Box Tops for Education: How to Communicate the Program and Drive Participation

Box Tops is one of the most low-barrier fundraising programs available to schools. There is nothing to sell, nothing to ask neighbors to buy, and nothing for students to carry home in a backpack. Families simply scan grocery receipts through a free app, and the school earns money. The only reason the program does not reach its potential in most schools is that many families do not know it exists, have not downloaded the app, or have forgotten to scan consistently.

All three of those failure points are communication problems. Better communication fixes them.

Explain the app-based model clearly

Many families, particularly those who remember the old paper clip-and-mail model, do not know that Box Tops is now primarily app-based. Start every Box Tops communication by explaining how it works now: download the free app, scan your grocery receipt within fourteen days of purchase, and the school earns automatically.

Include a direct link to the app download and the school's Box Tops ID or link. Removing the step of searching for the app dramatically increases the number of families who actually download it.

Communicate the earnings impact specifically

"Box Tops have earned our school $847 this year" is a concrete statement that makes the program feel real. "Help our school earn money" is abstract. Tell families exactly how much the school has earned and what it went toward in previous years.

If the PTA used Box Tops earnings to fund playground equipment, library books, art supplies, or classroom materials, say so. The more specific the connection between family participation and tangible school resources, the more motivated families are to participate consistently.

Send monthly reminders with the earnings total

A single communication at the start of the year is not enough to maintain consistent Box Tops participation. Build monthly reminders into your newsletter, each one brief and including the current earnings total and the school code.

The monthly total serves as both a progress report and a motivational tool. Families who see the total growing by hundreds of dollars each month understand that their individual scans are contributing to something collectively meaningful.

Use friendly competition during push periods

A time-limited Box Tops challenge, where the class or grade level with the most scans in a four-week period wins a small prize like an extra recess or a classroom party, can dramatically increase scanning activity during that period. Communicate the challenge dates, the prize, and the running totals by classroom through your newsletter.

Friendly competitions work for Box Tops because the barrier to participation is so low. Students who remind their parents to scan grocery receipts are contributing to their class's total with almost no effort. That ease makes the social incentive effective.

Include Box Tops in your regular PTA newsletter as a standing section

Make Box Tops a standing section in every PTA newsletter rather than a separate communication. A brief two-to-three sentence section with the current earnings total, a reminder to scan, and the app link keeps the program visible without requiring families to read a separate communication about it. Consistency is what drives the passive, cumulative earnings that make the program valuable.