Investing Money Can Ensure a Successful Fundraiser

How to invest wisely in prizes and impact your bottom line.

Most people understand that schools need to raise money. However, should sponsors invest money into their program to help ensure that they have a successful sale? Most fundraising companies provide essential promotional tools designed to help increase sales; however, it’s up to the group to put them to work to see the proper benefit.

We’ve groups that effectively utilize these tools and are usually pleased with their results. In some cases, though, it may be warranted to spend money. If you do, your goal should be to maximize the return on your investment as much as possible. Here are some reasons why you should invest in your program:

The Basic Prize Program is not Enough

If you want your sale to succeed, you need to offer more than the basic complementary prize program provided by the company. Results show that schools perform better with additional incentives.

Ensure a Good Return on Your Prize Investments

If you decide to spend money on additional incentives, like a grand prize drawing or a limo ride, make sure you return your initial investment. Promoting your incentive throughout your sale is the best way to do this. This can be done by making periodic announcements, sending home notices to parents, and posting flyers around your school.

Effective No-Cost Fundraising Incentives

On the other hand, is it possible to provide additional incentives without spending money? The answer is yes; the more creative you are, the more successful you can be. When offering no-cost incentives, it's essential to understand what motivates your sellers. For example, students who play high school sports would probably enjoy not having to run at the end of practice or pick up equipment. As a result, you can exempt sellers who reach a specific sales goal from having to perform these tasks for a day.

Elementary schools can incorporate prize drawings requiring students to sell five items for every prize coupon. Names are then pulled out of a box, and winners are announced. Here are just a few simple incentive ideas that you can use to motivate your sellers and keep them engaged in your fundraiser:

• Elementary School Groups:
  • ‘Line 'Leader for the Day'
  • ‘Office' Monitor for the Day'
• High School Groups:
  • ‘Free 'Dress Day Pass'
  • ‘No 'Homework Pass'

The additional incentives you can offer are endless and only limited by your creativity. Regardless of the incentive, you probably won't get the most out of your sale if you don’t put the time and energy into promoting it.

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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.