Fundraising is part and parcel of running a school, and the involvement of administrators, teachers, students, and parents is essential for the best results. Additionally, having a superior school administration system in place makes the task much easier to track and streamline processes and communications.
It can’t be understated that parents tend to balk a little at the idea of being constantly involved in school fundraising. Let’s face it, it can be a pain. This is in no small way because it is usually the same small pool of parents who are willing to get involved and do their part to help. It is also true that parents can quickly become weary of constantly needing to hand over more money to fulfil fundraising requirements. There has to be a better way!
There are some distinct qualities a successful fundraiser will have:
- Defined target audience
- Set goals
- Articulated budget
- A date earlier in the school year (before fatigue sets in)
- A backup plan!
- Someone paying attention to logistics
- Good publicity
- Good planning
- Good motivation
- A good way to express gratitude!
The key to a successful fundraiser is to inspire and motivate all parties so that everyone is willing to be involved and do their small part. Raising funds for your school need not be difficult; it simply needs to engage—to make people want to be involved.
Some great school fundraiser ideas include:
- Trivia or Bingo Night
- Cookbook – Collate some favourite recipes from the school community and sell cookbooks to the general public
- School Book Sale – with donations of second-hand books from the school community
- Mufti (Out of Uniform) Day or Fancy-Dress Day for a small donation from each student
- Spring Fair
- Teacher Baby Photo Guessing Competition
- Sponsored Silence
- Sponsored Readathon
- Movie Night
- Silent Auction – with items donated by local businesses
- Mother’s or Father’s Day Stall – selling gift items donated by school families
- Bake sale
- Raffle
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. Get creative and brainstorm ideas to come up with something unique and fun that will work for your community.
Written by Astrid Hunt, Staff Writer at www.WHIA.com.au
