Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Here’s an interesting article that deals with some of the frustration tied to the “old ways” of fundraising and looks toward some intriguing new solutions. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

This is a “shake your head” piece about a school in Connecticut that forfeits state funding in order to maintain its candy fundraising sale each year. From the Connecticut Post.

It had to come to this, huh? Here’s a story about a new kind of playground for schools. With a price tag like this, though, I wonder how soon we’ll be seeing them pop up around the country. From the Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

Once again, Erin over at USA Fundraising has written a great article on 5 ways to stretch your fundraising dollar. A must read for anyone involved on your leadership team. Read it here.

Marc Pitman, otherwise known as the Extreme Fundraising Coach, offers some interesting insights from a professional fundraiser’s perspective on Oprah’s new television show, “The Big Give.” Check it out here.

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It is not uncommon that when you take a new job at a non-profit, you discover that at some point in the past, there was a donor or a group of donors who somehow became alienated from the organization. Perhaps thank you notes weren’t sent out in a timely fashion (or at all), a decision was made by the administration that didn’t sit well with the donors, or a long-standing tradition was discarded. Whatever the cause, you learn that there is a significant donor base that once gave generously to your group but now has nothing to do with you.

There is an old saying in business that it’s always easier to create a repeat customer than to create a new customer. Basically, this means that if someone has already put money into your product, it is easier to get them to do it again, than it is to convince someone to buy from you in the first place.

Therefore, I would argue that you should find out why the donor or donors split away from your group and then determine what you can do to restore the relationship.

The following is a list of steps to take in this healing process. continue reading

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Previous to my current role as blogger at Top School Fundraisers, I was working at a non-profit summer camp for boys. Like many summer camps it has a strong tradition and long history. In fact, I, myself, was a camper there for five years, before I became a staff member. In total, I was at the camp 24 years, from the time I was 10 years old until I was 34. I told people my mom just never came to pick me up.

So, in the summer of 2000, I was the associate director. One of my responsibilities was to raise money for the camp. There was a small, but respectable endowment, but like many places, money was tight and there were always more projects than funds.

One day, around mid-July, a young man walked into the camp office. He introduced himself as a former camper, a proud alumnus. I was not surprised, as many folks drop by the camp each week for this same purpose. Some were campers (or counselors) just a couple of summers previous, while some old timers remembered the early days of the camp in the 1930s. continue reading

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Having just pushed our clocks ahead one hour and realizing that the official start to Spring is less than two weeks away, I am starting to think seriously about Summer. Living in northern Lower Michigan, we keep our snow well into April, so I am definitely dreaming of mowing my lawn, going canoeing down the AuSable River, and hiking through the Jordan River Valley with my kids.

However, there are a few very important items that anyone who works as a school fundraiser should start thinking before we slide into summer vacation mode. Here is a list to consider.

1. How Have You Improved Your Own Skills And Knowledge Base This Past Year?
Even if you serve as an unpaid volunteer, it is always wise to push yourself in constructive ways. Over this past year, what sorts of books have you read regarding school issues? Have you subscribed to school-issue newsletters like PTO Today or Top School Fundraisers? Have you attended any local conferences or networked with people in your position at other schools? continue reading

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I came across a story I found at a Blog called Save Me From the Cold.

I don’t know if it is true or not, and this has absolutely nothing to do with fundraising, but I was moved by the message, and I thought the readers of Top School Fundraisers might be, as well. Here is the complete text:

Two Choices What would you do?….you make the choice. Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: ‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. ‘I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’ Then he told the following story: continue reading

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If you have spent any time around a school, you have been exposed to many different kinds of product sale fundraisers. In my time running a summer camp and an elementary school, I have seen my fair share of sales: candles, soup mixes, popcorn, candy, you name it.

Sometimes these products are terrific, and I feel satisfied that parents are getting a high-quality product in return for their financial support. Other times, unfortunately, I do not feel this way.

However, with Chippery Cookie Dough, I truly believe we have an all-around great product, and I also believe that you will agree. continue reading

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Everybody knows that you should send a thank you note to a donor. And, in a previous post, I have written about how to write a decent fundraising “ask” letter. These two kinds of letters are the bookends, however, and should not be the only times you make contact with your donors. The following is a list of ten reasons you should stay in contact with your existing donors, without hitting them up for another donation.

1. Birthday Wishes
You should make an effort to find out your donors’ birthdays. It shows that you are considerate and thoughtful when you remember them on that special day with a nice card. Set up a tickler in your appointment calendar to remind you at least two weeks in advance, so you have time to buy a card, write a short note, sign it, and mail it. To be better prepared, I suggest you buy a stash of cards and stick them in your desk drawer, so you’ve always got one handy. Also, a quick, handwritten note shows a great personal touch. continue reading

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