Can’t stomach another bake sale or sign up for one more magazine subscription? Want to add something new to your Parent Teacher Organization’s lineup? Let these organizers inspire you with their successful -- and fun -- fundraising projects.

Pulaski Academy

“Traditional methods of fundraising are a hassle to the kids, the parents, the faculty, the people who buy things ... I decided there had to be a better way,” says mom of three Carra Sawyer.

Sawyer began researching online and found Boosterthon Fun Run, a fitness-based non-product fundraiser for elementary schools, which she brought first to Don R. Roberts Elementary School last fall as the PTA’s vice president of fundraising. Then in May, Sawyer introduced the innovative program to Pulaski Academy, where she serves as the fundraising chair for Pulaski Academy Parents Association (PAPA).

What makes the pre-packaged fundraising technique so different from others? According to Sawyer, everything, starting with Boosterthon shouldering the work usually handled by busy parents, teachers and PTA members.

She estimates that the company does about 98 percent of the fundraising duties, from record-keeping to handing out awards to students. Boosterthon employees arrive and stay for nine days to implement a program that includes an energizing pep rally, daily classroom chats and a culminating Fun Run.

Students ask their family and friends to make pledge donations for the Fun Run. For every lap the student runs, those friends and family donate $1, $2 or however much they promise. Every child has an access code that can be e-mailed to grandparents, friends and neighbors. Donors can then use the code to go online and pay their pledges, cutting out the payment-gathering process for parents and PTA members.

Sawyer says the Boosterthon Fun Run raked in approximately five times as much moolah as catalog sales she had organized in the past. Brett Trapp, lead innovator at Boosterthon Fun Run, suggests that the numbers reflect willingness of communities to support the children’s achievements. “There’s a sense of ownership for the student, and the sponsor is more likely to support that student and what they’re earning, rather than buying a product that they may not need,” Trapp says.

Boosterthon Fun Run doesn’t stop at fundraising; an entire "experience" supplements the run. Each of the nine days that team members are on campus, they spend a few minutes in every classroom to teach character lessons and hand out fitness-related prizes to students who have gathered pledges. This year, the lessons will relate to a road trip theme, Highway USA, and cover topics like leadership, learning, fitness and attitude.

“The team members are like a cross between the Wiggles and your favorite summer camp counselor,” says Sawyer with a laugh. “The teachers really welcome their lessons into the classroom and it motivates the kids.”

And to top it off, kids are not only raising funds for their own school but for global charities, too. “Every academic year, a very small percentage of the student’s pledges are taken to fund a charitable component,” says Trapp. “We wanted students to raise funds for their own school and expand their view of charity. We wanted to open their eyes to kids around the world who don’t have playgrounds and schools. In 2011-2012, we launched a project called Operation Playground, to build playgrounds at schools in Guatemala who didn’t have them.”

Springhill Elementary in the Bryant School District

Six years ago, Kim Karp and Shannon Terry took over Springhill Elementary’s small carnival and turned it into an “unexpected” fundraiser. “We just wanted to pay for the cost of the carnival, but between the ticket sales and the items we sold in a silent auction, it turned out to be a successful fundraiser,” says Karp, a PTO vet and mom of five. Here are some of her tips for pulling it off:

1. Recruit an idea generator and an organizer. Karp and her partner-in-PTO, Shannon Terry, were a dream team: Terry came up with a number of the creative ideas, while Karp took action by making phone calls, renting rides and more.

2. Make the carnival for students and their families. Karp and Terry evolved the carnival from a student-only event during the school day to an after-hours bash that the whole family could enjoy. And they blew up the scale tremendously, adding real carnival rides, a rock-climbing wall, music from a DJ, a photo booth, inflatables, a dunking booth and a mechanical bull.

3. Schedule consciously. Bryant football is big -- so big that the Karp always plans the fall carnival around home football games. Double-check that the Razorbacks are out of town, she suggests.

4. Learn from past mistakes (and don’t run out of food). “For our first carnival, we ordered pizza and ran out before the night was over. We also rented a popcorn and cotton candy maker. It was just too much work,” Karp says. “So the next year we found vendors who would come in and do all that for us. Plus they donated a portion of their proceeds, anywhere from 15-25 percent. We still made money and we didn’t have to handle that part of the job.”

5. Pass the torch. Eager new organizers will inject their own innovative ideas into projects once you’ve perfected all of yours, Karp says. Move on to a new idea and let your creative process start all over again.

Jefferson Elementary School in the LR School District

“What makes a fundraising effort successful is when the participants feel happy with the results,” says Jefferson Elementary School PTA president Mandy Shoptaw. “Sure, we’d love a big profit margin to obtain more computer technology or to make grounds improvements to our schools, but the bottom line is smiling faces.”

Jefferson has signed up to host a Boosterthon Fun Run this year. Shoptaw and her PTA crew have additional ideas on the roster: Last year the parents debuted the Jefferson French Market, an open-air spring thrift sale in the teacher parking lot. The PTA made money by “renting” parking spots to the market for the day; participants then bought, sold and traded their wares for their own profits.

The Jefferson Jubilee, a themed soiree with live and silent auctions, is the organization’s biggest event. Last year’s items for bid included family box seats to a St. Louis Cardinals game and a dinner party on the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge.

The most popular aspect of the fundraiser, however, was a photography project that preceded the event. “Well-known Little Rock photographer Noelle Buttry volunteered her time and talents and took 4x6 black and white photos of each student,” Shoptaw explains. “Parents had the opportunity to pre-purchase the photos for pickup at Jefferson Jubilee or for delivery in the following weeks. The parents were overwhelmed with the quality and professionalism of the end product, and many contacted Noelle afterward to order reprints for family and friends. With very few exceptions, it was a flawless experiment in fundraising and one we hope to repeat.”