Five top tips for school fundraising

Fundraising for your school is not just a great way to boost your school’s resources and enrich the school with projects & facilities that assist both the students and the educators, it is a fantastic way to build your school community spirit through rewarding fundraising experiences and create fun activities that instil values for tomorrow’s future leaders.

With budget cuts and an increase in the teacher to child ratios in some schools, building resources, conducting school trips and enhancing facilities can only be done with the help of school fundraising.

So, if you’re new to the school fundraising space, we’ve put together a simple guide to school fundraising so whether you’re looking to fundraise for computers, printers, science equipment, art supplies, music programs, or a trip for your school rugby team to participate in the regional championships, you’ll be up to speed with all of the top tips for fundraising for your school.

Tops tips for school fundraising

Create a school fundraising plan

Just as you would with any business when you start out in school fundraising you need to plan, plan, and plan some more. When you have a school community you are bringing together a wide variety of skills from parents as well as backgrounds, so to make the most of these skills you should sit down with your planning committee of parent volunteers and plan out the year ahead to take advantage of particular dates, events, holidays and activities.

Be sure to map out school holidays, exam periods or any particular public holidays to be aware of so that you don’t plan your fundraising to be during a time that is less likely to be successful or when families are away. You can also outline your fundraising goals in dollar amounts including the volunteers and funds you’ll need to get your fundraising off the ground.

Another thing to think about is your tactics – whether you’re looking to fundraise via individual giving, major donors, events, online giving, grants, participatory fundraising such as walkathons and activity based fundraisers or annual giving programs. A great tool for planning is available here.

You might also need to get permission from your school board or principal for your fundraisers, so map everything out clearly and present it to whoever has the final say about school fundraising activities.

Set goals for your fundraising

Once you have your fundraising plan all sorted, it’s important to set your goals for what you hope to achieve.

For example, if you’re fundraising to send your school’s soccer team to the state championships and it will cost $7,000 – set your goal for a fundraiser at this amount. Or if you have loftier plans in mind to extend a building or add significant resources to your school library and you’re looking for tens of thousands of fundraising dollars, then be transparent about what you need.

Having a goal will allow your fundraising community to focus on the end result and help volunteers in their quest to drum up school fundraising dollars from donors.

Consider having a target thermometer visually displayed in a common area the school community regular visit such as within the front entrance of your school or on the wall in the assembly area so parents and children can see progress and the success of your school fundraising efforts to date.

Update parents and the school community of your efforts

When you ask parents and the school community to rally around an event you need to keep them informed of the result. Be sure to communicate throughout the lead up to the event, during and after.

These days there are plenty of great resources to communicate to your community including closed Facebook pages for your school where parents and individuals need to be individually accepted to join, Instagram pages to update the school events and EDM’s via programs such as MailChimp to regularly drum up excitement and drive volunteer and donor support.

Be sure to update your supporters on the results of the event straight afterwards to keep them engaged and thank everyone for their efforts. Communication is key, particularly when there are regular fundraising events throughout the school year.

It is important to keep all of the school community engaged, up to date and all across the fundraising efforts and whether you are achieving your set goals.

Be sure to properly promote your events to parents

It is very easy to assume that all parents are up to speed with all of the events the school is holding but the reality is, in this day and age when things can be so chaotic, many parents won’t have the time to search for information on upcoming school events and you will need to get the word out so they are aware.

Be sure to use all of the tools at your disposal within the school such as notice boards (both digital and physical), school newsletters, flyers within the daily roll call books, flyers in school pockets, ads on school Facebook page, information emails via school electronic mail and signage on the school gate to promote your event to the school community.

These days, some of the simplest and quickest ways to get attention and support for your fundraiser is through social media so ensure you have a digital presence so parents and supporters can share your event and get the word out to the masses.

Keep in mind before you promote your event to get permission from the relevant school authorities to ensure your marketing is in line with school policies and privacy laws.

Be thankful

In many cases, the biggest mistake school fundraisers can make is not thanking everyone once the event has wrapped up, putting a bad taste in the mouth of many donors and volunteers.

Being thankful is free, and regardless of the outcome of the event, supporters who have made a contribution in any way often like a pat on the back for their efforts – especially if they have volunteered their time for your school fundraiser.

Be sure to complete a proper wrap up of the event with information on the fundraising result and a thank you to donors, volunteers and supporters. Show your appreciation to the people who have participated in your event and recognise their efforts, especially if you plan on calling on their support in the future.

Consider thank you certificates (whether they be digital or printed) or simply giving people a call on the phone to thank them personally if they have put in a big effort to ensure should you need to call on their support again they will be happy to back your event.

Fundraising for your school can be a tremendously rewarding experience for supporters, volunteers and the extended school community. Whether you’re putting on a chocolate drive or you’re planning a fete, considering the tips above will ensure you put your best foot forward in your quest for school fundraising.