One Simple Change That Will Double Your School Fundraiser

by: JuanFranco
Total views: 20 | Word Count: 522

Going to school used to be all about learning and studies. Today, however, it includes many other activities and "fun" events as well. But these special events and activities cost money. With cuts is school budgets for many schools and school districts the only option they have to pay for these events is for the school to raise the money in some sort of fundraising event.

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 fundraisers that are usually viewed negatively are usually the ones that the organizers take little or no consideration for what the participants (and their parents) will be getting out of the fundraising drive, especially if they or their child is not going to be on the bus for the 5th grade field trip. Think about it, even the First grade teachers have been raising money for years for that trip and they never get to go. After a while, that begins to wear down even the most well meaning people.

Have you ever noticed that there always seems to be one or two schools in your district that have better success in fundraising than others. You can even have two schools in very similar neighborhoods that have vastly different results even when doing very similar fundraising programs. What makes the difference? It's not the products being sold or the neighborhood that makes that difference between those schools. It's "How" those schools run their sale that makes more difference than any other factor in the outcome.

A case in point is Howell Middle School in Victoria, Tx. For years they had been having $32-$38,000 sales with their 1000 students. One year, they made a change in only one thing...it wasn't the product, that remained the same. They made a change in how they ran their sale and the year after they had a $34,000 sale they had a $72,000 sale.

One added benefit of the change was that because they had more people "into" the fundraiser, they cured their problem of not having enough volunteers. They even had teachers pitching in and helping on delivery day! That had never happened 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 can keep looking for the perfect product for your school fundrasing program and you can 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 fundraiser.  

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