School Fundraiser Risk...

School Fundraising Risk Graph

There are a number of risks involved in school fundraising.  Yeah, sounds pretty dramatic doesn't it! 

Well, OK.The reality is, if you take pride in your school and your involvement matters, there's risk there.

The last thing you want to do is host a fundraiser that is going to fall short.  What motivates many decisions on the PTA or PTO is the fear of embarrassment when a fundraiser fails to provide a good customer experience or sufficient profit.

In a nutshell, risk is two-fold.

If you hire a band to play your event, but they have a guarantee of payment, you have risk.  If you pay upfront for a product without knowing if it will sell, you have risk. This type of risk I call 'Real' risk because losing all or part of your money is a 'Real' possibility.

And then there is 'Emotional' risk.  The damage done by parents feeling they've been taken, the feeling that the flaws in the event were unforgivable, the feeling that it's all just too much.  This risk is damaging to the group because the students, parents or the community will not want to support future activities of the school, group or parent group. Take for instance the bad customer service or bad food you experienced at a restaurant.  Did the disapointment leave you saying to yourself, 'I won't be back.'?

The feeling parents have after a dismal event or too many fundraisers feels very similar. 

The point of this post is to remind schools and groups that fundraising can be risky.  There are companies that absorb most, if not all of that risk and you should seek them out.  By avoiding payment up-front and helping with customer service and such, many parents avoid the bad restaurant experience I mentioned above.

At the very least, as long as you're aware that you should try to minimize risk, the fundraiser will be better off for it.

Ok, until next time!

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elementary school fundraiser

Summer - The perfect time to plan ahead!

Do you think it's hard to plan ahead for a school fundraiser?  

When you're poolside with the little ones, it's probably pretty darn difficult to imagine the responsibilities of the Fall fundraiser.  What's more is, it's even harder to imagine that time is right around the corner.

So, here's the thing.  Just a bit of planning before Fall will go a long way to providing you and your school a sense of accomplishment and success!

Start early.

You don't have to have it all figured out but starting early ensures your ability to focus on the important tasks at the right time!

Build a team.

You'll want help navigating everything.  A team of other PTA or PTO members will help you!

Plan.

Have a plan for the fundraising goal and for how big or small your fundraising effort will be. 

Participate.

You'll need to think about how to get the most people you can involved.  This means making the fundraiser important in the eyes of everyone involved.  Consider everything from marketing the fundraiser to rewarding sellers.  The more encouragement, the better the fundraiser!

Succeed!

If you start early and recognize the major ways you can impact your fundraiser, you will hit your goals!

I'm here if you need me so feel free to continue the conversation in comments below or at twitter.com/believekids

Ok, until next time!

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school fundraiser

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Jay Moneta

Hi,  did you know this blog is cool and one-of-a-kind!  There really has never been one of it's type and for that reason alone, if you are a school fundraising representative, a school principal or administrator or a PTA or PTO member, you've just got to subscribe and share this thing!

Feel free to leave comments too!

here is the actual address of this blog:
http://believejay.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Work With a School Fundraising Company You Trust!

The most important thing you can do is to trust your fundraising company.  There are requirements you have as a PTA or PTO running an elementary school fundraiser.  There are promises made to you from your fundraising representative or fundraising company.

During a fundraiser, things are intended to work smoothly.  Ideally, everything would be available to you ahead of time and all products would arrive in perfect condition.  But, we all know that anyone can fall short.

Ask yourself if your fundraising company fell short in some way, would you trust them to fix it?


If you were promised something, do you have the confidence that it will happen?

You want to work with someone who will see your fundraiser through from the planning to the billing and everything in between.  With any luck, you'll be able to trust them as well.

Ok, until next time!

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school fundraiser

Evaluating Your Elementary School PTA / PTO Activities

Hi!  Jay here.  I want to let you quickly know that right before school is back in session is the best time to re-evaluate your PTA or PTO activities!

Principals - meet with your PTA or PTO and go over their comprehensive plan for the Fall activities and fundraisers!  If you're allowed to, see if you can help them run some numbers and determine if the fundraisers they are holding will earn money and if they are too intrusive into the demands of teaching.  Don't let the PTA or PTO host fundraisers that are risky and help them ensure against theft!

PTA and PTO members - get together with the expressed purpose of finalizing your schedule.  Make sure you have everything in place to present yourselves and the school with conviction and professionalism.  Don't hesitate.  Make sure that when the school year hits, so does  the PTA or PTO!  In your meeting discuss if you have any risky or particular needy areas that present concern.  Can you simplify things?

