Communication, An Important Part of A Successful School Fundraiser

The daily grind in our busy society can be so hectic that some things tend to simply slip our minds. The parents of our school children are no different. Sometimes they may forget that we have a school fundraising event about to start. Even when you are planning a unique fundraising event that is so "neat" that you would think everyone would remember, it gets forgotten.

Getting the word out is one of the most important things in a successful school fundraiser. It is easy to miss your goals if you pay to little attention to effective communication. One novel fundraising tip is to keep the lines of communication open well before your fundraiser even starts.

When planning your new fundraiser a simple memo in the student's take home pack is one of the best forms of communication, especially in a school setting. It is not out of the ordinary to make plans not only to start and run your school fundraiser but to make plans for communicating to the parents about it. It may be the same for you as it is for me, but when a child comes home with a letter from the school I wanted to be sure to read it.

At the beginning of the school year you might send out a letter to inform your school parents about the new fundraisers that you intend to hold throughout the year. Let me give you an example.

Dear Parents,

The PTA/PTO is about to kickoff the Fall fundraiser! Next Monday, your child will be coming home with a fundraising packet with all the materials and instructions about the sale. Be sure to have them tell you all about it when they come home on Monday.

Our goal is to raise $10,000.00 in order to replace some of the worn out playground equipment. The condition of the current playground equipment has been in need of replacement for several years now. Also, because our enrollment has grown we are in need of more sets of safe play areas that we didn't have a need for several years ago.

Next week we are going to kickoff our cookie dough fundraiser! We feel confident that we will exceed our goal if we have your support.

Thank you for you support, Patti, PTA President

Hopefully you can see in the example letter above the entire school fundraiser is outlined as well as the reason for raising the money and it states the goal. A well informed parent is your best asset to help you hit your goals. It is better to send a letter like this to your parents so they can gain a sense of ownership in the fundraising project.

Effective communication with your members and parents will ensure that they are ready to help when it's fundraiser time. Having a top selling fundraising product and setting up a top class incentive program will also help to ensure that your school fundraising project is as profitable as it can possibly be.