Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Avon Fundraisers...

There's a slew of fundraisers popping up vying for your attention.

If you are a school administrator, leader, coach or a member of a PTA, PTO or other parent group, you are likely suggested fundraisers like Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Avon and others.

There are spirit nights, discount programs and rebate programs, recycling and clothing drives. On top of that, the Internet offers additional programs such as fundraising websites, online malls, auction and charitable giving websites and fundraising affiliate program websites.

Then of course, you have your traditional fundraisers such as frozen cookie dough fundraisers or fall gift catalogs, magazines and flower bulbs. These fundraisers have been around for a very long time but there's some things you need to know.

How in the world are you supposed to know what to offer your school or group for their fundraisers?

The fact is, you want to make money. You want to keep your reputation intact and you want to keep parents and the community happy. How can you balance it all?

Here's a few helpful hints to helping you decide what fundraiser is right for your group.

1) The numbers don't lie.

For any fundraiser that you consider, find out how the school fundraiser performs. You really need only two numbers to do this. The participation rate and the average sales per participant. Using the amount of students in your school, you can arrive at a total dollar amount expected.

2) Keep it short.

Parents these days are quite aware that the school has a hand out. If you want to truly succeed in your fundraising efforts keep each campaign to just a two week period. Anything longer than that and parents lose interest.

3) Focus your efforts.

When you have a big fundraiser planned, make sure nothing else is competing. Remove any mention of smaller fundraisers from your websites and newsletters. Try to minimize year-round fundraising efforts, clothing drives, phone recycling, box tops, etc. and put all of your efforts on the big heavy-hitting fundraisers. When it comes to school fundraising, less is more!

4) Consider the bottom line.

There is nothing wrong with Pampered Chef, Tupperware or Avon Fundraisers necessarily. As long as you know when to use these fundraisers. A Tupperware fundraiser may be right for a small group looking to have a fun party and raise a few bucks but may not be the best choice for a school-wide elementary school fundraiser.

The difficulty here is that it's quite common for someone on the PTA, PTO or a principal or administrator to push for a certain fundraiser. Maybe they have a friend that is a representative or just like the products. These decisions are usually not made based on a financial reality. Although these fundraisers may succeed in their own way, fundraising success on a large scale should be the goal.


5) Less is more.

When you have a clean home, you feel refreshed, happy and free. In contrast, a crowded messy home feels confining, confusing and often depressing. Believe it or not, school fundraising is the same.

Parents are very likely to support a fundraiser if it's well presented, short and a good value. A long, confusing, expensive or new fundraiser will feel overwhelming. The last thing a school needs right now is to appear to always have a hand out for donations.

Less is more, so, throw one main fundraiser per semester and minimize the 'fundraising noise'. You'll make more and parents will thank you for it!

6) Consult an expert.

When it comes to elementary school fundraising in particular, we take calls every day about how to effectively fundraise. There are no hard feelings when a school works with another company or hosts a walk-a-thon for instance. We have our fundraising specialties and they are right, their right.

Here's the thing...

All of the expert knowledge we have is yours to take - free of charge! We presume all fundraising companies are this way so call them and use them whenever you can! The insight fundraising companies have to offer is invaluable so use them for a resource on questions big or small!

_________________

Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising. If you enjoyed the content in this post, please make a comment below. Thanks!!