One of the most popular posts on this blog over the past two years has consistently been “You’ve Been Flocked by the Famous Flamingo Fundraiser”.

In case you haven’t read this article or you are unfamiliar with what a flamingo fundraiser is, the concept is this: a non-profit, many times a school group, will purchase several pink plastic flamingo lawn ornaments. (By several, I mean, like, well over 100.)

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Then the members of the group will place these flamingos in the front yard belonging to a family in their organization. This is usually done under the cover of darkness, so that when the family wakes up the next morning, they are surprised to see the new flock on their lawn.

The group will also leave the family a “ransom” note, which makes clear the details of the fundraiser once again. The letter also explains that the birds will be removed for a fee/donation of $20 (or whatever affordable amount the group chooses). This money will be passed along to the school or the charitable organization. Along with the ransom note, the group includes a donation envelope that can be picked up when they return to collect the flamingos.

This process is repeated for several nights in a row. All of this is done in good fun, and if a family really doesn’t want to pay up, the group will remove the flamingos without charge, but with frowns on their faces, of course.

Many non-profit groups have tried this novel fundraising event with terrific success. Not only do they raise a lot of money, but they also have a great time planting the flamingos, which builds up a wonderful community spirit.

So, if your school would like to try Flamingo Fundraising, here are ten helpful hints to make it safe, enjoyable, and profitable.

1. Clearly communicate to your group what a Flamingo Fundraiser is well before you actually plant the birds in someone’s yard. You don’t want unsuspecting homeowners thinking they are being vandalized or robbed when the kids show up to set out the flock. This method of fundraising might still not be widely known to most people, so you’ll need to clearly spell out for them in the letter how your fundraiser works. Put all this information in a letter, on your website, on flyers posted at the school, and be sure to tell all the kids about it. They will help tell their parents.

2. Buy a lot of birds to plant. The more flamingos you have in play, the more money you will make. Although you will have to pay for the birds the first time, they quickly pay for themselves and the profits start rolling in. Let’s do some  math: If you had 10 flocks of 12 birds each and you received $15 per day to remove each flock you planted, and you did this for 30 days, you’re group would raise $4500 in one month!

3. Create two different flock sizes- one for residential homes, which would be smaller, and a larger size flock for businesses. Of course, you can get away with asking for a bigger donation from the businesses. Good business targets are doctors’ offices, lawyers’ offices, and accountants’ offices.

4. Coordinate the timing of your flamingo event with a holiday, like Valentine’s Day. This is a good idea for a couple of reasons. First, most people are in a good mood around the holidays, so the “grump” factor is much lower, so you’ll probably encounter less people refusing to pay. Second, for an extra fee, you can add on to your fundraiser by offering to deliver a holiday card along with the flamingo flock.

5. When you plant the flock, you should also plant a yard sign (you’ll have to get these made up separately) that says something like, “You’ve Been Flocked by the Lincoln High Volleyball Team!” This will give your group an extra shot of publicity when people drive by the flock.

6. When you announce the ground rules of the event to your community, tell them that once they have been flocked, for an extra fee, they can choose the next family to get the treatment. In addition, this family can purchase “Flamingo Insurance” which will protect them from retaliation.

7. You can also sell flock insurance ahead of time for any families that don’t want their lawn to be invaded by flamingos or the people who plant them there.

8. Make sure you inform your flocking teams to be ultra-polite and courteous of the families they are flocking. If they encounter the targeted family during the raid, they should be friendly and explain what they are doing. There is nothing malicious about this fundraiser, but sometimes young people can get carried away in the “undercover” nature of the mission. Along these same lines, anyone planting flamingos must promise to be 100% respectful of the people’s property while they are on it. Any damage to property, even inadvertently committed, can spell the end of this fundraiser for your organization, along with a negative reputation in your town.

9. That being said, make sure the groups have a good time doing this. They can dress up in camouflage gear and wear face paint.

10. When recruiting volunteers for this fundraiser, you should split the overall group into smaller teams, each one responsible for managing an individual flock of 12-15 birds. There must be a RESPONSIBLE adult assigned to each group who will enforce the rules, keep the kids safe, and protect the homeowners’ property. There should also be an alternate or back up adult for each group in case the primary parent can’t make one night.

11. You should also set a specific time limit and hours of operation window for the flamingo planting missions. This will depend on the time of year (when it gets dark) and the age of the kids on the raid. Take into account safety, local curfews for youth, and just the general level of comfort parents would have with their kids being out of the house. Once your organization has established these time policies, make sure all the individual groups are aware of them and promise to stick to them. Any group caught plating outside of these time frames should be suspended from participating in the fundraiser.

12. The overall coordinator must keep in good contact with the adult from each team and make excellent record of who has already been flocked, who has purchased insurance, and who absolutely doesn’t want to participate. The coordinator will also collect and keep track of all the donations that come in during the span of the event.

13. Create a press release about the flamingo event you are running with all the important information about your group and their goals. Write a little about the nature of this kind of fundraiser, as well. Then send it out to all the media outlets in your community. A flamingo Fundraiser is a fun, light-hearted story and they might pick up on it. That could result in people calling your directly and requesting to be flocked or to send a flock along to someone else. That’s more money for your group, so spread the word!

