Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

When I was employed at the summer camp, we worked very hard to raise enough money to supplement our annual operating budget. Like a vast number of non-profits, the revenue we generated by offering services and products (i.e. the money we “earned”) did not cover our yearly expenses. Therefore, we had to turn to fundraising events. This is pretty standard these days in the 501(c)(3) world.

And while we always seemed to find a way to make just what we absolutely needed, there was rarely a surplus of cash that we didn’t know what to do with.

At one point, we started asking ourselves where we “ranked” in the fundraising priority list that most families develop, either formally or informally. We got thinking about all the organizations that families are typically involved with during the year and tried to figure out how they decided which ones to fund. 

In our case, we were a Catholic boys’ camp, so many of our campers attended a private Catholic school. We figured that the school probably came right near the top of these families’ giving ladder, since it occupied such a huge part of the child’s life- six or seven hours a day, 180 days per year. And, since Catholic schools are usually tied to a Catholic church, we knew a significant amount was going into the collection plate, as well. Many of our campers were athletic, so we knew that some dollars must be going to support various sports teams and leagues.

Also, most of our camp families came from a large metropolitan area, so they were probably confronted by a whole host of worthy causes each year, like hospitals, youth organizations, environmental groups, and many others.

On the surface, it didn’t look very promising for our summer camp. After all, the camp itself was geographically distant from most of the families, their sons only attended two weeks per year, and a lot of folks professed to kind of like that “rustic” charm we offered. They didn’t understand that there’s a fine line between “rustic” and “run down”.

So, given all of this, we were a little concerned about our spot on people’s donation priority list. We all had families ourselves, so we knew the pressures that exist in the wider world. Our schools and churches and sports teams had to be funded, as well.

It didn’t take very long for us to see the only shot we had to make a lasting and meaningful impression on our potential donor families. In order to “leap frog” over other organizations that had more “top of mind” presence, we had to accomplish the following items:

• Identify what was so specifically special about what we offered their children
• Explain exactly why their children benefited from their time at the camp
• Link ourselves to everything else the family did for their kids throughout the year
• Communicate regularly with the families during the nine months each year the camp is closed

Now, this was our plan as a summer camp. If you are reading this blog, you are probably involved with a school and you find yourself in the more enviable situation higher up on the giving ladder. But, there are lessons to be learned from the example of the camp.

Some of the arguments typically used against various types of schools:

• If you are at a public school, why do you need to raise money? Taxes pay for everything.
• If you are at a private school, why do you need to raise money? If families can afford to pay tuition, they should be able to pay for everything else, too.
• If you are a home-schooler, it’s your own fault…

Now personally, I do not subscribe to any of the above arguments, but I have heard them all. So, all of them need to be addressed, in order to effectively make your case to families who are already giving to a variety of worthy causes.

Whatever case you find yourself in, you will need to compete against some other group or groups for a limited amount of dollars. My contention is that to be successful, you need to sharpen your message to potential donors and show them exactly how valuable you are to them on a very personal level. Until you can effectively convince your donors that their lives would be significantly poorer without your group’s presence, you will struggle to raise what you need to survive. Never take your audience for granted and never stop making the compelling case for your group’s mission.

No Comments »

Trackback URI | Comments RSS