The Cheddar Chatter
The Cheddar Chatter
Whether you’re fundraising, collecting dues, or planning events, we’ve got ideas, inspiration, and tools to make it all cheddar… uh, better.
Booked Authors streamlines school book sales with Cheddar Up
As Executive Director of Booked Authors, Allyson Hickey oversees school book sales tied to author visits across the country. Many of those sales happen at the same time, often with tight timelines and high expectations from schools, PTAs, and families. For years, the process relied on paper order forms sent home in backpacks, checks returned on uneven schedules, and handwritten personalization details that were not always easy to read. Tracking orders required follow-up, and even small errors created extra work during already busy seasons. As school book sales grew in volume, the cracks became harder to ignore. Managing multiple author visits and book orders at once left little room for inefficiency. Allyson knew the process needed to support growth without adding more manual work.
How to run a PTA holiday shop (plus a free volunteer template)
The PTA holiday shop is one of those feel-good school traditions that brings smiles and a little seasonal sparkle. Kids pick out gifts for their families on their own, and your school raises money and builds community spirit. As the PTA member running it, you’ll have to make a lot of decisions, like who supplies the inventory, what to price at $1 versus $5, how many volunteers each shift needs, and how kids pay at the register. This guide walks you through everything you’ll need to host a successful PTA holiday shop, from eight weeks out to cleanup day. You’ll also find a free online volunteer sign up template you can customize and share with your school community. A PTA holiday shop is a pop-up store your parent group runs at school, where students buy small, low-priced gifts for family and friends. Volunteers help kids shop and wrap, and the
The Best Giving Tuesday Campaigns: A Guide to Success
Giving Tuesday has quickly grown into the world’s largest day of giving. Since its start in 2012, it has spread to over 100 countries, inspiring billions in donations every year. For nonprofits, schools, and community groups, it’s a powerful chance to rally supporters and meet ambitious goals. But not all campaigns achieve the same results. Some stand out, raising impressive amounts and energizing their communities. So, what separates the best Giving Tuesday campaigns from the rest? Let’s break down the traits of successful campaigns and how you can apply them to your own efforts.
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Every day groups find and use Cheddar Up in new and creative ways to collect money from their community. Membership fees, HOA dues, tuition, spirit wear, troop dues, group gifts, after-school programs, events, fundraisers and beyond.
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Featured Articles
Booked Authors streamlines school book sales with Cheddar Up
As Executive Director of Booked Authors, Allyson Hickey oversees school book sales tied to author visits across the country. Many of those sales happen at the same time, often with tight timelines and high expectations from schools, PTAs, and families.
For years, the process relied on paper order forms sent home in backpacks, checks returned on uneven schedules, and handwritten personalization details that were not always easy to read. Tracking orders required follow-up, and even small errors created extra work during already busy seasons.
As school book sales grew in volume, the cracks became harder to ignore. Managing multiple author visits and book orders at once left little room for inefficiency. Allyson knew the process needed to support growth without adding more manual work.
How to run a PTA holiday shop (plus a free volunteer template)
The PTA holiday shop is one of those feel-good school traditions that brings smiles and a little seasonal sparkle. Kids pick out gifts for their families on their own, and your school raises money and builds community spirit. As the PTA member running it, you’ll have to make a lot of decisions, like who supplies the inventory, what to price at $1 versus $5, how many volunteers each shift needs, and how kids pay at the register.
This guide walks you through everything you’ll need to host a successful PTA holiday shop, from eight weeks out to cleanup day. You’ll also find a free online volunteer sign up template you can customize and share with your school community. A PTA holiday shop is a pop-up store your parent group runs at school, where students buy small, low-priced gifts for family and friends. Volunteers help kids shop and wrap, and the PTA keeps the proceeds for school programs.
The Best Giving Tuesday Campaigns: A Guide to Success
Giving Tuesday has quickly grown into the world’s largest day of giving. Since its start in 2012, it has spread to over 100 countries, inspiring billions in donations every year. For nonprofits, schools, and community groups, it’s a powerful chance to rally supporters and meet ambitious goals. But not all campaigns achieve the same results. Some stand out, raising impressive amounts and energizing their communities. So, what separates the best Giving Tuesday campaigns from the rest? Let’s break down the traits of successful campaigns and how you can apply them to your own efforts.
Holiday Wreath Fundraiser Tips for Merry Success
A holiday wreath fundraiser is a festive, low-risk way for schools, PTAs, sports teams, and nonprofits to raise money during the winter season. With a little planning and the right online fundraising platform, you can turn a wreath sale into a joyful, community-powered fundraising success.
