Double Your School Fundraiser By Making One Simple Change | Education

By JuanFranco
Total views: 3
Word Count: 545

Education in schools has taken on a broader meaning than I remember it. Today there are a variety of events and activities that students have available to them outside of the classroom that add to their education. These things usually cost money. With cuts in school budgets, principals and PTA / PTO organizations have to turn to fundraising in order to raise the money needed for them.

It is fundraising that many consider to be like the "third rail" in the New York City subway. It is either viewed positively, as the energizer to make things go or it is the thing everyone wants to shy away from. A properly run fundraiser on the other hand is a blessing to all. There really is no reason why the school staff and volunteers, parents of the students and the community at large should dread the coming of the school fundraising drive. If the product that is chosen is right, the incentives for the students and teachers are worthwhile, the entire process will be enjoyed by all.

The fundraising programs that are generally viewed negatively are more often than not the ones that the organizers don't take into account what the participants will be getting out of the fundraiser for themselves. This is especially true if their child is not one of those on the bus for the 5th grade field trip. Consider that even the First grade teachers have been raising money for that trip and they never get to go. After a few years that begins to wear down even the most soft hearted staff.

Have you ever wondered why some schools, while all else is equal, will have a $50,000 sale and another of the same size has a $20,000 sale? They could even be selling the same product, at the same time and still have that much difference in their sale. The answer to that is really pretty simple. It's "How" they run the sale that makes all the difference.

A case in point is Fern Bluff Elementary in Round Rock, Texas. For years they had been having $25-$29,000 sales with their 700 students. One year, they made a few changes in only one thing...it wasn't in what they picked for their fundraiser, that remained the same. All they did was make a change in how they ran their sale and the year after they had a $29,000 sale they had a $68,000 sale. They actually made as much that year as they had sold the year before!

They not only raised more money but they also increased participation of parents and teachers when it came time for delivery. They had always had a problem of finding enough volunteers to help when it came time for delivery. This time they had to turn people away! Nothing like that had ever happened at that school before.

All this came about because they chose to run their sale differently than they had run it before. What they discovered is that by making a change in the why they thought about their fundraiser and by running the sale with this different philosophy in mind, they were able to get more of what they wanted.

About the Author

You may keep looking for the hottest product for your school fundrasing program and you may have already found it! It's not always that product that is holding your school fundrasing program back. The most effective place to make a change is in how you run your fundraising campaign.

You are here Articles > Culture and Society > Education