Your dance studio is first and foremost a business. Most of your dance studio’s revenue comes from class tuition payments, recital tickets, and merchandise sales.
However, as a small business, your studio may need additional revenue streams to offset costs. Luckily, dance studios are unique in that the communities they garner allow them to further boost revenue via engaging dance studio fundraising ideas.
To help you get started, we’ll explore several fresh and effective dance studio fundraising ideas and the steps to implement each one. That way, you can increase revenue and unite your community in no time.
Dance-a-thons are popular fundraisers for many causes, but for a dance studio, it just makes sense! Plus, this unique and relevant campaign lends itself to a peer-to-peer fundraising approach.
With peer-to-peer fundraising, your dancers (and other advocates for your studio) are put in the spotlight. They share their own donation pages and reach out to their families and friends on your studio’s behalf. This fundraising method has the potential to expand your reach and bring in significantly more funding for your studio.
Dance-a-thons and other event-a-thon-style fundraisers (walk-a-thons, read-a-thons, etc.) get your entire community involved in raising money for your studio. Plus, dance-a-thons give you the chance to market your studio and its offerings to a wide variety of people, potentially increasing your class enrollments and performance ticket sales down the road!
Product fundraisers are tried-and-true campaigns that can benefit all sorts of organizations, including dance studios. After all, the beauty of a product fundraiser is that everyone who donates to your campaign gets a little something in return for their generosity, whether that’s a cool branded baseball hat or a delicious bag of popcorn.
A product fundraiser presents another great opportunity to get your dancers involved in the fundraising process. When each dancer has their own order-taking flyer or link to your fundraising web store, you’ll empower them to speak to family and friends about your dance studio and ask for donations. This involvement can make your product fundraiser an especially rewarding experience when you all work together to meet your goal.
Some supporters might be more willing to donate goods (like used and gently worn shoes) than make a financial contribution. Shoe drive fundraisers are a unique type of fundraiser for teams, clubs, businesses, or any other organization looking to raise extra funds without asking their community for money.
Since kids grow out of shoes so quickly, this fundraising idea is especially effective for dance studios. A shoe drive allows your dance families to declutter their closets and contribute to a good cause simultaneously.
For this fundraiser, you’ll leverage what your dance studio has to offer the community: high-quality dance instruction! This fundraising event will encourage aspiring dancers to take to the floor and may even result in new enrollments for your dance classes, all while helping you raise money.
You can boost your community dance class fundraiser’s profits in a number of ways. For example, you could sell branded studio merchandise, old costumes and uniforms, and gently used dance shoes. You could even raffle off a discounted class or a series of private lessons, tying your campaign even more to your studio’s work and mission.
A virtual showcase is another fun, dance-specific fundraising event that can get your studio great results. Plus, this campaign can give your students a chance to sharpen their dance skills and practice performing. And, better yet, the virtual format allows your studio to reach more people than just your immediate community members.
Not only does this fundraiser allow parents to attend their dancer’s performance from the couch and donate to your business, but it can also be a great opportunity to gently introduce younger students to the sometimes nerve-wracking experience of performing. Alternatively, it can be a good chance for more experienced teams to polish dance numbers before a competition.
With this fundraiser, your studio’s supporters will love the chance to get two things done at once—get their car washed and donate to your fundraising campaign. Note that for this type of fundraiser, you’ll need a dedicated team of volunteers and plenty of supplies, including soap, sponges, hoses, and a water source.
As you train your volunteer car washers before the event, emphasize the importance of interacting with each driver who comes through the car wash. Dancing along to music or waving and spreading smiles can go a long way in establishing a positive impression on your studio’s supporters, both old and new.
Everyone loves the chance to indulge their sweet tooth in the name of a worthy cause. With a hybrid bake sale, you’ll be putting a twist on a classic, offering both an in-person and online selling option. That way, you can accommodate supporters who live far away or prefer to participate from home, as well as those who want to attend your event in person.
Don’t forget to include pictures of the goodies you’re selling on your online order form! This way, your bake sale customers can visualize their options and make their pick based on what looks the most delicious.
Is there a pizza place near your studio that dancers frequent before they head to class for the night? Or perhaps an ice cream shop down the street that they go to after competition practice?
Make your partnership with these establishments official with a restaurant proceeds night. It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved: the restaurant gets more business, dancers and their families get to enjoy delicious food, and your studio earns more!
Not only do community members get to eat great food and support your cause, but they can also do so at no additional cost (they only pay for a meal!), making this fundraiser an accessible way for families to contribute.
Community members of all ages can participate in a movie night fundraiser. It’s easy for your studio to host, too. All you need is a movie to watch, a screen or projector to show it on, and a space to host the event: your studio!
Sell concessions like soda, candy, and popcorn to boost revenue from this fundraising idea. Dancers will love that these treats make the experience feel more like a real movie theater, and you’ll raise more money for your studio.
Parents love congratulating their dancers with gifts after a performance, so why not sell them yourself? By selling recital gifts like flowers, trophies, candy, and shoutouts in your recital program, you can help parents check off an item on their to-do lists and raise funds at the same time.
While an order form can help you determine how many items to have on hand, you may also order some extras to sell on the spot. That way, parents who forgot to place their orders still have items to choose from.
No matter how many classes you offer or how much branded merchandise you sell, sometimes fundraising is the answer to earning money for your dance studio and keeping your business booming.
Great dance studio fundraising starts with a great fundraising idea. Use the ideas outlined above to determine what campaign will be the most exciting and effective for your studio’s specific audience. Our steps will help you get started and raise the money your studio needs!
For more ideas on how your studio can earn more, check out these additional resources: