Penny Wars
Turn a little friendly competition into clean water for communities in Africa.
Penny Wars are an easy and fun way for schools to raise money for Drop in the Bucket. Classes, homerooms, or grade levels compete against one another by collecting coins and bills — while trying to reduce the scores of their competitors.
All you need are collection containers, some spare change, and a little competitive spirit. At the end of the Penny War, every coin and dollar collected helps support clean water projects in Africa.
Set Up Your Penny War
Give each participating class, homeroom, or grade a large container for collecting coins and bills. Label each container clearly and place them somewhere students can easily contribute.
Decide how long your Penny War will run. A school week works well, but you can make the competition longer or shorter.
Collect Coins and Sabotage the Competition
Students add pennies, nickels, and dimes to their own class container to increase their score. Each coin is counted at its value in cents.
Here's where the competition gets interesting: students can put quarters and dollar bills into another class's container to reduce that class's score. A quarter subtracts 25 points, a $1 bill subtracts 100 points, and so on.
The money still counts toward the fundraiser — it only hurts the competing class's score.
Count the Scores
Empty and count the containers each day so students can see how the competition is going.
Add the value of the positive coins and subtract the value of the quarters and bills to determine each class's score. Post the standings each day to keep students involved and encourage a little friendly competition.
Turn Your Change Into Clean Water
At the end of the competition, announce the winning class and count all of the money raised.
Penny Wars can generate a surprising number of coins, so contact your local bank ahead of time to ask how they would like the coins prepared or deposited.
Then donate the funds to Drop in the Bucket and help bring clean water to schools and communities in Africa.