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

Sally Foster School Fundraiser - Fundraising Program Test Subjects...

Speculation abounds. I am so curious I can hardly stand it. I already know that this post is making me nervous and uncomfortable because it shakes things up a bit. Fortunately for me, fundraising blogs are not in the same boat as say writing for the New York Times so here ya go.

Sally Foster is changing the way they do business and they will most likely ask every school to be a test subject. I posted recently about how the change from a famous catalog to a gift card would be a test of technology and... it certainly will.

In my previous post, I mention that taking a risk on switching from a traditional fundraiser to an online gift card sale has some issues. What's strange is it seems like schools who like their Sally Foster fundraising rep will be on board to test this new fundraiser out.

It's not a rational decision to work with Sally Foster this fall. It's actually pretty risky. The safety of being able to estimate your profits will be compromised. The predictability that the parents and community will be happy is gone. If a group relies on a certain amount of money this fall, it's an even bigger risk because the profits may not be there in the end.

A recent PTOToday.com message board post outlined some concerns. They expressed concern that there are still limitations to computer access in their rural area, but more importantly, the older folks won't know how to navigate the fundraiser. Basically, this means that the community needs to be educated on how to take part in a new fundraiser.

The post goes on to say that they will likely still do the fundraiser with Sally Foster but will lower their profit estimate in case it is a bust.

I just think that is strange and it points to the fact that Sally Foster must have some great fundraising reps in the field. They obviously have some big fans out there.

So, what can be done?

Ultimately, groups will arrive at their own decisions. I believe most will sign up to try the new fundaiser out. Today, schools are in the process of discovering the specifics of the program and deciding for themselves if it works for them.

I think my only real hope in writing this post is that ONE group that can't take a risk on even losing a few thousand dollars, finds a better fundraiser that can earn them an extra few thousand on top of what they earned last year.

Let the PTA's and PTO's that are willing to absorb the risk on their own accord, test out the new Sally Foster program this fall. On the other hand... If a school is counting on every single penny from their fall fundraiser and can't take a risk - they should look to a company with a consistent and more predictable earning history.

I'm still very excited to see how this all turns out for Sally Foster and the schools that work with them this fall. This is one of the most interesting developments in school fundraising in quite some time.
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Author Note - Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising. I do have a personal interest in earning schools fundraising business, but in this case, I feel an obligation to point out that any new fundraising program is a risky one.

I have confidence that Sally Foster will be testing technological fundraising out full-force this fall. I do think that there are some schools that may just find, it's a bit more than they should take on. For the sake of groups that are really hurting, I hope my feedback helps.

This is probably about as controversial as my blog has ever been but in many ways I am still a fledgeling blogger. If you enjoyed or didn't enjoy what I've said, please let me know by commenting on this blog. I can be reached at twitter.com/BelieveKids as well.

Thanks for looking!