An Art Portfolio Fundraiser is a great way to celebrate your school’s art program and support your school by fundraising with art in a big way! These make perfect spring and end-of-school-year fundraisers. With so much awesome art to choose from, parents can’t resist placing multiple orders!
Benefits of Using Art Portfolios
If your school sends home art projects throughout the school year, consider stockpiling them at school instead. There are many benefits to storing artwork in student portfolios.
Portfolios give students a way to document their progress and keep their art safe at the same time. They can look back on their first art projects and see how their skills have developed throughout the year. In the event a student has free time at the end of a class period, he/she can continue work on an unfinished piece of art.
At the end of the school year, students will have an easy way to bring art home and keep it protected on its journey. Parent conferences or school events are opportunities to pull out those portfolios to share with interested parents. They’ll get perspective on the depth of your art program.
As a bonus, if your school runs spring Art Shows, you’ll have artwork organized and available when you need it, with plenty of pieces to choose from!
Have Students Create Their Own Art Portfolios
The beginning of school is a great time to have students create their own portfolios to store their artwork. This can be a creative venture in and of itself. Start by folding 18” x 24” heavy stock paper in half, or tape together two large pieces of poster board. Make handles from colorful duct tape. Invite students to personalize their portfolio with a self-portrait, a picture of something they are thankful for, a wish they have for the school year, etc. Be sure to have students record their name, grade and teacher on one side of their portfolio. Use plastic storage bins to keep portfolios neatly stacked and organized by class.
Portfolio image from modernparentsmessykids.com
Why Art Portfolio Fundraisers Work
At some point, students bring home their creations to show their families. That’s an exciting moment that many students and parents look forward to. It’s also a tribute to your school’s art program.
Imagine a parent sorting through the art in their child’s portfolio, wondering what to do with it all. Parents are not likely to throw art out like they might a math quiz or spelling worksheet, but they don’t have room to display it all either. Most of it will probably end up in the corner of a closet, under the bed, or dare we say, in the trash! What if they could turn their child’s art into something useful, like a coffee cup or grocery tote, a one-of-a-kind gift, or a display piece for their desk?
Companies like SilverGraphics Art Fundraising are experts at fundraising with art, replicating art on a variety of products. Schools offer these products to parents with proceeds going back to their art program and/or PTO group. These make very popular spring fundraisers since students have had enough time in art class to accumulate their masterpieces, giving parents a variety of artworks to choose from.
What makes Art Portfolio Fundraising so successful is that parents have the opportunity to place orders on any/all the art in the portfolio, resulting in an ordering bonanza for your school! It’s hard for parents to resist placing multiple orders when there’s so many awesome drawings to choose from. Best of all, their child’s art does not end up in some storage bin. Instead, it is proudly displayed and enjoyed all year long on beautiful keepsakes!
Rosy Bishop
SilverGraphics blogger