How to Make Brochure Fundraisers More Appealing

How to get your students and parents onboard.

The pressure to raise money has never been more significant. Money that used to be available is no longer as schools have to contend with ever-increasing budget cuts. As a result, many groups feel forced to make up the difference by having more fundraisers. But is this the best solution?

Brochure fundraising is one of the more popular ways that schools raise money. There’s less planning and work required up front by the organization compared to a ‘do it yourself’ project, and the results can be even better. Yet the popularity of brochure sales has also led to some market saturation. This has caused many to grow tired of them. So what can be done to make brochure fundraisers more appealing? Here are two ideas that can help.

1. Fundraiser Quality Always Beats Quantity

Groups simply aren’t doing a good enough job limiting the number of brochure campaigns they do in a given school year. The adage that says, “If you throw enough up against the wall, some of it will eventually stick”, isn’t always the best approach when it comes to fundraising. Many groups are caught up with the idea that if they don’t raise enough money with their first fundraiser, they’ll have another.

Instead, groups need to limit the number of brochure sales and commit to making the ones they do have better. Here are some ways to improve your sales results:

1. Develop and promote your purpose.
2. Based on your purpose, set a fundraising goal and hold your sellers accountable for reaching it.
3. Offer incentives that will motivate your sellers to reach your sales goal.

2. Coordinate Your Brochure Fundraising Efforts

Many high schools are good at this. Groups must sign up in advance and get approved for the type of sale they plan to conduct. No one else can sell the same thing or even simultaneously. This benefits groups because they’re not competing with similar organizations. Some districts take it further by requiring every school to coordinate their fundraising efforts. PTA councils often meet to manage their fundraising schedules as well.

Although some group sponsors may not like the scheduling approach, this hopefully makes them realize they must maximize their opportunities.

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.