Remember, less is more!  So if you can strip away things you're not putting time into, before school starts would be the time to decide what it is you will do well, and what you don't need to do!

Ok, until next time!

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School fundraisers

School Fundraising - A Principals View

I'm about to say something bad but I'm not going to the principals office!

That's because I am going to make a really strong case.  I will prove my point.  Here ya go.

School principals view fundraising in a strange way.

It's really not their fault or anything. It's just the nature of things.  Things being what they are, the way principals operate on a daily basis works in most situations to the benefit of school.  I applaud principals efforts and I know a fair amount of them so this isn't really a criticism, it's an appeal.

Here's what I have noticed.

The last principal I spoke with believed that fundraising was a matter for the parent group.  They just wanted to know that they had a fundraiser that would be considered 'safe'.  If they trusted the parent group, they would not need approval.  If not, he just needed to see it first.

Sound familiar?

In reality, a  principal is busy.  Fundraising isn't part of their daily regimen, nor should it be.  So, why would we consider rethinking things?  Why is there a problem?

The appeal

The relationship between parent and teacher is important.  The more that gets in the way of fostering that relationship, is a detriment.  Lack of a 'fundraising plan' is a detriment.

The photo above is just one day's worth of materials sent home on top of the communication the teacher was intending for the parent.  It's so much, that something is going to be lost or forgotten about. 

The question is, what will it be?

So, my appeal is for principals to be involved with the 'fundraising plan', the strategy behind what you send home and why.  Limit extraneous communication that doesn't accomplish the goal of keeping the teacher / parent relationship intact.  Assume that everything you send home is an action item that has to be taken care of and dealt with.  If something is voluntary, leave the flyers in the lobby or on the website, but not in the backpack.

Secondarily, in an effort to limit the overload of information, help the PTA or PTO decide why money is needed, how much is needed and the minimum number of fundraisers needed to accomplish that goal.  Some schools raise $100,000 in one fundraising effort and do not fundraise the rest of the year. 

What is your plan to minimize the fundraisers? 

If you can get the fundraising down, would you have more fun?  Would you have more time for fun and educational outings and events?  My guess is you would.  Would less mean that the parents feel closer to the school and more willing to participate inside the classroom or at certain events?  I bet there would be a different level of involvement.

What are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear 'em!





Comment below or keep the conversation going on twitter - twitter.com/believekids
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school fundraisers

School Fundraisers and The School Principal

School Fundraisers and The School Principal

Hey, your principal is influential!  He's also probably not supporting the fundraising efforts at your school very well.  Yikes!  The truth sometimes hurts.

Fact is, from this side (the school fundraising company side), when Principals are involved with a fundraiser, it's something noticeable, something tangible, something remarkable!  It's not uncommon to see new fundraiser records set the first time a principal gets involved.

I'm not making any sort of political statement, propaganda, myth or anything else.  I know principals are busy. I know many support the PTA and PTO, etc. but, the numbers speak for themselves. 

If you want your fundraiser to truly succeed, teamwork is necessary.  Your school principal is a big part of that.  With their help, Teachers will know that the fundraiser is important.  If that is the case, the teachers tell the students that it's important. 

This is the way things happen at school!

The end result is that the students tell the parent!


Next up...

What parents should do when a fundraiser comes their way.

Ok, until next time...

Protect your School Fundraising Reputation - Protect your School Reputation!

It's tough being involved and offering up your time and services as a parent group member or school volunteer.  If your PTA or PTO is in charge of fundraising and you've been handed the torch, you'll want to work diligently to protect your reputation.

As a prominent member of the PTA or PTO (or in whatever capacity you are responsible for fundraising), your actions will reflect on the school.  Better put, you are partially responsible for how parents view the school.

Because the school is one entity, it really only has one identity.  

Understanding this may better be illustrated by imagining your local sports team.  They have a vibe, a thing, they stand for something.  You even think of them as one thing. Of course, you will think of individual players or memories of certain events, but as a whole, your brain is able to picture the entire team as one thing.

You play an important role in building up that identity or breaking it down.  Pretty deep huh?

I think what I'm getting at here is to keep in mind the reputation of the school when you plan your fundraisers and events.  Is there any chance a fundraiser you host has a chance of backfiring in some way?  What type of risk do you have?  Will parents be responsive and supportive or will some roadblock get in their way.  The last thing you want to do is have people experience a fundraiser or event and leave with animosity or regret.

The easiest way to ensure that you keep the school reputation intact is to approach the planning stages of your events, activities and fundraisers with the expressed understanding that you will look at every angle looking for things that will and could go wrong.  From there, address everything until there is no chance of making yourself, the PTA or PTO or the school look bad.

