Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

During the election season last fall students from Atlanta’s Ron Clark Academy made a splash with the song they wrote “Vote for whoever you like.” I first saw this video on CNN sometime before election day. It also caught the eye of many admirers.  A major donation from Oprah Winfrey was made to the school.

School founder Ron Clark told reporters “I was just excited to have the letter. But then a sheet of paper fell out on the floor and I picked it up and looked it was a check for $365,000 and I was just overwhelmed.”

They followed up their first hit with another, “Dear Obama” which surprisingly hits on some heavy issues.  This time the effort earned the students a trip to Washington DC for the inauguration.

Take home lessons in short… focus on great education for your students, be creative and innovative.  As Jim mentioned recently, great teaching can often be free.  Then don’t hide your great kids.  The Ron Clark Academy students sang their song at Atlanta events, got their videos on local TV and YouTube, which helped them go national.  This kind of publicity can be great for your school — for the students themselves and for getting funding!

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