Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

When I was the administrator of a private elementary school, I did not have any experience working in a school setting. However, at the time I was hired, the school needed a person who had more knowledge in the areas of marketing, public relations, and non-profit management. I fit that description, so I was hired.

Therefore, I had to learn a lot about the specific realities of schools in a very short time. Having zero background in the field, I also had no prejudices in the public versus private school debate. I didn’t know enough to have an informed opinion.

In retrospect, I’m actually glad I started with a blank slate. It allowed my questions to be free from a bias in any one direction. I was interested in finding the best solution to the situation at hand.

Over the course of my time at the school, I came to see that both private and public schools had certain distinct advantages over one another. I actually ended up working closely with the administrators in our public school district and partnered with them on a few important projects.

From a financial perspective, here are a few of the advantages that I found the public schools to have over the private institutions.

1. It’s a Numbers Game

The first advantage I saw was the sheer numerical edge that public schools have. Since most private schools charge tuition, many more people elect to send their children to the public school. Once phrase I heard repeated very often was “Why should I pay for something I can get free down the road?”

While I had a very good answer for that question, the fact was that public schools absolutely dwarfed the private schools in our area, and I suspect that same is true in many parts of this country.

Obviously, with more students comes much higher expenses. With all the public schools struggling with their budgets, this is easily noticed and understood. However, I would argue that with that many more students, the public school also had access to that many more parents; parents with connections to business that could potentially donate goods and services, parents with jobs that could somehow benefit the school, and parents with time on their hands to volunteer in the classroom or the library.

At the private school, we struggled with a low enrollment, so the pool of parents I had to work with was very small indeed.

Sadly, many public schools also struggle to get parents involved. Their large pool of parnts is not activated and engaged with their child’s educational experience. But, given the choice of a large pool or a small pool, I would choose the large pool every time and worked much harder at volunteer development.

2. Let’s Hear It for the “Every Man”!

The second built-in advantage I saw that favored public schools was an institutional perception in the community that the public school was more egalitarian.

Since the public schools had no entrance exams, no parent interviews that could sway acceptance, and no tuition, it naturally gained the status of the “every man” school. For some, this feeling even elevated into suspicion, mis-trust, and even hostility toward the people who could afford to pay for a private education.

In a practical sense, I found that fundraising in our community became harder for us at the private school. There was a common refrain of “Why should I donate to a school where my kid is not accepted? Let the parents pay even more tuition if they want something bad enough.” In a small town like ours, that could have a profound impact on our bottom line.

Now, I do not mean to infer that we, at my school, were treated poorly by everyone. In fact, we found many families and business who were generous to us, even though they didn’t send their children to our school. And there were even some private school alumni still living in our community who were incredibly magnanimous in their support. However, the generalized point I’m making is simply that I found local businesses to be more open to the solicitations of the public schools more than the private. And that is a clear advantage in the public schools’ favor.

3. Blinded by the (Friday Night) Lights

A third advantage I found had to do with public relations. In many small towns across the United States, high school athletics is the most popular form of entertainment. Heck, an entire television series, “Friday Night Lights”, is about this very phenomenon. And I’m guessing that a vast majority of the tickets sold to these games are for public schools.

I do realize that there are some very successful private school teams and even entrie leagues that draw passionate crowds. But again, given the greater volume of people attending the public schools, public school athletics have a greater impact in most communities.

So, why is this an advantage?

It’s very plain that people, in general, love sports. Team loyalty, identification, and passion are very commonplace in our society. And many times, this dedication to the sports team trickles over into the school itself. If you grew up watching Duke basketball, for instance, maybe you’d like to attend Duke, the school.

In the case of a high school, if you like your hometown football team, maybe you’d be willing to support the drama club from the same school, as well.

Sports is a great introduction, a wonderful “foot in the door”. Private schools, while many of them have sports teams, don’t always have the same impact as the public schools. In the long run, I would definitely prefer to have a very strong sports team to roll out as a PR device.

Conclusion
While both public and private schools have their own strengths and weaknesses, I really have to say that the advantages listed above: a significantly larger parent talent pool from which to draw, a strong perception of being a school that serves all the kids in the community, and a built-in public relations juggernaut with a large athletic program are all very desirous for a guy who once ran a private school.

But, that’s not to say that private schools don’t have their own set of very desirable advantages.

Tomorrow, I will be posting the second part of this mini-series with an article called “Three Advantages Private Schools have over Public Schools.”

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