How to Achieve High School Fundraising Success

Simple ways to raise more funds for high school groups.

High school fundraising can be challenging if you don't have the proper selling tools and knowledge. To add to the problem, older students tend to be more indifferent toward the typical sales incentives. They also tend to have other extracurricular activities pulling at them, forcing them to juggle and prioritize.

Finally, whereas younger students usually take things at face value, high school students aren't so easy to convince. Instead, they'll want to know what's in it for them.

On the positive side, older students tend to be more loyal to their group and thus can be more intrinsically motivated to participate in a fundraiser they believe in. They also better understand the importance of raising money and are more inclined to comprehend the 'why' behind it.

The key to selling at this age level is minimizing the negatives while maximizing the positives. Here are some things to consider if you want to achieve high school fundraising success.

Establish Your Fundraising Purpose

High school students won't just sell for the prizes like their younger siblings will. They need to have a good reason to get out and sell. You need to sell them on the benefits. What will raising this money mean to them as well as the group? You may assume that the purpose is obvious and they should already understand the significance; however, that doesn't mean you shouldn't stress its importance.

Set a Sales Goal

Do your students know what your selling expectations are? Many sponsors tell their students to go out and sell as much as possible and then bring back the money. But what does this mean? If you want your students to participate, they must know your expectations. How many items do you want them to sell, and how does their individual goal equate to the group's overall goal? Hopefully, you've already done the math and know how much your group needs to raise.

Hold High School Students Accountable

You can set everything up perfectly, but you may fail if you don't follow up with your students during your sale. On the other hand, if you expect your students to be successful, you will need to hold them accountable. Keep them focused on selling by tracking their progress.

See how to track your fundraising progress

Offer Age-Appropriate Fundraiser Incentives

Main Prize Program

Catalog fundraising companies usually offer a complimentary prize program. The advantage to this is that your students can potentially win something for selling. However, don't settle for offering your high school group the same old prize program. Older students will mock a basic incentive plan. You'll need to do a better job of getting their attention with something unique and different. High school students are going to expect quality, and there are ways that you can achieve that without breaking the bank.

Additional Fundraiser Incentives

If you want your sale to succeed, you must understand that the main prize program won't be enough. The goal with additional incentives is to give everyone the sense that they can win something much better and more exciting. You can pick a top seller prize, do something fun yourself if the group reaches its goal, or even offer the group's specific privileges.

As you can see, there's more to achieving high school fundraising success than just handing out your brochures and asking your students to sell them.

See our brochure fundraisers.

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.