This guide covers the full Christmas wreath sale, from picking products and a supplier to running pickup day, plus how to add Christmas trees to the same sale without setting up a tree lot.
Ready to set things up now? Start with the holiday wreath fundraiser template and add your own products and prices.
The best Christmas wreath fundraising ideas give supporters a few clear choices at different price points. A classic wreath covers most buyers, and one or two upgraded options bring in larger orders from those who want a more elaborate wreath.
How to Plan a Turkey Trot in 8 Easy Steps
Thanksgiving is all about tradition. Football, food, and for many communities, a Turkey Trot. Whether it’s a fun run, a walk, or a full-on 5K, these events are a great way to bring people together before the feast. But what happens behind the scenes? There’s a lot that goes into making it all work. That’s why we’ve pulled together the best advice we’ve heard from sports team organizers, parents, and booster clubs to help you make your own dinners easy, fun, and unforgettable. In this guide, you’ll find their top strategies to help you plan your own sports team dinners with confidence. From making the process less stressful for families to creating traditions that players look forward to, these tips will set your team up for success all season long.
What is a booster club: Everything you need to know
A booster club is a volunteer group of parents, alumni, and community members that raises money and provides support for a school or youth program, like sports teams, marching bands, theater departments, robotics teams, and more.
The goal? Give the program a little extra boost (hence the name!). Booster clubs raise money for expenses the regular budget may not cover, like uniforms, equipment, travel, celebrations, and other extras that make a season or program special.
If you just joined a booster club, or somehow walked into a meeting and walked out as a board member, you’ll want to read this guide. Here’s what booster clubs do, how the money works, and tools to help run one.
How North Ed FFA Simplified Its Annual Plant Sale
Brian Matchett has spent his career helping students find their path through agricultural education.
After earning a degree in agricultural education from Michigan State University, followed by a master’s in agriculture and extension education, Brian began teaching in 2003. Today, he serves as an Agriscience Instructor at a Career Tech Center in Northwest Michigan, where students come from high schools across five counties.
Through the program and its FFA chapter, students build leadership skills, gain hands-on experience, and explore possible career paths in agriculture.
One of North Ed FFA’s biggest projects is its annual plant sale. Students help grow and care for the plants, making the sale a natural extension of what they are already learning in the classroom. The money raised goes right back into student programs and projects.
Before Cheddar Up, managing the sale took a lot more work. The program originally relied on cash sales, then tried other tools that were not built for selling a large variety of products. Brian also used Google Forms and spreadsheets, which meant checking orders throughout the day and manually keeping tabs on inventory.
16+ Spirit Week Ideas for School: Most Thrilling Themes & Activities
Looking to take your spirit week ideas for school to the next level? Every school has that one week where mismatched socks are celebrated, the principal wears a goofy wig, and someone’s dad shows up in full superhero gear for drop-off. It’s one of the most exciting weeks of the school year!
As a parent or teacher, you want a lineup that feels doable, but also brings out the giggles and spirit pride. Below you will find 16+ super fun theme days, activities that go beyond dress-up, and a step-by-step spirit week planning guide.
Let’s make this year’s spirit week activities and themes a real show-stopper! Spirit week is a themed school event that lasts an entire week (five school days) where students and staff dress up, compete in silly activities, and celebrate school pride.
How Pacelli Boosters Raised More by Keeping It Simple
Cardinal Pacelli Catholic School is a small school in Cincinnati serving about 420 students from preschool through eighth grade. Like many school communities, much of what happens outside the classroom depends on volunteers. That includes athletics.
The school’s athletics program is volunteer-run, and booster memberships help fund improvements while giving families useful perks throughout the sports season. But the booster program had become more complicated than it needed to be.
One year, the group offered three membership levels: $100, $150 and $500. The lower-cost option was meant to make the program more accessible by removing some of the extras, like booster swag and recognition. Instead, it created confusion.
Some families chose the lower tier and later wondered why they had not received the same benefits as other boosters. Others likely would have purchased the $150 option if the $100 choice had not been there at all.
For a volunteer team already juggling plenty, the extra questions and follow-up were not worth it. Cheddar Up gave the team the flexibility to adjust the collection and make the experience simpler the next time around.
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Running a group isn’t easy, but these teams, schools, and clubs found a way to make it simpler — and more successful — with Cheddar Up. Check out their stories and steal a few ideas!
