Starting a fundraiser for your school may seem like quite a daunting task, but fundraising events such as walk a thons, run a thons, color runs, and read a thons can be a lot of fun. Fundraising gives you an opportunity to connect with the teachers and parents and is a great way to show support for your school and your community.
1. Get a Team Together and Start Planning Early
Getting a head start by planning your fundraising event several months early ensures your team has plenty of time to work out the logistics of your fundraiser. All of the details should be handled by a fundraising team made up of three to five volunteers. Working with a team of volunteers allows you to plan and manage the event without becoming overwhelmed. Each team member should be assigned an individual role such as:
- The People Person – acts as the communications director, sends out reminders to parents and students to rally support.
- The Money Person – keeps track of money, collects donations, and manages profits.
- The Task Manager – in charge of all deadlines and keeps team members on track.
The fundraising team must identify the end goal before starting to plan the event. Being aware of the end goal, such as uniforms, computers or school supplies make it much easier to plan the ‘call for action’ when asking for donations.
Next, the team should create a timeline for tasks. Starting with the most important tasks, each task should be prioritized, have a deadline assigned to it, and then assigned to a team member.
2. Choosing Your Fundraiser
The fundraising team will consider the goals of the fundraiser to decide the type of fundraiser that best suits your needs. Some of the best ideas for school fundraisers include:
- Food – this could be a bake sale, a pancake breakfast, a popcorn sale, or a simple pizza party.
- Contest with Prizes – these could be raffles, auctions, or theme parties.
- Games and Team Players – these events could include quiz shows, bingo, sports, or dance-a-thons.
- Seasonal Events – an example would be a winter carnival or a Halloween event.
- Online Fundraisers – schools can use the internet to collect donations online and through social media.
Keeping your donors updated and making them feel like they are connected and in the loop keeps them talking about your fundraiser and encourages donations from others. You could also look into creating plaques and signs within the school as a form of recognizing these charitable contributions from your top donors. Check out Donor Signs to learn more.
3. Get Ready for Your Fundraising Event
Communicate consistently with your team. Make sure each team member knows exactly what they are supposed to do. It is a good idea to recruit students, parents, and teachers to volunteer for setting up the event. Arrive early with your entire fundraising team to set up the event. Assign each group a different setup area, and do walk-through inspections often to make sure everything is being set up properly.
Ensuring a successful fundraiser can be more fun than work, if you start planning early, get your team together, and choose the best fundraiser for the cause.
4. Most Important Steps
First of all, it is crucial to make a good plan. The most important part is to determine the way to explain the matters of your project and why people should fund it. When it comes to the team, it should not have more than five members. You can divide roles where one person will be responsible for communication, another one for finances, and others could work with the logistics.
Moreover, you should determine the form of the event. We can notice that school fundraising projects almost always include food. Therefore, you can prepare some snacks. It should not be expensive, and it is not expected from you in the first place. You can make something at home, and people will appreciate it. Depending on the project, you can create entertaining events or a big meeting with people who might be interested in funding your project.
For example, if you want to get money and invest it in new equipment in the lab or IT department of your school, it should be a big meeting where you will explain to people about the importance of new equipment and what benefits it will bring to students.
Furthermore, it is essential to communicate with your team all the time. Also, the project is a complex thing, especially when you are making one that included funding as the main source of money. You will have to add each detail related to expenses and explain more about the sum you are asking for.
Be sure to be more precise and include additional expenses as well. For instance, if you want to get money and remodel the lab in the school and equip it with modern technologies, you should take into account that there might be additional expenses related to transportation and the installation of that equipment.
Moreover, you can always ask for assistance from people who might have more experience. Therefore, don’t be afraid to ask your parents and teachers if you need some help with certain parts of the project.
One of the best solutions is to try using social media like Facebook and Instagram. That can be a great way to introduce people to the main goals of your project and to invite them to a public presentation.
The crucial part of the fundraising project is to never rush with it, and be sure to add all details into it. On the other side, you will have to practice your presentation and communication skills as well. If you have issues with public speaking, it might ruin your chance to get the project finalized.
The best solution is to practice more often. Ask your parents and friends to act as your public while you are presenting the work. Also, be prepared to get feedback, and don’t get too emotional if someone has some suggestions and critiques related to your speech. Use that in positive terms, and try to overcome certain deficiencies. The time needed for the finished project depends on the size of it, which means that preparing yourself on time can also be crucial.
