Thomas Jefferson DECA (Area 5)

Last spring, Thomas Jefferson High School DECA (Area 5) brought a refreshing twist to their annual Red & Gold Carnival. Leveraging their Student Store space, DECA members sold delicious Melona bars and lemonade to students and staff enjoying the day’s festivities.

The fundraiser was a hit, raising over $100 by selling 60 bars. The success of this event was driven by the dedicated efforts of the chapter’s members, with officers organizing shifts and leading the team. Social media (and the nice weather) also played a key role in their success, as their promotional post reached a wide audience within the school, drawing in more customers.

Additionally, the chapter made strategic choices by selling items they knew their peers would enjoy. The funds raised will support future fund development efforts and help the chapter cover costs for attending competitions. Thomas Jefferson DECA encourages other chapters to get creative with their fundraising ideas, advising that stepping outside of tradition and trying new things often leads to great results.

We wish Thomas Jefferson DECA many more cool and creative fundraising achievements ahead!

Eastlake High School DECA (Area 3) – August 2024

With 80 members qualifying to attend the International Career Development Conference in 2023, officers at Eastlake High School DECA knew that they wanted to host a fundraiser to help mitigate ICDC costs for their chapter. The chapter had settled on running an Italian Soda Popup shop through their SBE-certified student store, “The DEN,” before school and during lunch, launching exciting flavors such as passionfruit, blue raspberry, and much more! Given the promise of community service hours, eager chapter members were recruited to help out with what would be a week-long endeavor, participating in shifts during times the popup was open. Over the course of the week, the Italian Soda Popup generated around $1,200 in revenue! The money raised was evenly distributed to partially subsidize the cost of attending ICDC for Eastlake DECA’s attendees. However, Eastlake DECA’s successes with fundraising also serves its dual purpose, which is that it also encourages other chapters to find creative ways to fundraise for their members. One chapter officer who was involved with the fundraising process outwardly advises other chapters to “have a set goal/amount to target to raise and think about potential incentives to attract more participation.” She believes that “it is also important people are aware of fundraisers [and therefore] it is vital to have good marketing.”

We wish Eastlake DECA many more fizz-tastic fundraising successes in the future!

Olympia High School DECA (Area 8) – July 2024

In preparation for ICDC 2024, the 11 conference-qualifying members of Olympia DECA organized a successful car wash ticket sales fundraiser. With the goal of subsidizing activity costs for their trip, the chapter officers and qualifying members sold car wash tickets at a stellar deal, priced at $6 each. These tickets could be redeemed at 24 different locations, ranging from King County to Lewis County, Washington, providing ample convenience for supporters.

Tasked with selling 15 tickets each, they raised a total of $900. A key piece of advice shared by one of the students involved in this fundraiser was to leverage word-of-mouth marketing. They found that asking friends, teachers, and family members were highly effective in boosting sales, as community members are more inclined to support local efforts.

We wish the Bears of Olympia DECA many more sudsy successes in the future!