Time to prep those second school mailouts! Why January? PTO's (Parent Teacher Organizations) have had an opportunity to find out if they have extra funds from school fundraisers. Grants may have been received as well. You can address them to either Principal or PTO Assembly Coordinator.

I would encourage you to put your fee on the January mailouts so they can say, "Hmmm. We could do that!" But if it is different from other times of the year be sure to state that. Springtime special!

I don't do many schools, but my response is often as great in January as it is in August or September.

Do you work for a flat fee or a 50/50 split? I have heard it done both ways.

The 50/50 split would be an evening thing and that will work best if you first do a daytime show to get them excited about coming back that night for a "totally different show".

I do the set fee and just do during the school day. However, others have had success with the evening programs. I just don't have the time.

Another option would be to have tickets sold and you keep the first X amount of dollars and then anything beyond that is split 50-50. I would do that. No risk for the school but you also have a better chance of making your fee. The school would also have to provide the fliers announcing the program.

Keep in mind that if you do go for a 50-50 you can work with groups within the school. One year I worked with a 5th grade class who was raising money for an overnight field trip. They worked pretty hard trying to sell tickets.