-Production funding and educational outreach for Biz Kids is provided by a coalition of America's credit unions, where people are worth more than money.

A complete list of individual credit union funders is available at WXXI.org.

-Every day, America's credit unions help members with their financial needs and with programs like Invest in America.

It's only fitting that credit unions support Biz Kids because financial education is what we do.

Learn more at lovemycreditunion.org.

-All right, now for a good fundraiser you need to be organized.

We are.

We need to have a good cause, we got that.

You need a leader, that's me.

And you need an army of volunteers, and I appreciate it that you've all signed up.

-When did we do that, substitute teacher?

-Well, you remember in... when I called attendance, y'all raised your hands, you signed up.

So... so... ah... anyway, we're going to raise money and we're going to do it by selling chocolate bars.

Now here are the chocolate bars.

So, what... wait... what happened to the chocolate bars?

You weren't supposed to eat them!

It's to raise money for the cause.

-What cause?

-The... uh... the very important cause of... of, uh... (school bell rings) ♪ When making money is the aim ♪ ♪ These kids, they bring their game ♪ ♪ They're the Biz Kids ♪ ♪ Can you dig it?

♪ ♪ They know what's up ♪ ♪ And let you know just how to make that dough ♪ ♪ They're the Biz Kids ♪ ♪ Right on ♪ ♪ So learn a little more ♪ ♪ About bringing money through the door ♪ ♪ They're the Biz Kids ♪ ♪ Right on.

♪ -Does your neighborhood need new playground equipment?

-Has your school cut the budget for uniforms?

-Sometimes you feel the need to help others in need.

-Maybe it's a natural disaster on the other side of the world.

-Or you want to help find a cure for a devastating disease.

-If the need is big enough, maybe you should hold a fundraiser.

-A fundraiser is a great way to get a community of people together to raise money for a cause.

-Maybe you want to do an auction, car wash, bake sale, book-a-thon, walk-a-thon, lunch, dinner.

-My high school drama department organized a car wash to raise money to go to Europe.

-I know someone who put on a golf tournament to raise money for cancer research.

-I just love the pancake breakfast to raise money for the volunteer fire department.

-They're all great ideas, but you can't just snap your fingers and do them.

-A successful fundraiser takes a lot of planning.

-And a lot of hard work.

-But if done right, you'd be surprised how much fun making a difference in the world can be.

-Especially when there's pancakes involved.

-Are you just in this for the pancakes?

-No, I'm changing the world, one pancake at a time.

-Any time!

-Oh jeez... -Nope!

-Spit it out.

-Cut!

-I'm David.

-And we're the Stamford High School marching band.

-The Support our Music campaign is a ongoing grassroots campaign to set up different fundraisers to support our Stamford High School musical arts programs.

The whole thing came about when my father and I, we went to Parkway Diner and we asked the owner, Lucia, if she would help us out.

And we told her that we had cash boxes and posters and Support our Music t-shirts.

And she told us that she'd take it a step further and she let us take over the diner about once a month.

And... where we get to wait and bus tables.

And all the tips raised that night would go directly to the musical arts programs.

The money that we raised goes towards competitions, travel, uniforms, drill music, the top instructors.

The school and community have been very supportive, and not only do we love music but so does the community, and they love coming out and seeing us perform.

When we get to the diner, we talked to Lucia and she explains to us how to make the customer happy, from cleaning the tables to waiting the tables.

The thing that I like most about this is that I get to go out there and I get to meet the community, and I get to express to them what the program's really about.

The community has been very supportive and responsive, and they've allowed us to put in our posters and our cash boxes so the customers can come in and see how we're trying to get our message across, and they can understand what we're there and what we're trying to do.

The volunteers that I found, it worked out very well.

They've been a great crew and I'm very happy with what... with the job that they've been doing.

It makes me very happy because I was hoping to find a fundraiser that everybody would really enjoy, and so far it's been a huge success.

We like to find creative ways to fundraise.

-Okay, planning committee... how about we make our fundraiser a stand-up comedy night.

I could start with did you hear the one about the restaurant on the moon?

They say the food is pretty good, but there's no atmosphere.

-Son, where have you been?

-I was trying to start a fundraiser.

-A fundraiser?

For what cause?

-Forget it.

I knew you wouldn't understand.

-What a minute, Jim.

You can't throw a fundraiser without a cause.

Why are you doing this?

-Because I'm involved!

-This is all going too fast.

Look, son, you've got to think of a reason to throw your fundraiser.

A worth while cause, something you actually care about.

-Jimmy, you're very young.

A foolish cause now could wreck your entire fundraising future.

