Fundraising for Your School

Fundraising in schools feels like a never-ending effort, but it does seem to pick up pace shortly after the school year starts. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of big ideas floating around and they will all need to vie for the same, perhaps modest school budget. With fundraising season in mind, we thought we would explore some tips for making sure your idea gets a big piece of the budget pie!

Fundraising Checklist 

• Make A List: In the early stages of planning, making a list of potential donors will help you keep your audience in mind while you make the rest of your fundraising decisions. In the school setting, most of the donors will be parents, of course, but you can also look for peer-to-peer support. You can reach out to other schools, after school organizations and businesses that revolve around children. They will have the same passion for community that is driving your fundraising efforts. 

• Build A Team: While poring over potential donors, you may also find people who are willing to donate their time and help in the fundraising effort. Because there are so many aspects to fundraising, you will need all the helping hands you can get. Find people who will help you with marketing and communication, people who will help you with setting up and running events. Everyone has something to offer!

• Set A Goal: Making solid predictions about what you will be able to achieve before you’ve even finalized your plan may seem a little premature, but it will help you chart progress. Look at previous fundraising campaigns and how much they raised. Oftentimes goals are surpassed by the end of the fundraising efforts!

• Learn From Others: This certainly isn’t the first fundraising effort that’s been made in your community or by your school. All of those past campaigns have information that will help you focus your own campaign. Notice what worked for them in terms of marketing and outreach and make improvements on their plan. 

• Stay Focused: The ideas that gain the most traction and therefore the biggest piece of the budget pie are usually the ideas that keep the spirit of school fundraising in the forefront: this is all for the kids. Make sure that is evident in all of your communications, with all of your partnerships and choose a fundraising goal that is clearly beneficial to the children. A frequent success is fundraising for outdoor spaces for activities and socializing. It’s difficult to make a case against a new playground or soccer field that will see year-round use in the Southeast. Whenever you create more opportunities for kids in your community to gather and make use of your facilities, the more involved families will feel in the school and community. The more they will feel invested in it and the more they will invest. 

With these tips in mind, your fundraising campaign will take shape in no time. Be vocal about your efforts and you’ll be surprised how many people enthusiastically offer to help. 

At Southeast Outdoors Solutions, we are committed to encouraging healthy lifestyles, in all stages of development. We understand that finding the right funding can be difficult. 

There are a variety of public and private grants, fundraising opportunities, online help for making your next outdoor project dream come true. Take a look at a few ideas here.

We’ll help create the community spaces your donors will love for years to come. From outdoor classrooms and educational playgrounds to multi-use fields and courts, you can create unique and useful places for kids and families to gather. 

Let’s get to raising!