New & Unique School Fundraising Ideas

New and Unique School Fundraising Ideas are dangerous ground. But before anyone gets worked up, let me explain:

There have been traditional fundraisers for many years. They are tried and tested. They are largely successful. Over 80% of elementary schools will host a traditional fundraiser this year and that's a lot of schools. I know from our end that nearly every school that switches to Believe Kids will have increased profits over their previous fundraiser.

Subsequently, along come some new fundraisers such as cookie dough voucher programs, online only fundraisers, gift card fundraising, custom printed products, Coke Rewards Fundraising, Tupperware fundraisers, Avon fundraisers, online malls, affiliate programs, recycling programs, gold party fundraisers and others.

So, what's the big deal?

The big deal is that if you ask a PTA or PTO president what they are looking for in a fundraiser, they will respond that they want something new and unique. Many of these new fundraisers fit the bill.

But do they really?

Probably not. In reality it's not in our nature to really want the newest thing. We don't necessarily want the dentist just out of college or to hire a 7 year old baby-sitter.

I get it though, there's something truthful in there. Maybe the desire to have confidence in offering something different to the community. To prove to parents that there is something unique out there that will make them want to support education more.

Usually though, the wish for the unique backfires.

Many of the newer fundraisers out there are either ahead of their time or fall short because they are marketed as something they are not. Some online only programs have not found their market yet and others may work for small groups only but they market as if they solve the needs of larger groups alike.

I believe every fundraiser is inherently good. Meaning that, if the right group hosts the right fundraiser at the right time, they should be successful. Of course, the definition of a successful fundraiser is not the same across the board.

Herein lies the truth.

If a school wants to take on something new and unique it only needs to be aware that that newness will likely translate in a loss of income. Schools should pay close attention to picking an appropriate fundraiser. A gold party fundraiser is very likely not going to be the main school-wide elementary fundraiser one would expect.

One final consideration is that some fundraisers generate so little income that they can interfere with the main fundraisers at the school. Consider putting a bit more leg work and marketing into a main fundraiser and you can skip out on some of the little ones. Less is more when it comes to school fundraising.

In closing, traditional is good, new and unique adds risk and the wrong fit equals potential disaster. Make sure to pick an appropriate fundraiser for your group size and make sure the community you represent will understand how to participate in the fundraiser.

________________________________

I'm a fan of any fundraiser that does what it says it will do so I am not picking on any fundraiser in particular. Yes, I like traditional fundraisers but new and unique fundraisers are good as long as everyone is aware of the risks associated with them.

I encourage agreement as well as disagreement in comments placed below. If you have a thought, please share it and thanks for looking!

The Future of School Fundraising

School fundraising is at an interesting crossroads.

Somehow we need to bring back the 'glory days' of school fundraising. It would seem that long lost are the days when every parent that could financially help contributed when asked.

Lower participation today is having an impact on all fundraisers and events. As a result, schools have been adding more and more fundraisers to make up for lost revenue due to the economy and less students participating in the fundraisers.

Rest assured, this is not just traditional fundraisers such as fall catalogs or cookie dough that have lower participation. These fundraisers are performing better than ever, but participation is down across the board.

Schools across the nation are reporting less traffic at their events, fewer auction bids, fewer attendees at fundraising concerts and less money from bake sales. Clearly, the economy is having an impact across the board.



That's not to say that there aren't stand-outs. Even in a bad economy, people start successful businesses or sell a new invention or even become movie stars when conditions are less than ideal. Your fundraiser can be a wild success even in difficult times as well. While many schools are complaining about less than stellar fundaisers of all types we have hundreds of success stories just from last year alone! All schools that succeeded in the face of an economic downturn and lower participation.


So, what's the future of fundraising look like?

First off, this is a loaded question. Nobody knows if the Government will step up to properly fund schools or what corporate or governmental changes will occur to have an impact on it. It's easy to assume that no changes will be made and schools will continue to lose financial ground, but nobody has a crystal ball.

It's no surprise to hear that school fundraising is not generating the interest it once did. Of course, the need for fundraising has continued and the need for financing in schools has only increased.

There are a lot of fundraisers out there and school pta, pto, ptsa and ptso groups want to try new things. There's a changing of the guard so to speak because fundraisers do not generate the participation they did a few years ago.

Here's the solution.

As a general plan, I believe that hosting a large traditional fundraiser or school-wide event per semester and focusing entire efforts on it is the way to go. But, every parent must know that the school expects them to participate. Parents must be told how much money they should give or raise and then be provided incentives to encourage them to hit the goal!

Keep it simple

I suggest keeping things simple, downplaying small fundraisers and promoting the main fundraiser with everything you've got! Use the principals email list, newsletters, online, using posters and banners, etc. to market your event!

Involve the Principal, Administrators and Teachers

There is considerable power in a group getting behind an activity. If a principal doesn't lead the way, administrators and teachers will no doubt make fundraising less of a priority at the school.

Yes, teachers do not want to lose valuable instruction time to fundraising. The only way to accomplish this is to have them fully support one fundraiser per semester. Then they won't have constant interruption when another fundraiser comes along to make up for lost revenue.

Get parents involved

In my opinion, schools have to do more to get the parents involved. This starts with schools making their expectations clear.

Demand more from your fundraising company

Fundraising companies have to do more to offer true value and incentives that affect sales and participation. Fundraising companies that care how much money a school makes will be the ones that re-invigorate fundraising and forge the future.

Barring a change in Government or a restructured educational system, using heavy-hitting fundraisers and getting faculty and the community involved can return us to the glory days of fundraising.

A better economy won't hurt either :)

_____________________________

Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids. A nationwide fundraising company offering fundraising catalogs and frozen cookie dough fundraisers.

If you have a comment or suggestion, please leave it here below or find me on twitter - twitter.com/believekids

Thanks for looking!

School Fundraising - 3 Things That Add Confidence

Your school fundraising company should make you feel confident that you will succeed. In succeeding, you should be able to fulfill each and every item you feel strongly about.

Choosing a school fundraising company

If things like hitting goals, getting extras specific to your school or offering a quality product are important, make sure you work them into your school fundraising effort when you approach various fundraising companies for proposals.

Here are a few tips for having confidence in choosing a school fundraising company:

1) Work out specifics of your fundraiser ahead of time. Include anything your school desires in a wish list and let all competing fundraising companies respond IN WRITING! Being up-front and honest in the discovery process is the best way to go when choosing a school fundraising company!

2) Search out feedback on the companies you want to work with. You will want to call references for each and every school fundraising company you are approaching. Calling references is the single best way to find out how a company works and how the treat their customers.

3) Ask questions! There is no limit to the amount of questions you can ask. From mundane simple questions to estimates on how much participation you would expect from the fundraising companies you are considering. Ask up-front anything you can think of! You'll quickly find out where the companies stand in terms of product quality, damage and missing policies, value they offer and quality of prize programs. There is no substitute for talking honestly about a wide variety of topics before choosing.

So, there you have it... 3 super easy tips to add confidence as you choose your fundraising company!