-Well, then you better give me something.

You better give me something fast.

-Oh, Jimmy.

We can't give you your cause.

It has to be something you care about.

-Well, we could just give him some ideas.

-You said he needed to have his own reasons.

-But he's just a boy.

-You're tearing me apart!

-What?

-You!

You say one thing and you say another and everyone changes back again!

-So you've chosen a cause for your fundraiser.

Now you need a strategy.

-That may mean forming a committee.

-Get friends who care about the same cause to help you.

-The next step for you and your committee is to decide on a venue.

-Is it a car wash or a walk-a-thon?

-Now it's time to chose the date.

-Give yourself enough time to prepare because it's going to take a lot longer than you think.

-For a big event we recommend giving yourself about six months.

-And make sure it doesn't fall on a holiday.

-Or a big sports event that would draw away attendance.

-On the other hand, maybe your fundraiser is in conjunction with that event.

-I know somebody who raised money for charity with a lemonade stand at a fireworks show.

-Next, start looking for the perfect location, location, location.

-If you're doing a car wash, make sure the venue is near traffic and has a large parking lot.

-Like a grocery store or a shopping mall.

-My friend tried a gas station for his car wash but people were in a hurry to get in and out.

-We did one in a restaurant parking lot.

People were happy to relax, have a good meal, support a cause, and come back to a nice, clean car.

-Location, location, location.

-We already said that.

-Next, think about how to get the word out.

-Maybe start by sending out "save the date" emails so people can plan on attending.

-And if you're raising money at a yard sale, make sure that there are lots of signs telling people how to find it.

-The more prepared you and your committee are, the better your event will turn out.

-Are you prepared to end this?

-Wait, I've got one more thing to s... -Hey Biz Kid, organize your way to a great fundraiser.

AIR stands for Arts in Reach, which is a free program for girls to express themselves through dancing, poetry, acting, or visual art.

-I'm Leanne Stella.

I'm the executive director at Arts in Reach.

We combine each of these programs with mentoring and group activities, so the girls build confidence.

-AIR gave me so much and I thought I could give back in any way that I could.

We thought about bake sales or car washes, but we wanted to unite the girls, and for some publicity and walk around town.

We're thinking of doing a walk-a-thon and I wanted to know if you guys were interested.

Our fundraising goal was $3,000, and that would help 15 girls attend an AIR program.

We managed to raise $2,718.14.

So that is ten AIR girls and some left over for art supplies.

Because I was planning a fundraiser with a small team, I had to be organized.

I had to keep track of all the AIR girls and their money.

And I had to keep track of what sponsors we had and what was left to get.

I had to go through the route and keep track of all the paperwork.

I had a folder, and that helped me keep all the papers in order.

-Oh!

Pit stop.

-Don't look at the camera.

-It's amazing that ten more AIR girls can get to go to art programs, free of charge.

-It's a great success.

I mean, she did an amazing job.

-For next year we've already started recruiting girls.

And we have businesses that we know will work with AIR and all the documents set in order.

-Hey, Biz Kid... -Organize your way to a great fundraiser.

(cheering) -What are you up to, Bobbin?

-Oh, hey there, Ratman.

I'm just using the Rat computer to design a poster for a fundraiser.

-A fundraiser?

What for?

-It's a benefit for S.L.A.P.-- Sidekicks Lacking All Personality.

You see, we sidekicks are tired of being in the background, so some other junior crusaders and I started a club to spruce up our image.

-Oh, Bobbin, you silly little sidekick.

Don't you know that in my secret identity as billionaire Woosh Bane, I can give you all the money you need for your little play group thing.

-Holy handouts, Ratman!

Well, I think I want to do this myself.

After all, organizing a fundraiser is a great opportunity to learn valuable business lessons and improve my self-esteem.

-Now you're thinking like a true hero.

Well, if you need any help let me know.

-Actually, Ratman, I was hoping you could help me hang some of these posters tonight.

-Ho ho, no can do, ol' chum.

I've got a date with Catlady.

-Catlady?

But isn't she all... meow?

-Nope, she got declawed.

-Oh.

-I've just come up with another event idea.

How about we make our fundraising event a night of doing impressions.

Check this one out... Cookie!

I want cookie!

Cookie!

-Fundraising is a big job.

And it's important to have enthusiasm and passion for your cause, but you can't do everything by yourself.

-You and your volunteer committee need to pick team leaders, assign tasks, and create deadlines.

-You might even consider bringing an adult sponsor on board to help you draft contracts with legal matters, stuff like that.

-Then delegate as many tasks as you can to volunteers.

-Try and make sure that your volunteers have tasks that they're good at.

