Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about the amazing collection of fundraising resources here at Top School Fundraisers. Having worked myself for a number of non-profit organizations, all of whom relied heavily on fundraising dollars, I can’t begin to overstate how valuable this information is. Taking the lead on school fundraising can be a tough and a lonely job at times; having a guide such as this can truly be a lifesaver.

Today, I’d like to look ahead for a little bit in order to give you an idea as to how this blog will continue to develop on a daily basis. As I mentioned previously, I am a big believer in consistency. I think having a plan and sticking to it is very helpful in achieving success. I do, of course, allow room for spontaneity, realizing that oftentimes, the best ideas come from these mental wanderings. However, the mission, the ultimate goal of this site is to “connect schools with great fundraising ideas” (see blog masthead for proof!), so I want to make sure we remain focused on this stated premise.

By and large, I think people like to know what to expect. I know that I, myself, am a creature of habit. I am much more likely to be a return customer, if I know that every time I come back, I’ll receive the same level of service, the same quality of product, and the same sense of satisfaction from the experience.

So, in providing you with this blog, I desire to live up to these expectations. That means I will do my best to post at a consistent time each day. It also means that I will set a plan, so you know what you can look forward to reading.

For example, each Monday, I will dig into a broad fundraising topic that is of importance to many schools. I expect these articles to be a bit longer and more detailed. I also suspect (and hope!) that these posts will generate a flurry of comments from our loyal readers.

On Tuesdays, I will be introducing you to our Fundraising Idea of the Week. These ideas will come from web research, reader suggestion, my own personal experience, a past blog post from this site, or even from a professional resource. Whenever possible, I will link these ideas to field-tested results. I want to let you know how a specific idea worked in at least one other instance, so you can make the judgment for yourself if this idea would be appropriate to your school situation.

On Wednesdays, I would like to publish an interview with a seasoned fundraising professional. I will ask questions that will give you useful bits of information to maximize your fundraising results from men and women who have valuable experience in this field. These professionals will come from many different positions in the school world. You’ll meet principals, superintendents, PTO/PTA presidents, teachers, and representatives from various fundraising companies, to name just a few.

Thursdays will be a hodge-podge of information- kind of like the junk drawer that everybody has in their kitchen. Mostly everything is useful, but you don’t have any other place to store it. You might see guest posts, links to interesting fundraising articles on the Internet, funny stories from the fundraising battle field, letters from readers, book reviews, etc. I think it’s always good to have a place to collect odds -n- ends.

And lastly, I would like to use Fridays to talk about the “soft skills” of school fundraising. Asking people for money is hard. I think it would be difficult to gain long-term fundraising success without knowing how to listen, ask questions, understand, respond, and interact with your potential donors. There is a certain language that fundraisers must learn how to speak and interpret. I’m hoping we can explore this topic in great depth on Fridays.

And I’ll probably take weekends off, unless there is breaking news in the fundraising world that just can’t wait until Monday.

As I mentioned above, I will use this road map as a rough guide. I will remain open to opportunities that present themselves that might take us off course, just a little. But, as long as we’re together, I want you, our valuable readers, to know where we’re headed.

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up this introductory week with a few thoughts on the power of conversation. See you then!

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