The tools I was interested most in weren’t hammers and screwdrivers and wrenches, but rather donors, volunteers, and school spirit. All of the tools I was interested in would help shape our effort to provide the necessary funds to keep the school operational and thriving.

Unfortunately, the situation I walked into had a pretty empty toolbox, so one of my first tasks was to stock it with as many useful items as I could.

Today, I want to write about the tool of school spirit, and how it relates to fundraising success.

If you find yourself at a school that is struggling to raise money, whether it be in a small fundraiser like a cookie dough sale or a large event like an auction, one of the fundamental reasons for your lack of success may be a lack of school spirit.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself or others close to you to determine if your students, their parents, the teachers, key donors, and anyone else involved at your school has enough spirit to motivate them to work for your school’s financial success.

• Is there a cohesive message from the leadership of the school to its broad audience? (Things like school-wide newsletter, email blasts, and a regularly updated website)
• Has an effort been made to beautify the school- both interiorly and exteriorly? (Who can feel good about a run-down environment?)
• Are there pictures of students and examples of their artwork or other creations visible in the hallways? (Breeds a sense of ownership and belonging)
• Does your school have an exciting nickname and logo that you use on everything from folders to sweatshirts?
• Are there any traditions that are specific to certain grades that younger students really look forward to each year?
• Do you see school items around town, like bumper stickers, caps, or t-shirts?
• Does the local paper cover your school events so the entire area can be proud of the school’s accomplishments?
• Is there any kind of school-specific award for service to the school?
• Do teachers communicate a message about being proud of the school to their students?

It doesn’t matter if your school is public or private, an elementary, middle or high school. School spirit can be contagious at any age, in any circumstance.

I firmly believe that if students and their parents have pride in their school, they will feel more motivated to raise money for it. This includes an increased willingness to approach friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members to buy fundraising products and even tickets to golf outings, auctions, or raffles.

Look at it from the opposite end- if a student has no real feeling of loyalty or pride in their education institution, how likely is it his or her family will prioritize your fundraiser over all the other commitments in their life? I would argue that it is not very likely.

If you are a school principal or a volunteer in the Parent-Teacher group, you can have a direct impact on the level of school spirit. If you are doing it in the right way, with the right intentions, people will be supportive of anything that instills pride and increases a positive spirit. In the long run, you will be building a much more reliable fundraising tool and you’ll start to fill out that all-important toolbox.

(Image courtesy of StumpSpirit.com)

Here are a few links to articles that tackle the issue of school spirit from a number of different angles.  Enjoy!

The website My Clay Sun, has a fun article about building school spirit in a school-wide dodge ball tournament.

From the Education World web site, here is a great collection of ideas from principals on how to use year-long themes to boost school spirit.

The blog Cheer4Life, posts a number of school spirit week activity ideas. From a young person’s perspective. Totally.

Here is an interesting article by Chris Ellis posted on the Business Ideas blog about the importance of branding your school.

Here is a sarcastic view of school spirit from the perspective of a student on his blog. Good for a quick laugh. The title of the post is “You Are Now Required to Show School Spirit”.

This is another list of school spirit activity ideas. This one is from the Teens page of Lovetoknow.com

From Christy Forhan at the PTO Today website, here is a terrific, in-depth article on building school spirit.

Imagine: football players scooping ice cream, cheerleaders doing face painting, basketball players running a free throw competition. Of course, all the players should be dressed in their team’s uniform.

It is amazing how much elementary or middle school kids look up to high-schoolers. And, if the high-schooler is the starting quarterback, captain of the cheer squad, or point guard for the hoops team, you’ve got a bona-fide celebrity on your hands.

You can include this celebrity attendance/participation in all of your marketing materials. It’s sure to draw a crowd.

I would also add that there is an additional revenue opportunity with the athletes there, as well. As long as it is very clear that the revenue generated goes to the school, think about charging for photographs or autographs from the players. This can be done in good fun and as long as the high-schoolers don’t get an inflated ego because of it, I know they’ll have a good time.

Plus this stadium seat has a built in sponsor advertising program. Local businesses can support your team by purchasing advertising on the back of the cushions. Everything you need to sign up sponsors is included with the kit. Your team just sends in the custom artwork and the company does the rest.

With sponsor advertising when you sell these stadium seats, your sports team or school group will be able to keep more profits to help run your program. If you can get sponsors to cover the costs of the seats, every time you sell one to a supporter it is pure profit. You keep all the proceeds!

Find out more about the Flip Side Ad Custom Seat Cushions

Everything Elementary School Spirit Store has a variety of spirit items including stadium cushions, mini megaphones, pom-poms and much more. Some items are ideal as game giveaways and others can be used as a fundraiser to raise money for your cheerleading squad.

Kids love spirit ribbons! Your students can show their schooll sprit on field day, for school sports or many other activities. Order your custom spirit ribbons with your school’s name and colors. Add any details you’d like. As a fundraiser they can be sold for .50 to $1 each.

Custom Design Your School Spirit Ribbons