For example, some might be better at answering the phones, others at marketing or bookkeeping, and some might be best at finding sponsors.

-When it comes to fundraising, generally speaking, the more volunteers you have the more money you can make.

-For many, asking people for money is not an easy task.

Help your volunteers by creating a script with the reasons to support your event.

-We appreciate your donation.

-Thank you for your support, name goes here...

I mean, Mrs. Harris.

-Is your refrigerator running?

-Keep your group social-- people may be volunteering because they believe in the cause, but it should also be fun.

-Fundraising is a big job.

-And you can't do it alone.

-That's why you need... -Volunteers!

-How many volunteers does it take to have a great fundraiser?

Hundreds!

-IUDM stands for Indiana University Dance Marathon, which is a 36-hour event that we hold to raise funds and awareness for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Riley is one of the best children's hospitals in the country.

The thing that makes it truly special is that if you have a child that's sick and they need to be helped, you can take them to Riley, and that's a place where they know that they will get the treatment that they need.

Dance Marathon is a year-round commitment for a lot of our members.

Good communication is the most important aspect of an event like this.

I think the way our organization is structured really helps.

At the top we have our president, who works with our four vice presidents, who help pass along information to 15 directors, who help communicate with over 550 volunteers in our organization.

Each director is in charge of a committee that has a certain task.

-I'm Joe and I'm the director of dancer relations.

My committee deals a lot at the marathon with making sure everything is running smoothly with our volunteers.

For me to say that I could do this all by myself would be out of the question.

I'm the director of catering.

Our committee gets food for the marathon, that's our main responsibility.

We get food for 1,600 people.

When you come as a dancer everything's set up and everything's fun and you have all these bands.

But you don't realize the capacity of this event.

-When were able to break it down into smaller teams, we've been able to be much more efficient.

If I didn't have 33 strong committee members behind me to break up the operations, to delegate specific tasks to, this marathon would not run as smoothly as it could.

-We really stress the importance of having meetings in person.

We do talk very frequently on the phone with each other, we do a lot of emailing to create the kind of minute communication with smaller details throughout the week.

There are just so many details that we want to make sure that we tell people several times, and in several different ways, because it only helps everyone.

Because not only is it good for our participants, but it's good for us to know that we've reached down to everyone that we could.

-This year, we've actually filled our endowment through Riley Hospital for their Infectious Disease Center.

It really has evolved into something great.

Dancing is a fun activity that everybody enjoys doing.

While their here we want them to have fun, we want them to feel like they're dancing for a purpose.

And at the end of the marathon, when we raise our total, we're hoping that that's a time when they'll see their hard work going to good use.

-All right, folks, settle down.

Let's get this committee meeting started.

We're here to talk about ways to improve upon the so-called "zombie image" among the general human population.

How are things coming along with our fundraising efforts?

-Brains... -Lunch will be provided after the meeting, Walter, let's... let's stay on topic.

-Car wash... -The last zombie carwash that we had resulted in, uh... uh, a few unfortunate accidents.

Uh, apparently the humans thought that we were trying to eat them.

What else have we got?

-Bake sale... -Great, Barb.

Bake sales are a great way to raise money.

They're easy to organize, and everybody loves baked goods.

What, um... what can you guys bake.

Uh, Walter?

-Brains... -No!

You s... (sighs) This is exactly the kind of thing that we need to avoid.

People are not going to be sympathetic to our cause if we keep eating their brains.

-Car wash... -You already said that one, Doug.

Oh... Look, let's take a ten-minute break.

It's pretty apparent that everybody's brains are elsewhere.

-Brains... -Now, as you all know, the retired dog detectives fundraiser is coming up and we need some ideas for the event.

-Can I help?

I have some ideas.

-Hover Puppy... -Let's hear your idea, pup.

-Uh, well, I was thinking we do the fundraiser kind of like a mystery dinner event.

And maybe we could leave out clues for people to find hidden prizes and stuff.

-That's a great idea, kid.

-That is a brilliant idea.

Good work, Hover Puppy.

-Thanks!

-Stop the meeting, everybody!

I just found out there's a conflicting fundraiser event the same day as ours.

What are we going to do?

-What?

You were supposed to pick a date without any conflicting events, Charlie Chow.

-Me?

But I thought you picked the date, Philip Snarlo.

-Me?

-Who chose the event date?

Will Hover Puppy's fundraiser ideas be a success?

Will Roller Dog smash all the fancy glasses?

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... -So, Patricia, talk to me.

What are your fundraiser plans?

-Well, I'm raising funds for a charity that helps protect sea turtles.

