Let's face it, there's not a lot of innovation in the fundraising industry. From a very robust industry followed by a period of consolidation, the programs and procedures have stayed largely the same.
Why that's alright...
When something works, it's good to make just minor adjustments and trudge on confidently.
By way of illustration, take just about any industry, the boating industry, for example, still sells boats with hulls that cut their way through the water. They don't fly then dive or roll on the bottom of the ocean. What I mean by this is although there have been vast improvements, the boat hasn't changed for literally hundreds of years.
Fundraising has had immense improvements. In recent years most notably, the quality of the fundraising products has increased, most prices have come down and delivery has become smoother. That's not even half of it though. Incentive programs have improved and now shopping on the internet has ushered in a brand new element to the traditional school fundraiser.
What's the future of elementary school fundraising?
There's a few reason this is hard to predict. Reasons I'm not sure would make for compelling reading. In a basic sense, everyone (schools included) will be following us into the digital age. More devices and apps will influence our daily lives and connect us in new ways.
This trend will have an impact on school fundraising. I believe when Facebook, Google and others say the future of our technological lives is mobile, I believe them.
I also feel it myself.
Because of a few key devices (namely the iPhone), I don't use my computer nearly as much at home as I had in the past. Hey, I don't even print directions from mapquest before I leave the house anymore. This is a big deal.
So, how the trend to mobile affects us is unknown, but it's coming!
Conclusion...
There will be improvements to the fundraising industry and the fundraising industry will change. We can all hope that by being more social and connected, needs are met more effectively. Time will tell.
For me, I hope that technology makes it easier to meet the high-dollar needs of schools all across the country who are struggling. What was a local effort will become a global one as our world is shrunk by the connections we have all over the globe.
For now, we don't make a submarine, we just enjoy our sailboat :)
Ok, until next time...
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Elementary school fundraising
2 comments:
Hi Jay,
I've been following your blog for a while now and I just wanted to comment because I totally agree with what you're saying. Here in San Francisco everyone seems to have an iPhone or smartphone and there seems to be an "app" for everything these days. I wanted to tell you about this app that I heard about from a couple of people called Receipt Hog. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and i think its a really interesting idea - you take pictures of receipts and receive 10-15 cents per. They say it can be used for fundraising and charity too and it's really super super easy! I think you should check it out, it's on the app store. Interested in what you think.
Interesting! I'll check that out right away!
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