2 Traits that Effective Prize Programs Always Have

What good incentive programs always possess.

Rewarding students is as essential as anything regarding the success of a school fundraiser. Incentives are the fuel that generates needed sales momentum. And if your students aren’t excited about your prizes, your sale probably won’t reach their full potential.

Effective prize programs lead more students to take their packets home and share the information with their parents. And this is precisely what you’re looking for. If your parents are persuaded to participate, your fundraiser will most likely succeed.

The opposite is also true, so what are two traits that effective prize programs always have?

1. The Exciting Prizes are Attainable

It’s essential that the majority of your students feel that your prizes are attainable. Offering only an elusive grand prize that requires a lot of selling or that will go to the person who sells the most can become discouraging to the rest of your students.

On the other hand, each of your sellers should feel that other prizes are also worth working for. The goal is to convince as many students as possible that they can earn something rewarding for making sales. Your money will not be made on your top seller but on the masses.

2. Seller Desire for Higher Prize Levels

To draw more students in, something relatively enticing should be offered for selling a small number of items. This helps to jumpstart your sale. Then, once students realize how easy it is to get to the first level, they may try for the next level and then the one after that. Most sales happen in steps, not all at once, unless you have parents with access to a large group of people at work.

Most effective prize programs place eye-catching prizes at strategic points to motivate students to want to reach the next sales level. In other words, prize levels should be spaced out to encourage students to start selling and keep them engaged for as long as possible.

The bottom line is that you want most of your students to have a positive experience with your prize program because you want to set them up for the next fundraiser as well. Spending as much thought and time selecting your prize program as you do on your sales brochure is essential. And if you sense that your students are becoming bored with the same incentive plan, don’t be afraid to step outside the box and try something new and different. You may be glad you did.

See our prize programs.

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.