I have a marine biologist to speak at my event, and this is a list of businesses that are willing to donate products and services.

-That, I must say, impresses me very, very much.

And that does not usually happen with me.

I must say I love the venue of the aquarium that you've selected.

It's very chic, it's very, very apropos.

But I have to ask, what is going on here?

-Well this is a timeline of the event, so it can happen on our target date.

-Well, now I'm afraid I'm very concerned, and I'm not sure you really thought this through.

I mean, I'm looking at this, and then I'm also looking at your volunteer roster and I'm thinking you either need to build more time into your event or you have to get three times as many volunteers.

Make it work, okay?

-(whimpers) -Okay, I've got the event, I've got lots of volunteers, and advertising galore, including some donated radio time and billboard space.

I've got lots of padding in my timeline to ensure everything's all set.

But I'm having a little trouble getting corporate donors.

-Now, your raising funds for a local air pollution prevention agency.

-Right.

-And what is the event?

-A classic car show.

-A classic car show for clean air advocates.

-Mmhmm.

-I'm not sure you've really thought this through.

-Maybe not.

-I mean, I would think that you would want an event that more closely matches your cause.

Wouldn't you?

-What about an electric car show?

-Well, there you go, see?

Now that makes sense to me, it seems reasonable.

And now you can get the corporate donors.

You've got a lot of work to do, so go, go, go.

-I'm Rataya.

-And we're Seattle's Young People's Project.

-I am a volunteer for Seattle's Young People's Project.

Seattle's Young People's Project is important to other youth because that's where they can come without being judged and won't have to worry about what someone thinks about them, and where their voices can be heard.

We get over half of our money from fundraising events.

We have the bowl-a-thon to help fundraise for future activities and other projects.

We ask supporters to be team captains.

We recruit about 30 captains, and they gather friends.

We make teams of five, and they all fundraise.

-This is my third year participating in Seattle Young People's Project Bowl-a-thon.

Welcome to the bowl-a-thon!

This year I decided to be a team captain, which means I have to assemble a team of five and we're going to fundraise for the group.

Did you get my email about the Seattle Young People's Project's bowl-a-thon?

Each team is required to raise at least $500.

I'm encouraging everyone on our team to go above and beyond and to break that goal, basically.

If you need any help, give me a call.

Thank you so much.

The Seattle Young People's Project provides us with a fundraising website and also tips on how to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter and GChat.

Social media is a good way for organizations to make those asks.

Not to say that we should give up the face to face ask, but it's another tool that we can use to... for fundraising.

-The last week before the bowl-a-thon, we send out emails to teammates and captains for them to get their last donation in before the bowl-a-thon.

-Talking about the organization's work is what really gets po... people motivated to give.

This year's bowl-a-thon was a success.

With everyone's efforts, we were able to raise over $15,000.

-The reason you do a fundraiser is to raise as much money as you can for your cause.

-So you don't want the money that you raise to go to covering your expenses.

-Always be looking for ways to... -Cut your expenses!

-And you are?

-I'm Scissor Boy.

-Okay, Scissor Boy, if the venue becomes to costly... -Cut your expenses!

-By renegotiating or trying to find a cheaper venue if possible.

-Maybe you went a little overboard on the decorations... -Cut your expenses!

-Cut out all the spend-y extras.

-But remember to keep finding ways to... -Cut your expenses!

-No, I was actually going to say increase your income.

Maybe by increasing the suggested donation amount.

-And cutting expenses?

-Are you running around with those things?

You know you could poke your eye out.

-After this dance fundraiser, we are going to have the best senior trip to Mexico ever.

-Yeah, and during lunch when that skywriting plane spelled out "see you at the dance", I knew it too.

-And I can't believe you booked the Raving Notes to play here.

It's going to be crazy!

-And I hired Emile Gaston, the best party planner in town.

-You're right, that guy is the best.

How much was he?

-Pretty expensive, but you got to spend money to make money.

-Oh, here he is now.

-Bonjour, girls.

I want the cranberry waterfall there, next to the bleachers.

Hmm.

Ice sculptures there, next to the photographers.

And the servers will be coming through with hors d'oeuvre throughout the evening.

And soon this gym will be transformed into your magical place.

-I love my magical place.

-Going to be exciting.

-I want that waterfall.

-I love that waterfall, it's going to be great.

-What have you guys done?

These bills are way over budget.

-Relax, this party will be a hit.

-Do you realize that even if every student in the whole school comes, we have to charge them a hundred dollars a ticket just so we can break even.

-Ouch, I can't even afford that.

-You can say goodbye to the cranberry juice waterfall.

-No waterfall?