I promise, this approach works and I promise I'll write more about it another day!

Ok, until next time!

____________

www.twitter.com/believekids
PTO fundraiser PTA fundraiser

Small Victories - Posting to this Elementary School Fundraising Blog Daily...

Hi!  I don't do self-promotion on this blog.  It's not that I am above it or anything, but I believe that content should rule the day.  In short, I believe that if I write truly remarkable things, you will search me out.  If I am determined to blog daily about things that matter to you, you will return and share.

So, I discuss elementary school fundraising in a real way.  I am probably the one and only person doing it.  And dispite the fact that there are no others, I will help you or your PTA or your principal or a parent.

Small victories keep me coming back to post daily.

I'll be here posting so I have a question...

What fundraising related questions can I help you sort out?

Ok, until next time!

________________

Keep the conversation going!!!
Leave comments and questions below or visit any of the following:
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
www.BelieveKids.com
facebook.com/BelieveKids

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Fundraising Problems... Mistakes New Parent Groups Make...

Feeling bad about the outcome of a fundraiser is not a good thing.  Still, a lot of new PTA and PTO  members will experience some pretty staggering losses in comparison to previous years school fundraising efforts.

There's a few key factors to discuss but I really don't want to get too heavy and complex today.  Recently, I had a conversation that got a bit technical.  I saw some glassy eyeballs for just a moment.  So today, I'm keeping it simple.

1) Your involvement matters - PTO and PTA Groups that experience a loss in fundraising revenue had one of a few issues.  The first is just not doing much.  If a school fundraiser is just sent home willy nilly, it's probably going to fall flat. 

Good fundraising companies will team up with you to plan and promote a fundraiser.  This is where you succeed!  A bit of planning in key areas wins the day.

2)  Your administration matters - The elementary schools that run the best fundraisers involve the administration.  If your school principal teams up with the parent group on an incentive or contest, or otherwise makes the fundraiser important, it will be!

3) The numbers matter - You can ask any fundraising company for historical data before you choose your main fall fundraiser.  If you use average number of sales per student, average sale dollar amount and that companies historical participation rate in your area, you'll be able to predict with some accuracy how your fundraiser will do!  No numbers means mistakes can happen.

Ok, there's just a few mistakes that PTA and PTO parent groups make.   New parent groups and new members are particularly susceptible to lower than expected fundraising revenues but it can be avoided!

Ok, until next time!

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Keep the conversation going on twitter - twitter.com/believekids

school fundraiser

10 Reasons Your PTA or PTO Should Blog

Just posted: 10 Reasons your PTA or PTO Should Blog.  What I like about this is that there's really no downside.  All that happens when a PTA or PTO begins a blog is that the community they serve is in the know.  Having said that, there is a bit of accountability to post respectfully, but other than that, just upside!  Enjoy!    Believe jay blog-10reasons

View more presentations from Believe Kids

Oh, you can download the full sized version as well.  Just look for the download link on the top of the presentation. 

Elementary School Fundraising - Think Profit!

Not much time to express my thoughts today.  Here's where I'm at.  Schools make irrational decisions when it comes to fundraising.  Schools consistently host fundraisers or select fundraising companies or fundraising programs that will not earn the most money.  

What's more, there's very little that can be done about it from the outside.  I just want schools and groups to know that it's ok to be thinking in terms of profit.  Not necessarily just profit percentage, but final bottom-line profit to the group.  

It's time schools got strategic about their fundraising. Time for PTA / PTO volunteers, principals and administrators to accomplish the foremost task of raising the most money they can with the least disruption to learning. 

Ok, until next time!

__________________________

Keep the conversation going on twitter or facebook and please share what you see here with others!  The direct link to this website is fundraising-advice.com

Elementary School Fundriaser
School Fundraising Blog
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
Facebook.com/BelieveKids
Believe Wordpress Blog

Keeping money local - School Fundraiser cancelled...

What do you think of the keeping money local thing?


I grew up, as many of you did, in a state where we tried to keep our money in our state.  I realize now, looking back, that for the most part, it's the wrong question.  We used to think in terms of losing what is ours and desperately hanging on to something, I now believe we should have been wondering how we can create something that attracts other peoples money.


What do you think?

In the end, I think nearly all brick and mortar retail and online retailers alike today go against this very principle. Take Walmart for example.  Sure, they hire locally in stores, still wealth is accumulated away from the town the store is in.  What if someone complains about keeping money locally and shops at Walmart?  Are they in fact, breaking their own rule by sending their money out of state?

