Elementary School Carnival Ideas

Monday, May 2, 2011

Why Anyone, Even Busy People, Can Host a Successful School Fundraiser.

There are many types of people in the world and most of them are busy. Today, it's not just normal busy but crazy busy.  Being busy doesn't mean that hosting a profitable fundraiser is impossible.  Quite the opposite.  It is possible today to host a high-dollar fundraiser and succeed.  But, there are caveats.

The first thing is that in order for busy people to host successful fundraisers, they have to remember one thing. Simplicity rules the day. Any product or event that is complicated, is not going to be the best use of ones time.

There are two reasons for this.  The first is that time should be reserved for marketing.  If something is complicated, the marketing time is usually what get's pushed to the side.  Secondly, there are products and services right now that are not complicated already in existence.  Choosing complicated just doesn't make sense.

Event fundraising can be demanding.  You may very likely need volunteers and planning time.  Consider this before jumping into an auction or other event when putting in a lot of time is a major consideration.  I recommend schools keep with what works, so if your school already throws a particular event every year, you may find that it's better to keep that event even if it does take work.  It really depends, but sometimes complicated is worth it.  If you have an idea for a brand new event, the one thing you don't want to do is fall short.  For that reason, you may want to take a look at some other options.

Product fundraisers may just be for you.  They are easy to run and proven time and time again to be successful.  If you utilize a fundraising company to help with your fundraising efforts, you may just find that some of the work typically associated with fundraisers is handled for you.  Because I am in the business of providing catalog product fundraisers I want to temper this so it's not about me or my fundraising companies service but it's a fact, the fundraisers are simpler.  Because everything is provided, all you need to do is send information home and make sure everyone is doing their part. If you choose a good product fundraising company you will find that everything is provided from catalogs to product distribution. 

Donation drives are a possibility for your school as well.  Although a donation drive may not solve your problems in the long run, a well-orchestrated donation drive can bring in a lot of money in a short period of time with just a few letters home.

So, here's the deal.  If you are busy and want to succeed at fundraising, you can host an easy long-standing event, a donation drive or host a catalog fundraiser.  Regardless, if you realize you've got a support system in place, you'll be better off so any fundraising company you use can help you keep things simple.  If you have a long-standing event, previous volunteers may be able to help you better understand what needs to be done to succeed.  If you host a donation drive, all you have to do is write a few letters and you'll see some results.

Regardless of your fundraising technique, make sure your fundraising is important to you and necessary.  Then, spend your time wisely!  Here's to successful and easy fundraising!

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1 comment:

Colin said...

What a great post, I have just emailed this to all are team. we start our annual school fundraising event this weekend, it going to been very busy but it all worth it.