A few months ago, my mum came to visit from the UK.

While she was here, she handed me something I hadn't seen for decades: the tea towel I made at primary school when I was five years old.

Somehow, she'd kept it for more than 35 years.

Now it hangs in our kitchen, and my own kids are fascinated by it. They love laughing at my very serious self-portrait and asking endless questions about what school was like when I was their age.

It reminded me why tea towel fundraisers have remained so popular for generations. They're one of the few fundraisers that become more meaningful with time. Long after the fundraising goal has been reached, families still have a keepsake that captures a little piece of childhood.

As the Fundraising Coordinator at our school, I've organised plenty of fundraising events over the years, but our tea towel fundraiser genuinely exceeded expectations. It was easy to run, families loved it, and more than a year later parents still ask whether we have any spare tea towels available because they forgot to order one.

If you're considering running a tea towel fundraiser at your school, here are five things I'd absolutely do again.

1. Get your timing right

My biggest piece of advice? Don't leave it until Christmas.

The end of the school year is absolute chaos. Families are juggling concerts, assemblies, presentations, holidays, teacher gifts and approximately 4,000 reminders from every direction.

Instead, start early.

A simple timeline could look something like this:

• August: Confirm your fundraiser and book your preferred production dates.
• Late August or early September: Hand out drawing template, pens, collect the artwork and open pre-orders.
• September or October: Receive and distribute the tea towels.
• October: Sell any additional stock at Grandparents Day or another school event.

Running your fundraiser before the end-of-year rush gives families time to order extras and means your fundraiser isn't competing with everything else happening at school.

2. Collect all the artwork at once (and keep it organised)

Artwork collection can quickly become the most time-consuming part of the fundraiser if every class approaches it differently.

The easiest option is to make it a whole-school activity. Hand out the drawing template to every class on the same day, ask teachers to set aside time for students to complete them, then collect everything the following day.

One thing that saved us hours was preparing a folder or envelope for every classroom. Inside each folder we included enough drawing templates for every student, around ten spare sheets for the inevitable "oopsies", and a printed class list from the school office.

As each drawing came back, we simply ticked students off the class list. It made it incredibly easy to see who was missing, reconcile every piece of artwork and make sure nobody was accidentally left off the final design.

Trust me, nothing creates more admin than chasing one missing artwork after everything has already been submitted.

Once everything has been collected, send it off as quickly as possible so you can receive the mock-up of your design, approve the design and start taking orders.

3. Include the teachers

Don't forget the teachers!

One of my favourite parts of our finished tea towel was seeing the teachers included alongside the students.

Whether teachers draw themselves or a student draws them, it creates such a lovely snapshot of the school community. Families love spotting their child's teacher, and teachers usually enjoy being part of the finished product too.

If you can, include your principal, office staff, teacher aides, canteen staff and other familiar faces as well.

The more recognisable the tea towel feels, the more meaningful it becomes.

4. Think beyond parents

When we first launched our tea towel fundraiser, I assumed most families would only buy one.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Grandparents absolutely loved them. So did aunties, uncles and family friends. They're one of those rare fundraising products that people actually want because they're personal, practical and sentimental all at once.

If your school celebrates Grandparents Day, it's also the perfect opportunity to have a small amount of additional stock available to sell on the day. Display an open tea towel so everyone can see the artwork, have card payments ready, and you'll often pick up plenty of extra sales.

5. Make ordering easy and create a little urgency

The fewer steps involved, the more orders you'll receive.

One thing we learnt was to open pre-orders before the children even started creating their artwork. The excitement is at its highest while they're drawing their masterpieces at school. They head home talking about the tea towels, and that's the perfect time for parents to place their order.

Let families know you'll only be ordering enough tea towels to cover pre-orders, with perhaps just a handful of extras. Not only does this create a little urgency, but it also means you have a much clearer picture of demand and aren't left with boxes of unsold stock.

Keep the ordering process as simple as possible. Whether you're using your school's payment platform, an online order form or a QR code, families should be able to order in under a minute.

Ask the school to send an email to parents, share reminders in year-level WhatsApp groups, include it in the school newsletter, post regularly on the school's Facebook and Instagram pages, and use your school app if you have one.

Every communication should clearly show:

· What the tea towel looks like.

· How much it costs.

· When orders close.

· When it will be delivered.

· Exactly how to order.

Then don't be afraid to remind people.

You'll rarely annoy parents with a few well-timed reminders. In fact, most will appreciate them. A countdown in the final week can make a huge difference to your final sales.

Our Tea Towel Partner

We ran our fundraiser with Expressions Fundraising, which creates personalised school tea towels featuring children’s artwork. Their online Family Ordering Page makes the process easy and cash-free: families order through your school’s link, Expressions manages the payments and collates the orders, and your profit is paid to you at the end.

From collecting the artwork through to receiving the finished tea towels, they made the process incredibly straightforward and were fantastic to work with.

If you're considering running a tea towel fundraiser at your school, they're well worth a look.

One day, one of the children at your school may be unpacking a box, opening a drawer or hanging a tea towel in their own kitchen and rediscovering a little piece of their childhood.

In the meantime, your school will have raised valuable funds, families will have a keepsake they'll cherish, and your community will have shared in something genuinely special.

And that's what makes tea towel fundraisers so successful year after year.