Looking for an easy school fundraiser that students love?

Candy grams fundraisers are one of the simplest PTA fundraisers to organize but having a roadmap to follow will help keep you on track.

Follow my roadmap to keep it easy for you.

First thing’s first- your PTA should have already decided on how much your PTA can budget for this.

Your budget determines what you will pick for snacks, notes or stickers, and packaging for the candy grams.

Your PTA also has to decide a set date to sell the candygrams and prepare them, and you need a set date to deliver them to classrooms.

Tip: Give your team time to set up selling time, candygram preparation and delivery time to the school classrooms.

Our PTA tried this our first year out and it went very well. Candy grams was a fun way to raise money while spreading a little kindness around the school.

Here’s exactly how to plan, organize, and deliver candy grams for your school.

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Step 1: Decide on which grams you want to sell for your school

Will you go with a seasonal option like:

Valentine’s Candy Grams

This is very popular as it is already something that kids look forward to around this holiday. Kids already bring treats into class for thier classmates during this holiday.

This gram could be

• Chocolate bars
• Lollipops
• Heart-shaped candy
• Hershey Kisses

Thankful Grams

Perfect for November, before the Thanksgiving break. They can also buy Thankful Grams for their teachers and administrators.

This gram could be:

• Candy
• chocolate candy
• Small snack packs
• Thank-you themed notes

Holiday Candy Grams

Ideas:

• Candy canes
• Hot cocoa packets
• Chocolate treats
• Gingerbread Cookies

Spring Candy Grams

Ideas:

• Bright-colored candy
• Gummy Bear packets
• Lollipops

Step 2: Choose the Candy or Treat

Discuss affordability and ease of assembly with your team so you can make an informed decision.

Tip: Something to consider while deciding on what kind of gram to sell, is to consider where you will be able to find the candy or snacks in bulk to purchase.

Budget Friendly Choices

• Dum Dums
• Blow Pops
• Smarties
• Starburst
• Airheads
• Hershey Kisses
• Fun Size candy bars
• Gummy Packs

Non-Candy Options

Some schools prefer alternatives

• Pencils
• Erasers
• Stickers
• Bookmarks

Tip: Check with your school if there any guidelines your PTA should know before they purchase any snacks, or any allergy guidelines your PTA should have.

Step 3: Buy Supplies in Bulk

Once your team makes the decision you have to get supplies.

Places to check

• Costco
• Sam’s Club
• Walmart
• Amazon
• Dollar Stores

Tip: Discuss with your team the best place for affordablity where to purchase. Someone probably has a Sam’s Club or Costco or BJ’s membership.

Our team used Sam’s Club as I had a membership and it was so cost effective for us.

Design the Candy Gram Form

You will need something for the kids to fill out. We printed out name of the sender and recipient informaton on stickers. You can do this or do something different like notes.

include:

• Sender -Student Name
• Recipient Name & Classroom Teacher
• Recipient’s Grade
• Message

Some students may not even know their friends’ full names, so you may have to do some detective work to see which Michael in their class they are sending their candygram to.

Tip: We printed out a student/ Classroom list to keep at our PTA table to be able to add teacher and classroom # to the candygrams to make it easier to organize for drop off later.

Step 5: Decide How to Package the Candy Grams

Option 1: Cellophane Bags

• Simple
• Inexpensive
• Easy for volunteers

Option 2: Treat Bags

• Seasonal designs
• Easy to label

Option 3: Ribbon-Tied Candy Bars

Attach note directly to candy bar.

Option 4: Paper Bag Style

Small craft bags with tags.

Option 5: Pencil + Candy Combo

Popular for elementary schools.

Option 6: Budget Friendly

Make sticker tags with name and recipient form on them so they are filled out by the student and stuck onto the candygram. Easy Peasy

Step 6: How to Sell Your Candy Grams

Before you can start assembling candy grams, you’ll need a plan for collecting orders and payments.

Send Order Forms Home

The easiest method is sending a simple order form home with students in a flyer.

Include:

• Student name
• Teacher
• Recipient name
• Personalized message
• Quantity ordered
• Payment amount

Set a clear deadline so volunteers have enough time to prepare orders.

Offer Online Ordering

If your PTA uses online fundraising tools, consider offering an online order QR code on the flyer as well.

Online ordering can:

• Reduce paperwork
• Make payment collection easier
• Help prevent lost forms

Promote the Fundraiser

The more reminders families receive, the more successful your fundraiser will be.

Promote through:

• School newsletters
• PTA social media pages
• School email blasts
• Morning announcements
• Classroom communication apps

Step 7: Recruit Volunteers for Assembly

Discuss:

• Assembly line method
• Sorting by classroom
• Labeling carefully
• Double-checking orders

Step 8: Deliver the Candy Grams

Classroom Delivery

Most common.

Teacher Mailboxes

Great for staff appreciation grams.

Special Delivery Day

Creates excitement throughout the school.

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Step 9: How Much Should You Charge?

Examples:

Cost Per Item	Selling Price
$0.30	$1
$0.50	$1.50
$0.75	$2

Discuss keeping pricing simple.

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Mistakes to Avoid

• Ordering candy too late
• Forgetting allergy considerations
• Not sorting by classroom
• Making volunteers hand-write every tag
• Underestimating delivery time
• Selling too many different options

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Final Thoughts

“Candy grams are one of my favorite PTA fundraisers because they’re inexpensive, easy to organize, and fun for students. With a little planning and a few volunteers, your school can create a fundraiser that raises money while spreading kindness around campus.”. h

Double-Check Before Delivery

Before volunteers leave the assembly area:

• Verify classroom labels
• Confirm student names
• Check special messages
• Count packages

A quick quality check helps prevent missed deliveries.

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Bonus: Candy Grams Fundraiser Timeline

This would make a fantastic final section:

3 Weeks Before

• Choose candy
• Order supplies
• Create order forms

2 Weeks Before

• Begin selling

1 Week Before

• Final reminders
• Collect payments

2-3 Days Before Delivery

• Assemble candy grams

Delivery Day

• Sort and distribute

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Conclusion