While it’s conceivable that there are schools out there whose needs and goals never outweigh their budgeted resources, the majority rely on school fundraiser ideas to some extent to help run programs, support clubs and teams, supplement educational resources, even maintain and improve their facilities.
Traditional school fundraiser ideas and activities don’t work for everybody, though, and for many schools the key to successful fundraising lies outside of the box. Whether you’re a publicly-funded school in a community that can’t support regular fundraising sales and ticketed events, or a tuition-based private school whose parent body suffers from wallet fatigue, there are ways to put on great fundraisers without straining or aggravating your supporters.
Get Practical
Find ways to raise money from things parents actually need or are already buying. A couple of ideas include:
School supplies. Instead of just giving your parents a list of needed supplies, offer grade-specific school-supply packages with everything their child will need to start off the year. Most parents will embrace the option and even regard it as a service.
The school can buy the supplies in bulk and price the packages according to the combined retail cost of the individual items (an amount parents would be spending anyway). Parents are saved time and the stress of shopping to teacher & subject specifications (and it is perceived as stressful), but it also helps ensure students actually show up with the right supplies. And if they don’t, you have them for sale in the office!
Seasonal items: Your fundraiser can offer seasonal, holiday and / or religious items traditionally purchased by your community. You may not be able to compete with Walmart for Christmas lights, but you can make an arrangement with a local tree farmer, butcher or grocer to earn a percentage from referrals (see ‘Harness Buying Power’ below).
It may sound nuts, but why not sell prayer candles or flowers if they are part of your community’s cultural tradition? Jewish schools can sell challahs from a local bakery—parents pay in advance and the bread comes home with the child every Friday (interestingly, this particular program has the greatest success with less-observant parent bodies). Again, it feels like a service.
Harness Buying Power
Connect with local retailers and service providers to discuss earning a small percentage of sales when your school community shops.
This is a great fundraising option with minimal overhead and incredible potential when effectively promoted, especially over time. School community members use school-specific coupons, verbal passwords or electronic codes when making purchases in order to keep track of the referrals. In exchange, the school actively promotes the program.
That doesn’t mean ‘going corporate’ or hanging ads in the hallways (although it might mean half a page with their logo and an acknowledgment in the yearbook), but making sure your school community knows how much they are benefiting the school by shopping there.
The most amenable retailers are those invested in the community (ideal) or in high-competition areas: for example, a local ‘mom & pop’ retailer competing with a chain store. But don’t hesitate to approach larger retailers as well.
Many mid-sized retail corporations are open to such programs for the marketing benefits, even if your community won’t substantially increase their overall sales. And parents and extended families will be glad to harness their spending power to raise funds for the school, no un-budgeted spending required.
Note: Stay relatively within the neighbourhood. The program won’t work if people have to drive too far out of their way to participate.
Research & Discovery
Try fishing in different, bigger ponds for donations and support. Investigate corporate community programs to see if your school, initiative or project meshes with their company’s marketing direction.
Many large corporations have dedicated community outreach officers whose job it is to promote their brand through sponsorship and support of local community organizations. Corporate and NGO sponsorship and grant programs are often under-promoted and some concerted online research may well go a very long way.
If you can’t find information online, don’t be afraid to call up and speak to someone in the marketing or promotion office of a particular company. The key is to approach businesses whose products or services align with your project goals and /or school demographic. For example, approach a chain of gyms or health-food stores as opposed to auto dealership company for sponsorship of your new lunch program.
Tap Into Community
If you’re fundraising to raise money to meet a specific need—like more computers, building a school garden or renovating the gym—you may be able to offset the cost by tapping into your community.
Approach local retailers and service providers in your school and wider community about donating labour or materials to your project. Many businesses have overstock they’d be happy to exchange for a tax receipt, and large offices usually have a collection of unused computer components (monitors, hard drives, etc) stashed somewhere.
Builders and professional contractors active in their communities may be willing subsidize or even donate (it never hurts to hope!) their services.
In return, you will promote them and their efforts within the community. If that means a plaque or even a full-out sign pronouncing their efforts for future generations to behold, well, then you must weigh its size and placement against the benefit to the school.
Depending on your goal, consider how your parent body can contribute with their efforts, as opposed to financially. Not every project requires specialized expertise. Round up parents & community members for ‘barn-raising’-type events where everyone pitches in and works together for a common goal. It’s a great engagement opportunity…just make sure you’re not stepping on any unionized toes.