School Fundrasing

School fundraisers raise money for extracurricular activities, classroom supplies, gym equipment, and more. Schools have been running successful fundraisers for decades. The keys to making it work are organization, preparation, and sticking to a realistic time frame.

How you prepare and proceed depends on the type of fundraiser you decide to have. If students will be selling candy bars, you’ll need to have the candy bars on hand and ready to sell. If you’ll be hosting a special event at the school or in a local venue, you’ll need to be sure you’ve gathered your resources and volunteers and that everything is ready to set up and launch easily on the date you’ve set for the event. Last-minute complications can be a nightmare. You and your volunteers need to create a well-organized, structured plan that includes as much detail as possible. Where will you host the event? What items or products will you need for it? What other resources will you need (as tables, chairs, decoration)? How will you advertise the occasion? What will the whole shebang cost? Who are your volunteers and what can they offer? It’s important to know the steps you need to take to set up a successful affair.

When your ideas, volunteers, budget, and strategy are in place, how will you get people to attend? With school fundraisers, you get students and parents to participate and attend. Create an exciting, relaxed, fun atmosphere and you’ll get a great turnout. Involving parents and the community is crucial. Most people, especially those with children, are happy to donate a few dollars to support local schools, so be easy on their wallet and offer them something they can afford. If you offer over-priced tickets or products, people may shy away from your event. Consider the types of events you enjoy and how much you’d be willing to donate yourself. That’s generally a good gauge.

During the initial rush as the doors open is when you’re most likely to receive the most donations. The end of your event is usually a good time, too, because procrastinating donors will make last- minute contributions. The procrastinators are most likely to contribute if you’ve shown them a really good time. Be sure to make them welcome and spend a little time with them if you can.

The middle of the event is when fundraisers may lose steam. Most contributors have made their donations by this time and their enthusiasm has begun to wear off. During this time, it’s good to have pre-determined financial targets so everyone can see how much money the school has raised and how far it is from the goal you’re trying to reach. Make an announcement, reminding guests of the wonderful things their donations will support. If they know where their hard-earned dollars are going, they’re more likely to offer more.
Congratulate them for the progress they’ve made and make them feel important; reminding them that every dollar they give makes a difference. Be positive and appreciative. After all, without them you won’t raise any money at all. Re-energize your guests – focus their attention on your school’s fundraising goal.

Finally, your fundraiser should have a suitable, specific ending time or date. Your event should be long enough that donors have multiple opportunities to contribute. But don’t make it too long or participants may grow weary, bored and want to leave. By specifying an end time and date for your fundraiser, you give everyone a sense of urgency toward the end. This can boost donations.

Good planning, strategy, and marketing, along with a reliable group of motivated volunteers dedicated to entertaining and inspiring your guests to donate to your school’s fundraising efforts will reap rewards.

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