Are More School Fundraisers Always Better?

When less fundraising is more.

Many groups feel that additional school fundraisers will bring in extra money. Even if sponsors plan and spread numerous sales over the school year, will this be an effective strategy?

In other words, can schools still reach their goals by having fewer sales?

On paper, if you need to raise a lot of money, having as many sales as necessary makes sense. Yet this approach may not always be a good idea.

Here are some reasons why having more sales is not always better:

The Disadvantages of Multiple Fundraisers

Consider the disadvantages of having multiple sales over time:

• Follow-up campaigns usually never work out as well as the first.
• If your first sale was ineffective, chances are your second one will be even less effective.
• Multiple campaigns sometimes force people to pick and choose which one they will participate in.
• Over-saturating the community becomes a problem, mainly when other groups sell.

Crisis-Management Fundraising

Most of the time, schools will have a follow-up sale only if their first one wasn't as successful as they had hoped. Most people don't respond well to crisis-management fundraising, even if told it might happen in advance. Who will be eager to sell again after the first one is unsuccessful? Plus, if people know there might be an additional sale, they may choose not to participate in one or both. This strategy communicates a lack of confidence in both you and your sellers.

The Exception to Multiple Sales Campaigns

In some cases, groups will need to have additional sales. Some exceptions where this may be ok are when:

• Everyone knows about a larger goal that one program cannot accomplish.
• The group has done an excellent job promoting their goal and gathering support and enthusiasm.

Most of the time, it's best to limit your selling to one or two school fundraisers yearly. Communicate that upfront with your supporters and stick with it, regardless of your results. More people will embrace your efforts to raise money if they know in advance that you'll stick to a limited number. To ensure you can reach your goals with fewer programs, you'll be better off with good planning and effective promotion.

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.