Make Your School Fundraiser More Important!

Go ahead, be bold!  Take a chance, get out there.  Do something! 

Seems so cliche right?  The fact is that anyone anywhere can have a successful school fundraiser!  But it takes a change in attitude. 

One thing is for sure.  If you use a cookie cutter approach to your school fundraising, you'll get the same result time and time again.  If the fundraising results you get today are not what you want, you have to change things...  You have to make an impact.

Check this quote out.  I got it from a ptotoday.com school fundraising article entitled Dad's New Job: PTA President.

"To spur participation in the annual PTA gift-wrap fundraiser, Lovett covered himself from head to toe in wrapping paper and spent a morning in front of the school, holding a sign and waving to parents as they dropped off their children. “We had our best year ever,” he says."

Folks will say that this is a gimmick and that they could never do such a thing.  But what did Lovett discover by being goofy and putting himself out there?

That parents realized that the fundraiser was important to the PTA and the school and they participated as a result.

Remember to be bold in your delivery so parents know your school fundraiser is important to you!

Spring 2010 Elementary School Fundraising - What Works?

The big topic of conversation with PTA, PTO's and other parent groups this spring? Well, probably not what is the best fundraiser for spring, but a fundraising guy can dream right?

Traditional fundraisers continue to represent the largest segment of fundraising income. And as much as we'd like to see unique and new fundraisers come along and provide top dollars, we have not seen one that competes.

This spring, look for frozen cookie dough, spring gift catalog and well-organized events such as an auction or a carnival to be the big winners!

• Frozen cookie dough is probably the most effective spring fundraiser because people have come to know the product over time. Most folks know that the dough is tasty and will drop some funds on it. As a matter of financial truth, frozen cookie dough is an edible product and because everyone eats regularly, there is a big market for it :)

• Spring catalog is popular in spring because it includes a number of items in several popular categories. The catalogs that work best include a selection of flowers which are a top spring seller.

• Spring Event Fundraising - Anytime a well-organized fundraiser can be put together it usually is a winner. Although it takes a lot more volunteerism and organization, putting on an event can raise big bucks. It also galvanizes the community and has a chance to be a repeatable yearly event.

So, there you have it. My predictions of what will work for 2010 Spring elementary school fundraising!