Elementary school fundraisers are an interesting thing and when accomplished well, they should be both profitable and feel good. They should also not be intrusive.
So, short, quality and then super-profitable huh?
Yes.
Pay attention to the signal-to-noise ratio (The amount of background noise versus the main event).
In order to really achieve fundraising success, the goal should be to minimize school fundraisers - playing down anything that does not put the money in the hands of the parent group. Once there are just a few manageable fundraisers throughout the year, it's time to focus.
Focus on a fundraiser that can raise a significant amount of funds in a short period of time. For instance, if a product fundraiser can earn top-dollar running for only two weeks, great! If a fundraiser minimizes distraction in the classroom, great!
Involve everyone. The difference between 1 fundraiser and 10 all boils down to the importance of the fundraiser and the participation it garners. If you want to succeed wildly, include everyone in the process, from the principal to the parents. Making the fundraiser important makes it succeed. This success is why you can get rid of the other fundraisers.
Next is feel good. In order to have the perfect formula of fundraising success, everyone needs to be left feeling good. Customers need quality products in exchange for their donations, the schools need to not hear complaints about product and the parent group has to have a manageable delivery.
So, the right approach. Minimize distraction, focus, involve everyone and ensure satisfaction. Sounds easy and it is in the right circumstances. But it can be a challenge as well. Most schools focus less on one fundraiser and more on scheduling many smaller efforts throughout the year.
If nothing else, perhaps a school will put just a little more focus into a fundraiser than normal and see what happens. I hope this post encourages you to do just that. You may find that with more success comes less fundraising.
Ok, until next time!
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elementary school fundraisers
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