We understand that planning for your yearly fundraising efforts can be a daunting task. That's why we've created a Fundraising Planner to help guide your conversations as you discuss this year's push.
Be sure to download the printable so you can take it to your next meeting.
Let's get started!
The Big picture
- How much are we looking to raise?
- What will these funds support?
- Will we outsource to a fundraising company or put on the fundraiser ourselves?
- If we bring in a company, what percentage of the profits do they keep?
- Are we doing one big push or will there be multiple fundraisers throughout the year?
- If we are doing multiple fundraisers, do any of the dates conflict?
big picture takeaways
- If you are outsourcing your fundraising efforts to a third party, be a good steward of donor's funds and make sure they aren't walking away with a large portion of YOUR money.
- Consider the one-and-done approach to fundraising for the year! By consolidating your efforts into one large campaign, you will (1) increase the likelihood that participants take it seriously, and (2) improve your results and save time.
the communication plan
- How are we going to gain support from administration (kick-off meeting, etc.)? How often?
- How are we going to promote it to students (morning announcements, assemblies, social media, carpool line, etc.)? How often?
- How are we going to promote it to parents (email, carpool line, back-to-school night, social media, etc)? How often?
communication plan takeaways
- Communication is key when launching a successful fundraiser. Consider having a launch meeting for administration to get them behind your fundraiser early on.
- Parents really enjoy being in-the-know. Send out an initial announcement via email with status updates throughout your event. Consider the power of social media as well!
- Keep students engaged and motivated by delivering daily status updates either over the daily announcements, in their classrooms, etc. Get creative!
The details
- What are the dates of our fundraiser?
- Are we using incentives? If so, are they monetary?
- If monetary, what is our incentive budget?
- Will incentives be awarded to individuals, groups/classrooms, or both?
- What is the criteria for each incentive?
- Are there individual goals set for each student?
- Are there goals set for each group/classroom?
the details takeaways
- Consider limiting your fundraiser to 2-3 weeks - we promise, less is more! If it goes over that time period, parents, participants, and donors get a little restless and you're less likely to finish strong.
- We understand that incentives can be huge motivators but we recommend leveling the playing field and creating rewards for all students! Not everyone can raise money so try to be creative and reward for different things as well!
- Not all rewards have to be monetary - ever heard of Principal for the Day? Or duct taping a teacher to a wall? Or Pajama Day? The possibilities are endless!
- Setting classroom goals can create some fun buzz around your school and the competition may be motivation enough!