5 School Fundraising Ideas that Get More Parents Involved

Practical ways to engage parents and improve your bottom line.

All schools need money, right? It's hard enough to cover the essentials with the tax dollars that have been allocated. But to pay for things such as computer equipment, informative school marquees, or educational field trips with conventional funding is probably not going to happen. And the economic landscape is getting worse, not better. Add in the well-known struggle of ongoing budget cuts, and the need for money has never been greater.

In some areas, it's not just about using fundraisers to pay for extracurricular activities. Some schools end up fundraising to stay open. For example, school officials in Mount Vernon, New York, planned to eliminate all high school sports teams.

It's been said that raising money is a 'necessary evil', but does it have to be that way? Successful school fundraising requires an "all hands on deck" approach and a lot of hard work, not only from the people behind the scenes but from those expected to do the actual selling. Wouldn't it be nice if schools had unlimited budgets? Wishful thinking, indeed.

Schools need money. Most people understand that. So what frustrates parents about school fundraisers so much? Everyone has their reasons, but here are 2.

1. Unannounced Fundraisers: Any parent of a student can relate. It is common to get bombarded with overly excited children who come home from school with their fundraising packets, expectant to win prizes. Now you're expected to drive them around and try to sell them to your family, neighbors, and friends. And if that's not enough, you'll need to take the catalog to work and approach your coworkers. What a joy! This is analogous to receiving an unexpected bill in the mail. Who has the time for this? Anything that arrives unannounced is an added burden unless Ed McMahon shows up with an extensive check.
2. The Same Overpriced Items: You've heard it said many times. People are tired of the same old cheap brochure items. These items look appealing in the brochure, but the products are usually much smaller than expected. Worse, we feel guilty approaching friends, family, and neighbors with the same brochure every year. People who do end up purchasing, either buy items out of obligation, return a favor to another parent, or help someone they know win a prize.

So how can we get parents to tolerate fundraisers better? According to a Wikipedia article, schools and other non-profits raise $1.7 billion annually by selling popular consumer-based items. This same article states that 8 out of 10 people support these programs. The results speak for themselves. The bottom line is that catalog fundraisers work, and that's why schools use them.

Here are five school fundraising ideas that will get more parents to participate:

1. Provide Advanced Notice

1. Send home a courtesy notice before the sale date informing parents of what's coming. This does two things: 1) It gives parents a courtesy notice, and 2) It helps promote your sale.
2. Discuss your purpose and what the money will be used for in your notice. This will help justify the sale and add credibility.
   • You may also want to discuss your sales goal and how many items each student needs to sell to reach it. This shows that you have a plan that's well thought out. Plus, many parents are more apt to participate if they know a present goal is reasonable.
   • Why not also talk about your prize program? Parents often want to know what their children will earn for selling. This can be particularly effective if you're offering a different type of incentive that you haven't previously offered.
3. Many schools introduce their sale first at back-to-school night. This is a tremendous opportunity to get the word out to many people.

2. Present a Compelling Reason to Fundraise

Why do you need your parents to participate in your fundraiser? Many schools expect them to help simply because:

1. Everyone knows that schools need money.
2. Parents will feel obligated to improve their child's school.
3. It's back-to-school time, and everyone expects a fundraiser (We call this zombie fundraising).

On the other hand, to get parents more involved and even motivated, you must appeal to their emotions. If you can get them to believe in your cause, you will be amazed at what can happen with your sale. To do that, your fundraiser must be able to meet a need that everyone can see and relate to. In other words, your purpose must be legitimate. When was the last time you polled your parents about what problems exist at your school and how to solve them?

3. Have Fewer School Fundraisers

There's a reason schools end up having so many fundraisers. When that first sales packet comes home, they know it's only the first of many. Many parents will choose which one they'll participate in or not sell. What are the solutions?

1. Promise your parents that there will be one, or at most, two sales a year. Think quality, not quantity. Fewer, highly profitable fundraisers are better than several smaller ones. Commit to it in writing in a notice that goes home with your students. In addition, announce it at the beginning of the school year at your first parent night meeting.
2. Plan to put extra time and work into the one or two campaigns you commit to. The additional effort will pay off, and the entire process will end before you know it. See 7 Easy Steps to Successful Brochure Fundraising
3. Stick to your initial commitment no matter what. It may take a year or two to gain parental trust that you plan to limit sales. You will find that more parents will jump on board as time passes. They'll realize that they're not being overwhelmed with lots of fundraisers.
4. Make it clear that you'll stop after 1 or 2 sales campaigns, no matter how much money you make. Everyone must learn to live with what's brought in. If some people aren't satisfied, they can push the sale harder next year.

4. Offer a New Catalog with Better Quality Merchandise

1. Promote a catalog that offers high-quality products that people ordinarily buy from a retail store.
2. Sell something that will get people's wholly new and different attention.

5. Motivate Sellers with a Unique Prize Program Idea

Every parent has the same reaction when they see the prize program. We roll our eyes, at least in our minds, once we see the prize program our children are excited about. Let's face it; you can get better prizes at the dollar store. Many parents end up doing that anyway so they can get out of having to sell. People are tired of the same prize programs every year.

So are there viable options? Many schools have been using our big event fundraising prize programs and have learned that sending their children to a fun and even educational event is much more exciting than winning a cheap plastic toy.

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.