It is an unfortunate truth that schools in the US have it harder than ever at the moment. There are so many different costs that come up time and time again, from school repairs, to resupplying old books, tables, and chairs, to undergoing general school maintenance. And more often than not, the school budget just isn’t large enough to cater for everything that needs doing within the school, meaning that when one department needs an important upgrade, it may be left waiting for months or even years before being attended to. If your school’s library is in need of some extra funding, whether it be for new books or computers, or it needs to be completely refurbished, why not look to library fundraising to help you get there a little faster.

Library fundraising is a great way to earn money for your school library fast. But it isn’t just about the money. Holding a fundraiser can be a fun and exciting activity for students at your school, and you may find that many of them leap at the chance to help out in some way. There are plenty of things that need to be done to pull off the best event, from deciding on a suitable product to sell, to making posters and banners and handing out flyers to promote the event, to actually getting down to business and collecting donations from people. As long as you plan out your event thoroughly before getting started, you should find that all of this is quite easy to do, and with so many young helpers involved in making your fundraiser a success, you can step back and take a broader look at its development.

If you want to make things even easier, you might like to go with one of our great library fundraising products, like our High School Fundraising Scratch Cards or our Earth Candle Fundraising package.

We fundraisers do our homework to find out what will resonate best with our target audience. If for some reason, the fundraising method we choose doesn’t click with our “customers”, we’re in trouble.

We have to make sure that another non-profit group didn’t just do a cookie dough sale right before us or hold a car wash on the same day as we are planning one. That would hurt our sales and make us look unprepared.

We strive to be creative in choosing a fundraiser, so people will be intrigued, but we don’t want to stray too far off the known path where people won’t follow us.

We are concerned about profit margin. If we use an outside company and sell their product, we may only get 50% of what we sell, but it’s usually a lot easier than trying to run something complicated like a school carnival, which requires dozens of volunteers.

Click here to enroll in Jim Berigan’s FREE year-long school fundraising e-Course!

No wonder there’s such a high turnover rate in school fundraising leadership!

Well, there is another way. It’s startling. It’s brilliant in its simplicity. It’s so crazy that it might actually work!

You just ask.

No tickets. No pledges. No inventory. Just a letter asking for cash or checks.

Well, there’s one other thing that’s required for a fundraiser like this to work: a really good cause.

It’s got to be something very important and directly related to the student’s education. It has to be something that if it disappears due to lack of funding, the children’s educational experience will be immediately diminished.

Here is a newspaper story of a school in Orange County, California, that was in danger of losing it’s Media Center and its art programs, due to a severe shortfall in their budget. This is a terrific example of a school district stripping everything else away and just getting to the point.

SEAL BEACH—There were no cookie sales or gift-wrap sales, no auctions with great prizes, no fabulous gala with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Only a simple request: please donate to save the McGaugh Elementary School media center and art programs.

In a matter of a few weeks, parents and the community responded. The school raised more than $35,000.

The largest check that came in was for $5,000. There were others for $500 and $1,000. There were smaller checks, of course. And then there were the pennies. Students brought in their coins and plunked them into shiny silvery pails and colorful beach buckets. So did residents who spotted similar containers inviting donations at local stores. The coins alone added up to some $3,100, Principal Daryle Palmer said.

“The community has been very generous,” Palmer said. “We had a mother who ran in and her son hasn’t been here in at least three years. She said, ‘Oh, my god…I just can’t believe these programs are in danger. Here’s a check.”

When children heard their media center was in trouble, many brought in their own coins to donate.

“My kids emptied out their piggy banks,” said parent Michelle Gillespie, one of the fundraiser organizers.

While most of the checks were in the $250 range, the coins from the children were just as important, Gillespie said. Like the adults, who received no special prizes in exchange, the children weren’t enticed to donate coins for the usual reward of an ice cream party for the class that contributes the most.

They contributed,” Gillespie said, “because they care about the media center.”

If your school is facing a serious budget crisis and your fundraising team is scrambling for answers, have a long conversation about how something like what the school above did would work in your district.

Photo by: otama

“School Resorts To Over The Phone Fundraising”

Now, my immediate reaction to this headline was that something bad had happened. A fundraiser had failed and now the school has to “resort” to raising money by phone.

I even checked the dictionary to make sure the word “resort” had that kind of negative connotation I was imagining. And, indeed, old Merriam-Webster said that the definition of “resort” is “to have recourse”.  Sort of like having a “Plan B”.

The article itself, although very short, didn’t help to lessen the tone of desperation. Here is the text in its entirety.

A recent spending freeze at the Santa Barbara School District is already having an impact in the classroom.

Parents of students at Santa Barbara Jr. High are trying to raise money for programs the district can no longer afford.

Parents and Principal John Becchio will gather Tuesday night to call as many parents as they can. They’ll be asking for money.

PTSA members say budget cuts are starting to impact students in the classroom. So, they stepped up their fundraising efforts to make ends meet.

Only 85 words. And some of these 85 words struck me: “… are trying to raise…”, “Parents and Principal will gather Tuesday night to call as many parents as they can.”

