Are You Satisfied with Your School Fundraiser?

How to raise the bar on school fundraising.

Most groups that seem satisfied with their school fundraiser are also probably content with their current catalog sales company. The company has met their expectations. Their student packets arrived at the school already collated, their kickoff was a success, and the merchandise showed up in good condition with few issues. In the grand scheme of things, nothing seemed to go wrong. What more could you expect?

Actually, as with many schools, if you were to probe a little deeper, you might uncover some issues that could help make your next sale even better. Here are some things that you may also want to consider.

Ask the Right Fundraising Questions

On the surface, everything seems fine. Yet, if you were to dig a little deeper, would you find things that might cause you to question your satisfaction? Here are some questions that probe a little deeper:

• What would your customers say about the quality of the merchandise they received?
• How excited are your students about the prizes they won?
• Are you delighted with the amount of money that you made?
• Have your sales trended up or down over the past few years?

You might be surprised at the answers. Many people receive cheap merchandise that's much smaller than they thought. Most students get less than desirable prizes. Schools are satisfied with the money they've made because they're used to it.

The Effects of Merchandise on Buyers

Companies attempt to justify the lack of quality in their merchandise by saying, "It's a fundraiser. People will understand." Unfortunately, most people understand that and usually play it safe by purchasing lower-priced items. They see it as a donation. Yet, what if brochures offered good value merchandise comparable to the retail stores instead?

See our brochure fundraisers.

The Effects of Prize Programs on Students

When it comes to the prizes, most students are initially excited about the bigger and more exciting prizes. However, they soon realize they must sell many items to win those prizes. They often become discouraged, or their parents refuse to sell that many items. As a result, most students don't reach these more expensive, worthwhile prizes. This can adversely affect future sales because people become skeptical and do not participate.

See our prize programs.

Once people learn there are better school fundraiser programs, they no longer want to be the big fish in a little pond.

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.