Just 6 Walmart heirs have as much wealth as 30% of Americans

So, take a look at this school fundraising article.  It appears that all mention of the fundraiser was removed after it was discovered that some benefit would go to another part of town.

PTA Head Says School District Is Undermining Fundraiser

Tell me what's up!

Ok, until next time!

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school fundraiser

Friday Inspiration - PTOToday.com

It's another glorious Friday and I want to leave you with a good resource for PTO's (and other parent group members).  It's the PTOToday.com website and I've been reading and posting regularly for a long time.


Go ahead and check it out.  Your PTO will find some ideas, help and advice for busy PTO and PTA groups. 


www.PTOToday.com

Ok, until next time!

__________________________


Keep the conversation going on twitter or facebook and please share what you see here with others!  The direct link to this website is fundraising-advice.com

Elementary School Fundriaser
School Fundraising Blog
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
Facebook.com/BelieveKids
Believe Wordpress Blog

Friday Inspiration - School Fundraising Tracking and Tools!

Hey!  Welcome to another fabulous Friday Inspiration! 

Today, a reminder that your school or group deserves the very best.  In the spirit of things that are the very best, keeping track of your PTA/PTO activities, fundraisers and events is a difficult task - especially when there are multiple people sharing information, schedules & documents.

Go ahead and share documents and use the cloud.  Use Google Docs to keep updatable and sharable content online.  Everyone you give permissions to can use it and access it from anywhere - even smart phones!  It's genius!

Your PTA or PTO will greatly benefit and it's free!

docs.google.com

Ok, until next time!

Friday Inspiration - PTOToday.com

It's another glorious Friday and I want to leave you with a good resource for PTO's (and other parent group members).  It's the PTOToday.com website and I've been reading and posting regularly for a long time.

Go ahead and check it out.  Your PTO will find some ideas, help and advice for busy PTO and PTA groups. 

www.PTOToday.com

Ok, until next time!

__________________________

Keep the conversation going on twitter or facebook and please share what you see here with others!  The direct link to this website is fundraising-advice.com

Elementary School Fundriaser
School Fundraising Blog
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
Facebook.com/BelieveKids
Believe Wordpress Blog

10 easy ways to ROCK your PTA!

10 easy ways to ROCK your PTA!

Friday Inspiration - PTOToday.com

It's another glorious Friday and I want to leave you with a good resource for PTO's (and other parent group members).  It's the PTOToday.com website and I've been reading and posting regularly for a long time.

Go ahead and check it out.  Your PTO will find some ideas, help and advice for busy PTO and PTA groups. 

www.PTOToday.com

Ok, until next time!

__________________________

Keep the conversation going on twitter or facebook and please share what you see here with others!  The direct link to this website is fundraising-advice.com

Elementary School Fundriaser
School Fundraising Blog
Twitter.com/BelieveKids
Facebook.com/BelieveKids
Believe Wordpress Blog

Improve Your PTA - 10 easy ways to ROCK your PTA!

Hi there.  I want to share our newest Slideshare presentation which outlines 10 easy ways to ROCK your PTA:

Improve Your PTA - 10 easy ways to ROCK your PTA!

You can download the file or share via social media directly from the Slideshare site.  Thanks for looking!

Weirded out - Elementary School Fundraising Ideas for PTA PTO and Principals

Every time I think of this time of year I get a bit weirded out.

Let me explain.

In the next two months, thousands of elementary schools set out to find the fall fundraiser of their choice.  Unfortunately, every year schools choose fundraisers that fall flat.  What's more, many will fail.

They fail in terms of low revenue, significant time demands or fall flat by making the PTA PTO or Principal look bad in one way or another.  So, why does that weird me out?

I want elementary schools to make their decisions on the following considerations:

1) Ease
2) Profit
3) Happiness

Instead, I know schools will choose fundraisers over and over again that fall short in one of these basic 3.  They may shoot for ease but spend 100's of hours preparing for their fundraiser or sell an easy program that believe will make them happy but not make any profit.

So, I'm not saying that there are endless amounts of fundraisers that achieve all of these 3 basic premises but there are enough to allow every single elementary school to have a very successful fall fundraiser - one that is easy to handle, very profitable and leaves schools, PTA's, PTO's and Principals happy and looking good!

If you are involved in your school and you're getting ready to choose a fundraiser, shoot for all three of the items above not just one or two.  You can do it!

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Share your ideas below or on twitter - twitter.com/believekids

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More information on elementary school fundraising ideas is available at the BelieveKids.com website and of course, other quality companies can be found on sources online.