Best Time for Fundraising



If you’re looking to run a fundraiser, but not sure when to run it, we can help! WE can show you the best time to run a fundraiser.

The best time for running a fall fundraiser is the 4th week of August through the 1st week of October.

Why?

Our experience has shown fundraisers experience a 30% drop in profit when they start the 2nd week of October. If your fundraiser kicks off the 4th week of October or later, your profit might decrease by 50%!

Here’s why:


Excitement Advantage:
At the beginning of the school year, everyone is fresh and inspired… which means your sale will be more successful!

Early Bird Gets the Worm:
Sales drop after prime time, which is the 4th week of August through the 1st week of October, as communities have already been hit with other fundraisers, events and expenses.

Higher Participation:
Large gift catalogs raise a lot of money because of their selection diversity and online shopping. Put your strongest fundraiser first! On average, a family sells 10 items, so the key factor to success is how many sellers participate.

We don’t need a Fall fundraiser

Not every fundraiser has to run in the fall. In fact, we help groups throughout the year and have found out the hard way, what not to do. We can help you avoid the big mistakes.

If you’re looking for a fundraiser and want to know the best way to structure the event to maximize your results, we’re here for you.

Connect with us to determine what would be the best fit for your group and we’ll help you make a game plan. We always say, the sooner you have a plan the better your results will be.



WARNING, VERY CATCHY!
We created a song and it’s designed to help our elementary students set a fundraiser goal of 10 sales/donations/etc. Feel free to use it in your fundraiser.

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Sales vs Donations

Thank you for taking the time to read the blog. This article aims to cover a few objections I have about fundraising and the direction we’re heading. I also share some helpful information about donation fundraisers vs product sales.

Are you one of the parents that would rather give money vs buying a product to help a kid raise money for their school? If so, you’re not alone. I too feel the same way. I believe this happens because we’re overwhelmed with fundraising, not just our schools but every group in town is trying to raise money. This is where donation campaigns have really taken off. I feel like I get donation requests regularly and fewer products are being offered. Do you see this as a good thing?

Donations have been such a big hit that several companies have emerged to take part. Their software works great, the simplicity of gathering donations and record-keeping online has drastically reduced the workload. What’s more alarming though, the percentage of participants is dropping.

As I share this most companies that help schools (K-12) raise money via donation aim to keep 30% of the money collected. For example, when Grandma donates $100, groups typically receive $70. When we look at participation percentages dropping, we have to understand we’re losing the attention of those that opt in to helping. Why? Perhaps we are not including enough incentives to encourage participation but the software companies would fix that if it meant more money. Would you be surprised if I told you it’s based on who donates to the program? Family members make up a majority of those that give and as we mentioned before, we’re overwhelmed with fundraisers. Some families feel bad asking family to help support their school with a donation so they opt out of the participating in the fundraiser.

Sales. As a participant in a fundraiser, there’s a lot to be learned in helping your school raise money. In a way, it’s a selfless act that teaches students a lot about life. How to interact with people enhancing out communication skills, simple math, accounting and if I’m not getting to ahead of myself it teaches them about running a small business. Donation campaigns have made the process so easy that I fear what it might be doing to our kids will have negative long term effects. Lower grades might not be missing out on these details but the older we get the more we’ll need those skills.

As we continue navigating fundraisers and what it takes to help a group make money we’ll be focusing on what makes a fundraiser reach more people. Catalog/products sales have come a long way and now have the ability to ship directly to our supporters. Donations have been on our radar as they continue to gain popularity. They have our attention because we’ve started working on software that collects donations and gives the school 100% of the money donated. If you can hybrid a donation campaign with a product sale you’ll be able to capture sales from family members, family friends and your neighbors.

Stay tuned for more information about our 100% profit donation fundraiser. If you have questions or need help getting your fundraiser off to a healthy start. Don’t hesitate to contact me.

Greg

Fundraiser Incentives and prizes that work

It’s takes money to make money should be the center of your prize program focus. I write this post to help you find creative ways to increase participation without spending all of your fundraising profits on prizes. I do not recommend all the incentives in a fundraiser be free but working towards 3% cost reinvestment is a good target. Plan on spending 3%-10% on your prize program to have a big sale.

Build It Big
We’ve all seen the prize posters that offer prizes up to 150, 200, 250 items sold. We all shake our head thinking, no kid is ever going to reach this level. Chance are you’re probably right. The second year in fundraising I reduced prize levels and saw a drastic drop in avg items sold for the fall. Include big prizes, it creates a wow effect, and you’ll increase the desire kids get when aiming for something big.

What if everyone did
Create a low level prize that requires at least one maybe two sales to win. If we can get 80%-100% of students participate by selling one item in our fundraiser you’ll have a huge sale. Try adding a large prize as a raffle for selling 1 item. I’d also suggest including a cash value that way students who already have the prize will be excited by the money.

You’re Hired
One of the most exciting prizes for an elementary school student is to take over the school or do something silly to the admin. I’ve ran many sales that offer a principal for the day incentive to one lucky student. This student will get to work side by side with the principal for half or a portion of the day. One thing I wanted to create with this prize was a lasting impression so I made a shirt that you could use. Check it out on Amazon. Kids have loved this token of appreciation and it’s a simple prize. If you want more details on how to run this incentive please ask and I’ll share.

No Cost Promotions (Staff/admin)
Dress like…rappers, superheros, pajamas
Shave school initials in hair
Kiss an animal
Principal in jail (build a cell)
Eat Something….Food Smoothie, Hot peppers
Police/Firemen lunch visit (Elementary) Motivates a teachers too 🤭