Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Wow! I have to share an incredible piece of news with all of you who mange volunteers in your school. It doesn’t matter if the volunteers are for a classroom, the library, recess duty, or a fundraiser, if you have ever tried to get people to sign up and then show up, you’ve got to try this new piece to technology out.

It’s a web-based application called VolunteerSpot.com.

1. First you create a (free!) account.
2. Then you use a “planning wizard” to create files for all the events that require volunteers. You also type in the times and the job descriptions.
3. Next, you invite volunteers with an email or through a link.

Your potential volunteers will instantly receive an attractive email invitation in their inboxes, asking for help on the date you specified. The reader has the option of clicking a “No Thanks/Not This Time” or “Sign Up Now/Learn More” link.

“The Sign Up Now” link takes you to a very graphically pleasing calendar that has the exact times and jobs that are available. The program automatically tracks and edits who signs up for which jobs, and it will tell future volunteers when certain times/jobs are filled!  You, as the volunteer coordinator, just have to check back on the calendar to see which jobs are still open.  It’s amazingly simple. continue reading

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If you are reading this blog, chances are you are a pretty involved parent in your child’s education. You are most likely involved in fundraising activities, field trip chaperoning, room mothering (or “fathering”), and the countless other opportunities to play a vital role in your child’s education.

I would also guess that you have a pretty good relationship with your child’s teacher. After all, the teacher sees your child for six or seven hours a day for 180 days per year. That’s a lot of influence he or she can have on your offspring. Of course, it’s a good idea to know who that person is.

As a former elementary school principal, I witnessed the spectrum of relationships that parents have with teachers, and I’ve heard the “secret” teacher lounge chatter about those relationships. Therefore, I think I can offer a few suggestions on ways for parents to say thank you that will be truly meaningful to and appreciated by your child’s teacher.

1. Volunteer in the Classroom
Most classrooms are overcrowded. That is to say that the ratio of teachers and aides to students is higher than anyone would want. This isn’t only distressing to the parents, but it is also a source of great concern for the teachers. By and large, teachers really do desire excellence, but many times, the numbers make that an elusive goal.

Therefore, I would find a way to volunteer your time as a part-time classroom aid. I’ve seen a mom volunteer one hour per week to listen to students read. The teacher really appreciated that, because the kids got more individualized instruction.

Maybe it’s something you can only do once per month. However, if you pool your time with three other parents, that’s a once-per-week help the teacher is getting, and that’s significant. continue reading

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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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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’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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