When your NTHS chapter needs money to help cover membership fees, provide graduation regalia, support service projects, offer local scholarships, or fund your chapter activities, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Fundraising. And usually, that means selling something like candy, cookie dough, raffle tickets – whatever the latest fundraiser happens to be.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with traditional fundraising. But what if we stopped thinking about fundraising as simply “selling something” and posed a different question? What skills does your chapter have that could be turned into a product, service, or experience? That small shift in thinking can open up a whole new world of possibilities.
NTHS members are learning real-world skills every day. They are welding, designing, coding, cooking, building, troubleshooting, organizing, communicating and problem solving. They are gaining skills that have value outside the classroom. So why not give them opportunities to put those skills to work? Instead of asking, “What can we sell to raise $1,000?” ask: “What can our members create?”
Consider what your members are already learning and how those skills could become something valuable to the community. Construction students could build birdhouses or planter boxes, automotive students could offer a basic car-care clinic, digital media students could create content for local organizations, and agriculture students could grow and sell seasonal plants or produce. The possibilities are almost endless because the skills your members are learning are so vast.
Sometimes the most valuable thing your chapter can offer is not a product at all. It may be knowledge. Think about what your members know how to do that others might want to learn. A chapter could host a “Skills Night” for families and community members. Members could teach basic woodworking, computer skills, home maintenance, budgeting, small-engine basics or another skill connected to their program.
Imagine a middle school student attending a hands-on workshop led by an NTHS member and thinking, “I want to learn how to do that.” Now your chapter is not only bringing in funds. It is showcasing CTE, building community connections and giving members an opportunity to lead. That feels very different from asking someone to buy a box of something they may or may not want.
There is another question worth asking: What can our members do for others? Maybe the service itself becomes the fundraiser. A chapter might offer yard cleanup, car washing, technology help, tutoring, holiday decorating or another useful service. Members can apply what they are learning while gaining experience working with real people and real needs.
This creates something much more meaningful than a transaction. A community member is not simply handing over money because an NTHS student is selling a product. They are paying for something useful. They are supporting students while seeing firsthand the value that CTE students bring to the community.
A traditional fundraiser often becomes a checklist: Sell this. Collect the money. Turn it in. Reach the goal. But creating something, providing a service or teaching a skill can become an actual NTHS experience. Members must plan, communicate, solve problems, interact with customers, and deliver a product they are proud of. Those are the same skills we hope students develop through CTE and NTHS. Suddenly, raising money is not the only outcome. The fundraiser becomes part of the learning.
So, the next time your chapter needs to raise money, try putting the word fundraising aside for a moment. Gather your members and ask them: What can we DO that people would pay for? What can we MAKE that people would want? What can we TEACH that people would find valuable? Then take it one step further: How can we use our CTE skills to create an experience that benefits our members, our school and our community?
You may end up with a fundraiser. But you may also end up with something much bigger: an opportunity for NTHS members to use their skills, build confidence, serve their community and show people what career & technical education can really do.
And that is a pretty powerful way to raise money.
