Head Back to School And Raise Money With Box Tops For Education

Several years ago, I became acquainted with Box Tops for Education via their “box tops” on a lot of the foods I eat. And as much as I wanted to save the box tops and earn money for my child’s school, I didn’t manage to clip any. I would start off well, but somewhere along the way, I would forget. Blame it on being a busy mom who wasn’t well informed on the Box Tops for Education mission.

Fast forward to this year, where I have been thoroughly educated by Box Tops for Education Panelist and Box Tops for Education Coordinator Natasha Nicholes from HousefulofNicholes.com. Reading her blog and personally seeing her passion about BTFE and the money it raises for schools made me take another look at the program. I mean, if you can raise money for your child’s school with products that you already buy, why not do it?

So I got off my butt and have put a game plan into action for how I am going to move forward with utilizing Box Tops to help my daughter’s elementary school. More on that in a little bit.

What is Box Tops for Education? Simply put, it’s a fundraising program created by General Mills for schools that allows them to raise money based on the amount of box tops that are earned. These box tops are located on a ton of food items and products that we purchase everyday! You just clip the box tops located on the product, and save them in a safe place. Once you have a nice sum of them, you can turn them into a participating school, who can redeem them for monies and items needed for the school.

And what’s cool about BTFE is that you can also earn them purchasing online from stores like Avon, Magazines.com, Best Buy, Gap, Walmart and much, much more! There are tons of online shopping sites that allow you to earn BTFE points when you shop, which can be utilized by a participating school.

Recently, I went online and signed up as a user on the Box Tops for Education website. On the website, I can track my school’s progress, take note of our yearly goal, see how we compare against other surrounding schools, take surveys that earn points for box tops, and I can chat with other BTFE users on the Community Board. It’s also a great place for recipes, since they list great meals that can be created with items that earn box top points.

The goal for my daughter’s school this year is $1,780.00, and last year, her school raised $1483.00. And as you can see, since 2004, my daughter’s school has earned a lot of money from BTFE!

So how am I going to make sure I participate this year? Well, I plan on making it easy:

1. I have a plastic baggie on the fridge that I will collect our box tops. Being on the fridge is a constant reminder that I must make sure to cut the box tops and save them.

2. Each time I shop, I will make sure that I pick items that have the BTFE symbol.

3. I will utilize the BTFE website to chart my progress as well as the earnings of my daughter’s school.

4. I will also communicate with our BTFE Coordinator at the school to stay on top of information.

5. I’ve signed up to receive BTFE’s email updates and e-newsletters, which will also remind me to save our box tops.

It’s actually a lot easier than most people think to participate in the BTFE program. I am looking forward to working hard this year to help my daughter’s school raise much needed funds!

Do you participate in the Box Tops for Education program at your child’s school? If not, Back to School is the perfect time to start!