Elementary School Switches From Boosterthon And Keeps $15,000
More In Proceeds
FAST FACTS
Location: Texas
Age Group: Elementary
Donations Earned: Over $44K
% Donations Kept: 97%
Acts of Kindness Completed: Over 1900
THE BACKGROUND
After several years of outsourcing their fundraising efforts to a popular fun run company who kept nearly 50% of the proceeds, Rucker Elementary, located in Prosper, TX (a suburb of Dallas), decided to make the switch to Raise Craze. While the kindness factor was the driving force behind their decision, the low fee structure wasn’t far behind. They felt much better knowing that they would keep at least 90% of the proceeds. Even better, their donors chose to keep the kindness going by covering a portion of their fees, allowing them to net 97%!
THE KICK-OFF
Rucker kicked off their Raise Craze fundraiser in September with a heartfelt tribute honoring their local first responders as well as remembering those who served during 9/11. This set the tone for their Raise Craze kindness campaign, and the kids couldn’t have been more excited to honor these selfless heroes by paying their kindness forward!
THE MOTIVATION
In addition to incredible support from administration, faculty and parents, Rucker took their fundraiser to the next level by securing business sponsors and coming up with creative incentives. As a school-wide incentive, two administrators agreed to a lip sync battle in front of the entire school if the students hit their goal. With emojis being all the rage, they handed out emoji keychains for individual incentives and added non-monetary prizes for group and class awards. The grand prize, awarded to the class who completed the most acts of kindness, was a ride on the Homecoming Parade Float! How cool!
The participation boost
To make giving back easy and fun, the PTO organized several school-wide acts of kindness for the students. This increased participation while boosting school spirit. A few examples of their school-wide acts of kindness include:
Collecting school supplies for an elementary school impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
Collecting coffee for Coffee for Cops.
Collecting art supplies for a school in Jamaica.
Collecting new items for their local assistance network.
the celebration
Rucker Elementary not only exceeded their monetary goal, but they also completed over 1,900 acts of kindness! By giving donors the option to cover the fees associated with online fundraising, the school walked away with 97% of the proceeds. This compares to the ~50% they kept when they outsourced their fundraiser. How amazing is that!?! To celebrate their success, they held a Glow Dance Party and the students loved it!
the takeaways
Here are a few important takeaways that contributed to Rucker’s success:
Opening & Closing Celebrations Launch and close your fundraiser with school-wide celebrations. This will motivate students on the front end, while providing closure and a sense of urgency on the back end.
Support Local Causes Rally around specific causes that benefit your local community.
Constant Communication Communicate to parents and faculty prior to launching and throughout the fundraiser. Everyone will be ready and excited to get started!
Post on Social Media Create a Facebook page dedicated to your Raise Craze fundraiser or change your school/PTO page to reflect a Raise Craze kindness theme. Encourage parents to post pictures of their children performing different acts of kindness while staying up to date on the latest stats.
Keep the Momentum Going Keep the momentum going by incorporating Raise Craze into your morning announcements (Raise Craze provides the scripts!), passing out incentives, and having an active kindness display on your bulletin board. Consider other creative ways to keep your students engaged. Rucker surprised their students (and parents!) by having local high school athletes greet students in the carpool line with Kindness Messages!
Rucker Elementary switched to Raise Craze from a traditional fun run company and thrived!