A select group of high school marching bands will perform to an audience of more than 50 million people during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York this week.

But getting to the Big Apple is expensive. Kentucky’s North Hardin High School band raised more than $100,000 to make the trip to perform, says band director Brian Froedge.

The band had about a year and a half to prepare — and raise the money — since they found out they were selected to perform at this year’s parade in May of 2014, he says.

Fundraising is often necessary to finance things like uniforms, equipment and trips for extracurricular activities. But raising the funds for these items can be a challenge. Those in need of help can try the following suggestions.

Discover [how to survive back-to-school fundraising season.]

1. Bigger is better: At North Hardin High, fundraisers focused on hosting a few larger events that could raise thousands of dollars, rather than smaller activities like bake sales, says Froedge. One was a benefit concert, dinner and auction featuring a local television news anchor as the emcee, he says.

“Try to find as many activities as you can that don’t require you to sell something,” he says. When selling items from a company, a portion of the proceeds will go back to that organization, he says.

Fundraisers should consider the money needed up front to raise funds and figure out how to minimize risk, if possible, says Steve Schuck, president of the Richard Montgomery High School Athletic Booster Club in Rockville, Maryland, which helps pay for uniforms, equipment and security, among other things, for the athletics department.

“Buying 10,000 shirts and hoping to sell them is a lot riskier than selling 10,000 shirts first and then buying them,” he says.

2. Get teachers and the community involved: The best activities are ones involving parents, kids and even the greater community, says Schuck. But teachers can be the biggest help to fundraising.

If a request for money or support comes from an educator, the response from the community tends to be better, he says.

Getting athletes involved in fundraising has worked at Hull High School in Massachusetts, says Jim Quatromoni, the school’s athletic director and community outreach coordinator. Adding a competitive element for the students, and having fun with it, are also key.

The department incorporates fundraising activities as part of its yearlong “class cup” challenge, he says. At a Thanksgiving golf ball drop challenge, for example, the class with the highest percentage of golf ball sales wins points toward the cup.

But the greater community is also involved with fundraising. When the athletics budget was cut a number of years ago, he says, the school’s booster club stepped up and helped save the program, which it still helps support financially, he says.