Pictures and Proceeds — The Art of Fund-raising

If you’re anything like me, your house will be over-run with kids’ artwork: splodges, squiggles, drawings and paintings including everything from their first handprint, through to spiky stickmen and crazy paintings that would raise even Francis Bacon’s eyebrows.

Quite frankly, I don’t know what to do with it all. The last attempted cull came to an abrupt halt mid-flow when my artistic offspring spotted her ‘baby chicken’ (a vicious circular scribble with a yellow crayon) peeking forlornly out of the dustbin.

Step up 'Drawings by Me', which has come up with a novel idea for preserving some of your child’s artwork while raising funds for good causes at the same time.

Working mainly through schools and nurseries, 'Drawings by Me' takes all sorts of pictures and pops them onto beautifully produced cards, calendars, mugs and more. A big hit with parents, these make gorgeous keepsakes and are perfect for sending home to family and friends. They’re hugely popular with kids too, who feel proud as punch when they see their work on stunning professionally-produced products.

In our house, we’ve formed quite a collection. My daughter is still at pains to point out that the felt-tip squiggles across my coffee tumbler (her first Drawings by Me experience at nursery) were done “when I was a baby”. A subsequent stickman ‘mum and dad’ graces greetings cards and note cards and has come in handy for accepting wedding invitations, saying thank you and acting as gift tags on dinner party presents, much to Little Miss Artistic’s delight.

But apart from harnessing all that creative energy and charming mum and dad, the programme has been a boon for those schools and nurseries who have got involved, because a portion of all proceeds goes right back into their coffers to help meet their fund-raising objectives. Much more meaningful than a sponsored walk, and with a lot more longevity than a bake sale, it’s a fabulous way to get kids involved in creatively raising money for their school or good cause.

How does it works? Simple!

• 'Drawings by Me' provides schools with a starter kit including product samples, a template parents’ letter, order form and tips and guidelines.
• The school runs an art session where the kids create their picture.
• The picture is sent home to parents with a letter and order form.
• 'Drawings by Me' collects the drawing sheets and order forms and organises production of cards, calendars, notebooks, coffee tumblers etc – a process which takes no more than three weeks.
• Schools distribute the products and keep the profit on the sales.

Want to find out more? Check out www.drawingsbyme.com or call Lilian on 050.950.8275.