-That's my favorite part.

-She's right.

We lose the cranberry.

Pomegranate, that's so hot right now.

Yes, we do pomegranate... -Necessary?

Really?

-Hi, my name's Mary.

And I give blood, and I play hockey.

Give Blood Play Hockey is a charity hockey tournament benefitting the Children's Hospital of Orange County.

My grandfather was the most amazing man I've ever met.

He passed away of a rare cancer of the blood.

So we wanted to commemorate this tournament in his honor.

We have lots of things going on.

One, you can play hockey.

Two, you can walk around and enjoy all the entertainment that we have and the different vendors.

Or three, you can give blood.

A lot of people bleed in hockey, so we kind of went off that idea of giving blood and playing hockey.

In the area, and around the country, blood is always needed.

And it's really important that people give.

-My name is Casey.

I play hockey in this tournament and I volunteer.

-This year I'm hoping to win it.

I uh, made my own team with a bunch of my friends, just having fun out here.

This tournament's important to me because I have cancer and I've been battling since about two years ago, a little over two years ago.

And a lot of donations go to my organization and people come to help out cancer patients, just 'cause I have it.

Hey Biz Kids, you can have fun while volunteering and giving back to charity.

-At this year's tournament we have 84 teams, which is approximately 650 hockey players.

We also have about 2,000 spectators that come through during the weekend.

And our goal is to hopefully get 200 pints of blood.

The best way to raise money at a fundraiser is to find a way to minimize costs and maximize profits.

One of the ways that we can maximize proceeds is by getting things donated, like our drinks.

Coke donated all our drinks so we can sell them for as much as we want, and as much we can sell we get to keep.

Another way to maximize proceeds is by not putting dates on our t-shirts.

That way if we have too many this year, we can sell them again next year.

See, no year.

We try and minimize our expense by talking to the people that own the rink, to ask them, "This is going for a good cause, is there any way we can get it for a cheaper price?"

And when they say yes, that means more money gets to go to the kids.

I think running a fundraising event is a lot like a business.

You have expenses, you need to find out how to maximize profits.

So I think, yes, it's a lot like a business.

-Plant one right here, baby.

Oh yeah.

-For a successful fundraiser, make sure you raise more than you spend.

-Sir, we have a lock on the location.

-Excellent!

Commence price negotiation.

-Sir.

-Sir, there is a schedule conflict.

We have a competing fundraiser.

-Employ evasive maneuvers.

Ask them if they can change their date, meanwhile... start the search for new dates.

-Sir, yes, sir.

-Sir, the save the date cards have arrived.

-Hold them until we know if the date is changing.

-Yes, sir.

-Soldier!

-Sir!

-How are the finances holding up?

-Sir, we are currently earning more than we are spending and are on track to meet our goal during the fundraiser.

-Good.... Hopefully we will raise the funds to purchase matching uniforms.

(mumbling) -When it comes to fundraising, planning is crucial.

-In order to make as much money as possible and still have fun, you're going to need some help.

-Well, the show is over.

Oh hey, can you help me with a fundraiser I'm doing?

-Um, what's the cause?

-I am raising awareness about fundraisers.

-That's interesting... -Can I count on your support?

-I guess I can donate some time.

Wait, didn't we just do that?

-Well, in that case, our work is done here.

-Hmm.

-♪ Kookie, let's get goofy.

♪ -Okay, this is bad.

Our favorite tanning salon, they say we use the bed so much they're worn out.

-Oh no, we got to do something to help them.

How about a fundraiser or something?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's perfect.

Some kind of event.

Like... -Hey yo, hey yo, how about a best biceps contest.

-♪ Kookie, let's get goofy.

♪ (laughter) -Okay, how about we have a fundraising dance competition?

Now let me show you some pretty slick little steps that I have picked up over the years.

-Shouldn't we first figure out what the fundraiser's for before juggling all these ideas?

-Hold on, Larry.

Let's see him bust a move.

-This ought to bring in the big bucks.

-Good thing there's no gun control.

-Are you a kid that runs a successful business?

-If so, then go to bizkids.com.

-We want to hear all about it.

Like, are you hiring?

-Wait, are you looking for a job?

-No, just go to bizkids.com and you could be on the show.

-That's bizkids.com.

What?

-Nothing.

-Production funding and educational outreach for Biz Kids is provided by a coalition of America's credit unions, where people are worth more than money.

A complete list of individual credit union funders is available at WXXI.org.

-Every day, America's credit unions help members with their financial needs and with programs like Invest in America.

It's only fitting that credit unions support Biz Kids because financial education is what we do.

Learn more at lovemycreditunion.org.