6 Ways to Promote Your School Fundraiser

Email/Communication Boards

Send out digital reminders throughout the fundraiser by emailing and/or using your group’s online communication boards. Regular reminders help to spread the word in a busy world. Simply handing out a flyer or fundraising packet at the beginning of the fundraiser is no longer enough. Often, they get stuffed in a backpack or left behind. In today’s digital world, it is easier than ever to reach people. 

Sending out reminders helps build excitement, awareness, and keeps the importance of the fundraiser top of mind. Multiple reminders are needed. A single message is easily missed or ignored. People get busy, but as we see things more than once, the importance starts to sink in. Keep the messages brief, encouraging, and to the point, but send them out at least a few times during the fundraiser. We even provide templates with the correct dates, fundraising purpose, and links to make this easy. All you have to do is follow our communication schedule and cut and paste the messages.

Marquee Boards & Yard Signs

If your group has a marquee board, use it to promote the fundraiser. Add a quick note and include the online website. This is a really great tool if you are a school and the marquee board is visible to parents waiting to pick up their kids after school. In this same vein, add yard signs with a message about the fundraiser and a QR code to your driveway and areas where parents are waiting to pick up kids. We even provide the yard signs for you. Just make sure you put them in very visible areas.

Facebook and other social media

While kids may not be flocking to Facebook, parents still are. Post messages about the fundraiser. The messages should focus on participating, not on buying. Remember that the more people participate in and share the fundraiser with their friends and family, the better your chances of success. Use our social media graphics and templates to make this even easier. Just like email communication, you must post on social media often, even daily, to get the best results.

PA System/Regular Announcements

Keep the momentum going by making daily announcements over your school’s PA system. Keep the messages simple and about helping by sharing the fundraiser. Again, we provide templates for these to make it as easy as possible for you. If your fundraiser is not in a school or is not school-wide, talk about the fundraiser during every class, meeting, or practice during the fundraiser. Focus on the importance and purpose of the fundraiser and what will happen if the funds are not raised.

Handout Second Round of Flyers

About halfway through the fundraiser, hand out more flyers/printed reminders about the fundraiser. Yes, we just said that these don’t always work, but getting it a second time (on top of all the other promotions) reinforces the importance of the fundraiser and reminds people of the looming deadline. We even provide a template that you can print off! The more ways you reach people, the better.

Class/Group Contests

This is a great option for schools doing class-wide fundraisers or any fundraiser with different groups participating (Choir vs. Band, Little League Teams, etc.). Get participants to come together as a group to sell the most items or earn the most money. Competition is fun and motivational. Offer a prize to the winning class or group. We even offer a class party service that you can add on to your fundraiser to make the contest easy. For a small fee, you get a box full of fun games and activities for the winning group. It’s a class party in a box!

Teacher/Coach Rewards

Similar to class contests, help get your teachers, coaches, etc. excited by offering rewards to them. You can offer rewards to any teacher who gets 50% or more participation (at least one sale from their students) or offer a specific reward to the teacher whose class wins the contest. Rewards could be shopping sprees/free product from the fundraiser catalog, extra PTO, cash prizes, etc. 

Seller Prizes

Offer a prize program to the participants that allows them to earn prizes for selling items. Make sure you include these prizes in all of your announcements. Everyone likes free stuff, and this is a tried and true method of increasing participation. But it only works if the word gets out and people are excited about the prizes. All of our fundraisers come with an amazingly motivational free prize program designed for Elementary kids or Middle School and High School students. Again, this is a great tool, but it only works in conjunction with doing your part to get the word out and build excitement.

Get Everyone on Board

A successful fundraiser requires everyone to help. If your teachers, coaches, members, etc. are not on board or don’t know about the fundraiser, it just won’t work. The more people talking and excited about the fundraiser, the better it will do. A big part of this comes from making sure people understand the cause or purpose of the fundraiser and the importance of meeting the goal. Our data clearly shows that fundraisers that are well-promoted do much better than those that stay isolated or are poorly communicated. If you want your fundraiser to succeed, everyone in your group/school has to know that it is running and why it is important.

Don’t be Afraid of Adding a Little Pressure

Some of the most successful fundraisers happen to be football teams. Coaches for these teams are not afraid of telling their players that they must participate. It is part of the learning experience. It builds character and, of course, ensures that the needed funds are available. We should all learn from their success. While you may not feel like you can make it a requirement, you can let students, parents, and members know the consequences of not meeting your goal. You should strongly encourage participation and set a (suggested) minimum goal for each student or participant. Just think what would happen if all the students in your school sold at least 3 items or brought in donations!