Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

I came across an amazing article in the Chicago Tribune today called “Parents face cut-throat competition — for kindergarten” written by Stephanie Banchero that blew my mind. Maybe I’ve been living in rural America too long and haven’t kept up with the latest goings-on in the high-end metropolitan Kindergarten market.

This article talks about parents who are willing to go to extreme lengths to get their children into the school of their choice in the Chicago area. While some of the schools mentioned as examples are private, just as many are public, which is, of course, very encouraging in the overall scheme of things. continue reading

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10. On family vacations, you find yourself putting together imaginary auction baskets from all the little shops you visit.

9. You cut out the box top label on the cereal box BEFORE your kids can get the toy.

8. You had to purchase a stand-alone freezer, just to store all the cookie dough you’ve bought.

7. You’ve memorized the “Cash for Class” codes for all of your children’s schools at every grocery store in town.

6. Your family has to play “Guess What Kind of Soup We’re Having Tonight” because you’ve prematurely removed all the soup labels and turned them in.

5. You volunteer to take a shift at the bake sale for the school in the NEXT TOWN OVER.

4. Other parents at school see you coming with your clipboard in hand and quickly head the other direction.

3. You place bid sheets in front of your children’s Christmas presents.

2. You have the state raffle license office’s phone number on your cell’s speed dial.

1. TopSchoolFundraisers.com is set as your browser’s homepage!

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A couple of years ago, one of our auction volunteers entered a local electronics store to ask for a donation. She happened to be there on a day that the owner was manning the shop.

Our volunteer introduced herself and explained what she was hoping to get and why. She even referred to the introductory letter we had sent out to all the local business we intended to visit.

The owner nodded his head and listened to her. When she had finished her spiel, he asked her if we had computers at our school. She said yes. He asked if we had radios or CD payers. Yes. TV/DVD players? Again, yes. She was puzzled by his questions.

“So basically, you’re telling me that you have a significant amount of electronic equipment at your school. Is that right?” continue reading

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In the first part of this series on how to create a volunteer culture in your school, I touched on the topics of recruitment, avoiding cliques, making good use of your volunteers’ time, making sure your volunteers have an enjoyable experience, and communicating effectively.

Today, I’d like to finish this article by describing two more very important strategies to generally improve your ability to recruit and retain quality volunteers for your school.

Knowing When to Say No
I have discovered that an essential skill for a school leader is to know when to refuse help from a volunteer. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but on more than one occasion, I found myself relying heavily on people who were entirely over-extended in their personal and/or professional lives. These people had the best of intentions and great hearts. They wanted to help the school succeed so much. So, when no one else stepped forward to volunteer, they did. This is a precarious position if your overtaxed volunteer has a family emergency or gets sick or takes an unexpected vacation or has a husband who goes out of town for business. Suddenly, the school finds itself in a bind. Your volunteer has become incredibly stressed out and probably feels guilty about leaving the school in the lurch. continue reading

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I’ve always said that fundraising is a hard game. One minute you’re up, the next your down. I realize that’s a cliché, but we all know it’s true. The following stories fall into that “But for the Grace of God, go I” department. We at Top School Fundraisers wish all these folks the best of luck in meeting their goals.

Here’s a sad story about a high school in Ohio, whose latest effort to raise money for an after-prom party have not gone as they had hoped. From The Advocate.

Read the story of a Connecticut school that is struggling to comply with bureaucratic red tape when all it wants to do is hold a little game of bingo. From Newsday.com.

Public schools in Tennessee try to cope with a new state law that could make fundraising harder than ever. From WSMV TV.

This just breaks your heart. Read about a Sarasota, Florida, school that had its auction items stolen, right before the big event. From WWSB TV.

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You might think that since I once served as a elementary school principal, I would be protective of my comrades in arms. You might assume that I would do nothing to put these fine men and women in harm’s way. And you might guess that I would only write about ways to glorify this esteemed position.

If you were thinking any of these things, you would be wrong.

Hah! Today I am going to lay out a five point plan to raise money for your school at the expense and peril of your school principal.

These fundraisers are not complicated. In fact, they fall just this side of a ransom note. Bring in the money or the principal gets it! Let’s see what we’ve got:

Shave Him.
Pick a cause. Set a financial goal. Give the incentive- if the school exceeds the goal, the principal will shave his head at a school assembly. Rake in the dough.

Dunk Him.
Pick a cause. Rent a dunk tank. Put the principal up on the dunk platform. Sell three throws for five dollars.  Rake in the dough.

Jail Him.
Pick a cause. Set a financial goal for him to raise. Lock him in his office until he meets the goal. He can use the phone, email, or letters home to request “bail” from school families and community supporters. (Be kind, allow food, water, and bathroom breaks.) Rake in the dough.

Grade Him.
Pick a cause. Set a financial goal for each classroom. The winning classroom gets to have the principal spend a day as a “student” in that class. He has to do the same homework, tests, pop quizzes, and projects as everyone else. Of course, I’m sure the class would LOVE to gang up on him, maybe just a little.

Be Him.
Great as a school action item. “Principal for the Day” The winning bidder (usually the child of the winning adult) gets to “work” as the principal for one day. The new principal can change rules (four recesses), talk on the PA, get out of any homework, visit any classroom, greet parents at the beginning and end of the day, and get two desserts at lunch. Sounds like a typical day in the life of a principal!

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I’m sure you have all heard of the “80/20” rule when it comes to school volunteerism. 20% of the school families do 80% of the work. In many cases, the rule might be better stated 90/10 or 95/5.

Regardless, as a fundraising leader, I’m sure you have seen this play out in your own community. The same few families are responsible for most of the hard work required to pull off a successful fundraising event.

I guess that this problem would not have entered the collective conscious, if it didn’t have somewhat of a universal truth to it. Does it help to get angry at the masses for being lazy, uninvolved, uncaring, and disinterested? I really don’t think so. My experience has shown me that there are all sorts of great volunteers out there, they just don’t know it yet. continue reading

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