Elementary School Fall Fundraisers

Ok, it's here.  Fall elementary school fundraising!

Candies, candles, magazines, gifts, wrap, cookies and much more will all be offered in an effort to reach fundraising goals for elementary schools all across the nation. 

What we can expect over the next few months is a flurry of fundraising efforts and it can get a bit frustrating.  Just remember to keep a good attitude and help as much as possible!

After all, we're talking about a charity effort. Schools have a legitimate need.  The best thing we can do is suspend disbelief and give.  Then, you may be able to take a writeoff just as you would with any charitable gift.  Don't second-guess it...

It feels great!

Are you wondering how many passive fundraisers to offer before there's just too many?

Passive fundraisers...  How many is too many?

I think that hosting passive fundraising can be just fine but not if it interferes with the main fundraising efforts at your school.

Consider offering all the passive fundraisers in one area.  My son's school has it in a lobby area across from the office. They also use this area for the parent bulletin board stuff as well.

By having things all in one place, parents who are waiting in the lobby or have extra time to discover new things will find them.  If you wish to mention that you have an area in the school where parents can discover services and events including the passive fundraisers, do so.  Just make sure that it's at a time where you won't lose money because of it.

You will lose money if you are hosting a main fundraiser but take away from it by promoting something else that minimizes the importance of the fundraisers. 

When it's time to fundraise seriously, do it without distraction.  If it's not that time, then let parents know they can help with the passive fundraisers. 

Just do it in the right order.

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...

Principals Getting Involved with the Fundraising Efforts at their School...

Wanna talk going over the top for your school prom?  Here, the school principal does a polar dive to raise money for the school prom.

My point is not that you have to dress like a prom queen to get attention for your school.

This reminder is in case you don't think principals are getting involved with the fundraising efforts at their schools.  Clearly, this principal dressed up and dove into a frozen lake showing he's committed to making causes important at his school.

You can too - although, you may want to pick another way to go about it :)

Ok, until next time...

_________

twitter.com/believekids
School fundraiser

Principal Involvement in Spirit Nights

Does your principal attend your school spirit nights?

Well, someone who is exciting and supportive of your fundraising efforts should be there to represent the school and add some excitement and credibility to the event. 

Most schools have amazing teachers, and although they have a lot going on, having teachers at spirit nights encourages relationships and can be fun as well.  Have each class compete for the most attendees or the most money raised from the events, and you'll be amazed at how effective it is to involve the teachers in the event.

The challenge with spirit nights is just keeping the number of events that demand parental involvement to just the most important ones.  In other words, limit your spirit nights so parents really want to be a part of it and are glad to come and proud that they supported the event.

So, make sure your events are exciting and make sure the principal shows their support.  If an event is important enough for the principal to attend, it's important enough for the parents to as well.

Until next time.

_______________________

Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and blogs here at believejay.blogspot.com.

I can be found on twitter as well where we can continue the conversation - twitter.com/believekids

For more information on school fundraising companies visit believekids.com

Elementary School Fundraising - Principal Emails Encourage Participation!

Principal Emails Encourage Participation!

Principal emails can help a school fundraiser tremendously.  Is your principal involved in your fundraising efforts?  Here is an example of an email that may work for you but can be adapted to better suit your needs.  You can make the email stronger or softer, more to the point or a bit more vague but just make it!

Just copy and paste, edit and send something like this to encourage participation this year in your fundraiser:

Urgent message from the Principal's Office:

We are sending this message to ask for your help!

Our fall fundraiser is underway and your involvement is needed more than ever!  Your child's education and personal and social development is most important to us.  Money raised by this fundraiser directly impacts your child by providing education beyond strict fundamentals.  In our classrooms in particular, __(art supplies)___ and __(computers)__ are provided which are not part of the official budget during these tough times.

If you have not yet participated, please know that your assistance this year in particular, given our current economic situation, will make a huge difference!

As always, we encourage participation in school in many ways throughout the school year.  If you would like more information about donating your time for other  __(PTA)__ events, please contact __(PTA PRESIDENT)__.

Thank you in advance for your participation in the fundraiser!

Sincerely,

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