Oh, boy.  This does not sound good.

Obviously, I don’t blame the school for trying to raise much-needed revenue. I’m glad they are addressing the need. However, whenever I’ve been part of planning a fundraiser, we’ve always managed to muster a little more enthusiasm and put together more of a plan than what this article is suggesting.

So, as I read this and thought about it a little bit, I knew I had to write about it.

Obviously, I can’t know for sure what the mood around this particular school is. Maybe it’s just a lousy press release, and the school really does have enthusiasm and a solid plan. But, as I said, all I know for certain, is what I read in this short article.

Given that, I’m going to list all of the things I can think of that could go terrible wrong with a phone-a-thon fundraiser that’s been put together at the last minute, as a last “resort”. I’d love to hear any suggestions that you might have, as well. Just leave them in our comment section!

Eight things that could go horribly wrong:

1. This could come off as poorly planned and haphazard in execution. According to this article, the phone-a-thon is planned for Tuesday, which I’m guessing would be right away. And with the overtones that this attempt is something that has to be “resorted” to, I smell a rush job. And rush jobs never turn out well. Lots of room for mistakes.

2. With so little time to prepare, the volunteer phone staff would probably receive very little training. So, they would have little opportunity to work on a high-quality script. As a result, each person could have a different spin on what the school’s message actually is. I’m reminded of the children’s game “Operator” inwhich a message is whispered along a line of people, and the original message is completely changed around by the time it reaches the end of the line. For a fundraiser, this could be BIG TROUBLE.

3. This one is going to make me sound mean, but if you are scrambling to put together a last minute phone-a-thon, you’re invariably going to wind up with volunteers who have absolutely no business making phone calls to other human beings. And if you get one of these folks on your call team, you are likely going to end up causing more harm than good. I don’t think the families at home who get called by one of these nuts will appreciate it.  You know what I mean.

4. Another risk you take with having an untrained staff, is that asking people for money is not an easy thing. It takes preparation, experience, tact, sensitivity, patience, enthusiasm, and empathy. You can offend someone pretty easily if you say the wrong thing when asking for a donation. By holding the phone-a-thon “this coming Tuesday” there’s probably not the time to get the staff who have all these qualities. There is a real possibility that some of your potential donors will be offended, even unintentionally,  during this phone fundraiser.

5. I’ve participated in phone-a-thons before, and one thing that is very difficult to do well is keep good records of who’s been called, whether you got through to the person, if you had to leave a message, if there was just no answer at all, if the number has been disconnected, and so forth. With a whole team of people making dozens of calls at the same time, there is a huge risk of totally making a mess of all these notes. It’s highly likely that all kinds of errors will be made. And, of course, errors like these, make the folks placing the calls in the first place look stupid.

6. The next problem is that millions of people in this country do not like getting unsolicited phone calls at home in the evening. That’s why there is a national “Do Not Call” list. I understand that these calls being made are for their children’s school, but it’s still a call that can interrupt a family’s evening. Therefore, there will be a percentage of the school’s call list that will be angry.

7. Building on this last point, I think that the results from a phone-a-thon could be negatively skewed because so many people have caller ID functions on their phones. It would be very easy for them to just not pick up the phone and not return the call.

8. A possible unintended side effect of a last minute phone-a-thon is that all of the possible anger coming from the people being called, the overall disorganization of a haphazardly planned event, and the general ineffectiveness of the method could actually turn the volunteer callers off of volunteering in general. You could lose some really devoted helpers because they had such a terrible experience working the phone-a-thon. Be careful.

Conclusion

Did I forget anything? Can you think of any other ways a phone-a-thon of last resort could go wrong for this school? I certainly hope none of what I wrote above comes to pass and that this school makes all the money they need. My only goal with writing this article was to point out that fundraisers need to be well-planned and thought-out. Let me know what you think!

Photo by: Trace Meek

This guide contains many practical tips on how to make your next carnival a success. Jim provides advice based on his own experience and from those of other school volunteers like you. Besides just planning the carnival, the book helps you reach the goal of making the carnival a great school fundraiser.

This book will save you lots of time and add a fresh, creative twist to your event. Check it out: the School Carnival Guide

All you have to do is go to the website www.catalogs.com/teachers and answer the question: “Why does your class deserve to win a gift certificate from eNasco.com and how will you put the school supplies to good use?”

This contest runs through runs through Wednesday, September 30, 2009.  Tell all the teachers you know to sign up for this contest.  They could win some great materials to outfit the class for the school year!

Art teacher Wanda Boudreaux said:

Students who are involved in the process of thinking critically and creatively are apt to succeed in more subjects. We believe in the “multiple intelligences” approach to learning and understand the importance of curriculum integration and crossover in teaching. Our experience in teaching visual art provides overwhelming evidence in support of these beliefs.

After taking inspiration from a well-known piece of art students acquire new skills and practice techniques. Students engage in projects that challenge them to create an original response. We present a wide variety of activities in order to promote discovery and experimentation with materials and methods. Among that broad range of art making experiences, grade appropriate projects have included photography, shaded drawings, paintings, collages, installation art, printmaking and sculptures.

