope.
• The envelope is sealed.

Then send it to school with your student!

Thank You for Helping Us Fill the Hive! 🐝

Most importantly, we want this fundraiser to feel positive and manageable for our McMillan families.

We know families are busy. We know every family's financial situation is different. And we know that school fundraisers can sometimes feel confusing—especially when you are brand new to elementary school!

Whether your family donates, asks extended family members to participate, simply returns the fundraiser card, or helps us spread the word, we appreciate your support of McMillan Elementary and our students.

Every returned card helps.

Every donation helps.

And together, we can fill the hive and help make this a wonderful year for our McMillan students!

Thank you for supporting McMillan Elementary PTA!