My name is Greg and I’m a fundraising coordinator. I’ve been helping schools and groups run fundraisers for a long long time. This year is different because most of our programs need to run online and with that there are challenges. I am going to cover some of the basic information to help you get your program off to a healthy start. If you’re falling behind and reaching your goal seems like a distance wish the Bonus Weekend Challenge listed at the bottom of this post.
- Too Much Info
- (Problem) Several fundraisers have started this year with a fizzle. Emails went out to parents, prizes were shared with the kids and the results were less than great. If this happened to your group then how the message came across didn’t work. In many cases we’ve seen fundraising information get crammed into the typical school communication with too much information.
- (Fix) Start sending messages for fundraisers in their own communication. Example, sending an email to your parents/students should only include a message about your fundraiser. Let the other emails contain calendar information, lost and found, etc. We’ve found this to be helpful in raising more funds during the sale. Tip, don’t write the word Fundraiser in the subject of an email 😎
- To: Staff From: Principal
- (Problem) We asked teachers to play a fundraiser kickoff video in class on our start date. After starting we notice our view counts don’t add up to the number of classes we have. We all know there are some staff members who aren’t team players and absolutely don’t like fundraisers. Their students are going to miss the message if not miss the fundraiser completely and that negatively impacts your sale.
- (Fix) There’s a couple ways we tackle this. Have your principal email the fundraiser to staff and set the tone. Please have all students clear their desks and watch this 5min or less video. After the video plays please make sure your students get parent letter/catalogs. Incentivize staff too. Offer teachers a prize if they get 50% of the class to participate by either selling or sharing the fundraiser they win something. $25 gift cards = more participation.
- Check your followers
- (Problem) We started our sale and have made several posts about our fundraiser on our social media page. Why aren’t we getting more sales? Not all families operate on social media and with that there’a lot of negative feelings associated with social media. How many people follow your social media page?
- (Fix) Social media posts work best when a live video is used. This attracts attention because scrolling through a social media feed is only stopped when something stands out. Additionally after the live video is saved it still has live video tied to the message. Just remember to make it short and lively. Under 1 min is best. If you’re main avenue of sharing the fundraiser is social media you’re missing the ability to connect with your families. Email and Robo calls are the best method as these families have opted into school communications. I’d heavily suggest having the principal schedule 2 emails a week about the fundraiser.
- Behind but not out
- (Problem) We’re approaching the last few days of our sale and we’re close to our goal but it’s not looking good. It’s probably best to stick to the dates set on our parent letter and leave the fundraiser as is.
- (Fix) There’s nothing that stops us from adding an extra weekend to our fundraiser, especially if we’re running a Boonsupply sale. They ship products as orders are entered so our first customers have already received their products and we’re not waiting for a big school delivery. Message all of the families and let them know we’re adding a bonus weekend. Additionally let the kids know how close you are to the goal and tell them you have a surprise. WE’RE ADDING ANOTHER WEEKEND SO YOU CAN EARN MORE PRIZES. Kids that sell 2+ items over the weekend will be entered into a drawing to win prizes. Links to products we used that you can easily add to the additional weekend push.
I hope this information has helped you make some changes to your fundraiser. I have many more tips and tricks I’ll be sharing as this blog is a simple way for me to share all the info I can. If you have questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I’d be happy to answer your questions and help, even if you’re not selling my products 😉