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This time of year everyone who is participating in sports, band or student council, is looking for the best and easiest fundraisers for their school! With all the competition for funds, and limited time to raise them, you need easy fundraising ideas that everyone can get involved in, and even have some fun along the way.

Five Best School Fundraisers That Will Make You A Hero!

Umbrella Service - If you live in Seattle, or any other rainy area, this idea may be for you! A local Boy Scout troupe got permission from the local grocery store to stand at the entrance and walk people to their cars with umbrellas on a rainy weekend. People really appreciated the considerate gesture and the troupe made some pretty decent money. I think it is always important for young people to provide a service rather than to only ask for money, don't you?

Family Movie Night - Show a video indoors or consider renting an outdoor movie screen. Charge a small fee to attend, and sell drinks and popcorn, too. You could add a few jars for additional donations. If you have a group of outgoing kids, you could put on a small dinner theatre or evening of humorous skits. Serve spaghetti and Italian bread. There is a good chance you could get the food donated. This works really well for church groups, if you have a recreation room to use.

Host a Basketball Tournament - This is a great and easy fundraising idea for a sports team. A local group raised over $500 dollars doing this and had a lot of fun, too! Each team paid $10 to enter. One team had four generations on it! Most teams consisted of family members. Of course, you can sell hot dogs, chips, sodas and popcorn purchased at your local discount retailer.

Rent-A-Kid - Have the kids do appropriate chores for people, such as, cutting lawns, washing windows, babysitting, raking leaves, folding or ironing clothes. (Okay, you know, all the things they don't do at home!) A group that did this knew a lady who was moving and the kids packed and wrapped all of her boxes. She was so appreciative she made a very nice donation! Everyone involved in this activity won!

Flocking - This is so much fun! People purchase "insurance", say for $40, or you can take a chance and have a "flock" of flamingos (or any other bird) land on your yard. Without insurance you have to pay to have them removed. It's good to do this within a "band family" or church group that really knows each other. It can become a great tradition over the years.

Starting a small business can be challenging, but of course, with the right guidance and a good plan, you can actually learn to make the most out of your resources. One of the things that you have to consider also is how to get a small business grant from the government.

Indeed, the government is willing to its citizens who are striving to put up their business and are in need of more funds. If you can prove to the grantor that you are deserving to get a grant, then you can actually take advantage of this great benefit. However, as grants are also limited and considering it is open to a lot of people, competition can be tough.

However, you can do something to increase your chances of having your grant application approved. A little research and getting a good guide where to find such grants and what to do to be able to pass the screening, no doubt that you can actually become a recipient of the financial aid.

Keep in mind that grants do not require repayment, thus a lot of people would also want to grab this golden opportunity as well to finance their businesses. However, there are important things that you have to consider if you want to avail of these grants. Here are a few of them.

Know the Schedule

Understand that grants are not available all year round. To learn how to get a small business grant, you have to find information on when is the application period and make sure as well that you know the deadline of submission of requirements. This is done so that the grantor can review and properly screen the applicants for such grants, and since grants are mostly done yearly, you have to wait for the next year if you are not able to catch the deadline for the current year.

Learn How to Write a Good Proposal

Keep in mind that you will be asked for a proposal to be able to avail for such grants. This is actually one of the important parts of the grant application, and one of the things that you also have to prepare the most. Aside from the requirements, writing a good proposal is a must. Of course, a lot of people would love to avail of this benefit but as the funds are limited, the screening can also be tough.

Also take note that your proposal is most likely be the deciding factor for your application. A well-written and comprehensive proposal is often a good thing, but of course, you have to take note of some important points that grantors are looking for.

One way is to do your research on previous types of businesses that were approved previously for grants. With this you will have an idea on what types of businesses are more likely to be approved for grants.

Keep in mind as well those businesses that are most often approved for grants are those that does not only benefit you but the community as well and have an impact to a wider populace.