Our goal is to help students develop a strong relationship with art, which they will carry with them as they grow.  Children’s spirits are an open door through which art is eagerly embraced. Our Art Program provides a necessary opportunity to inspire the creative and critical thinking that, while deepening their individual humanity, also gives students’ greater success in all subjects.

To recognize the importance of fine arts and this presentation in particular, we selected Will Rogers as an Honorable Mention. Congratulations Will Rogers students, parents and teachers.  Keep up the great work!

View the full page one

View the full page two

Like the first two schools to garner the honorable mention recognition, Loma Verde submitted a high quality video in making its application.

In the request, the principal of Loma Verde, Eileen Smith, (on behalf of her 385 K-5th graders) discussed a situation in her school that more and more schools are coping with nationwide, and that’s the problem of a rising number of students who don’t have English as a first language. As a result of this, Principal Smith has found that even though these students can be very bright and have excellent ideas to share, they are having great difficulty joining in the group learning process due to the language barrier.

To help students with this challenge, the folks at Loma Verde requested $4,000 to purchase two Elmo Digital Visual Presenters and two LCD projectors. These tools would be shared by the teachers to better explain and allow participation by all students. Principal Smith described, for instance, how one of these Elmo Projectors (I don’t think there’s any relation to the Elmo on Sesame Street…) can be used to both project and enlarge the image of a sheet of paper, but it can also be used as a large projection microscope for 3D items. It’s very clear to see how useful these items could be in a classroom where verbal communication is sometimes difficult.

Once again, we are learning first-hand how some very serious problems in our school districts can be solved, or at least greatly helped, by new technology. Unfortunately, new technology is very expensive and often out of financial reach. This means that creative and effective fundraising methods are needed now more than ever. That’s the goal, here at Top School Fundraisers.

Stay tuned for many more posts dealing with the ever-increasing need to fund large technological purchases for our schools.

Thank you, Loma Verde, for your excellent application. We wish you the best in finding all the funds you need to help bridge this gap.

Watch to see the simple yet compelling video presentation from the principal of Loma Verde Elementary School.

The students at Star Prep find themselves in an unfortunate situation that many students are facing today- insufficient access to up-to-date technology. The cost of both hardware and software have made it increasingly difficult for cash-strapped schools to keep up and provide their students with the tools they will need to compete in a global marketplace.

In the near future, Top School Fundraisers will be looking at some solutions to this growing problem. We urge schools, like Star Prep Academy, to keep searching for the necessary funds.

Take a couple of minutes to view their video application. You’ll get a great sense of a wide-spread need throughout our entire country.

Thank you, Star Prep, for your terrific application! We wish you the best in meeting your goals.

The only challenging part of the entire process was actually narrowing down our top choices from so many commendable applications. We are still blown away by both the quantity and the quality of the requests we received.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to highlight five of the many schools who deserve honorable mentions. The first school we’d like to shine a light on is Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, Georgia. Tattnall is a private school with students who range from eighth grade to twelfth grade.

Their goal is to purchase two “Active Slates” which are similar to a computer tablet that a teacher can use for dynamic class presentations. According to the video, the active slates really bring learning alive in the classroom. The video interviews were conducted by Robbie Burns, Director of Development and a Tatnall graduate himself. The producer and director was sophomore Jonathan Jones.

In part, we selected Tattnall because of their use of video technology, which really impressed us. We thought our readers would both be entertained, as well as gain an insight into the high level of sophistication our young people have in this ubiquitous medium. Please take a minute to watch the short video the Tattnall students created for this grant request. With the creativity and drive that they showed us, we know they are going to find great success.

Thank you, Tattnall, for sharing your dreams and passion with us!

The problem the school faced was low achievement in the area of science.  Here’s how Principal Ratliff described the problem and what they are dong to solve it:

The current focus on Reading and Math in North Carolina has led to a deficit in Science instruction.  Our students scored very poorly on the Science EOG (End of Grade Test) 2007-2008.   Our teachers and students are heart-broken due to WES scoring 5% on the state science EOG.

We would like to create an atmosphere of wonder about the world of science.  The Science Learning Center Lab would enliven academic instruction by providing hands on experiments and observations.  The lab would be housed in a vacant classroom and would provide living habitats for students to explore.  We would like to include an aquarium, work stations, science kits, terrariums, plants, and technology in order to encourage inquiry based science teaching methods.  This will promote students’ understanding of inquiry based teaching, and the environmental factors that influence change.

The school has already obtained microscopes donated by a planetarium in the area.  The Top School Fundraisers grant of $1500 will provide equipment to round out the science lab including instructional materials and supplies for science experiments.

One of the reasons that we were so delighted to award the grant to this school is that they continue to work toward providing a quality education for students despite circumstances.  The economy has been tough on the area, and the community is now facing high unemployment due to the closure of several textile mills.  The school is classified as a Title I School, since 88% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. Principal Ratliff says that despite all this, “Our citizens have a history of hard work and resiliency” and the future will be hopeful.