It’s the beginning of a new school year, and one of the things students and their families are learning right away is the need to fundraise because of the downturn in the economy and budget cuts in school. Because fundraising is important now more than ever, it is critical to know how to have the most successful fundraiser possible. Here is a list of tips that will get you started.

Set goals
The first step to a successful fundraiser is to set realistic goals.

1 Start planning your fundraiser well in advance. Give yourself enough time to develop an effective marketing and promotion strategy. This may include ads, letters to parents and the community, and events.

2 Plan to hold your main school fundraiser when there is little else going on. You don’t want to hold a fundraiser during a month when retail stores are having big holiday sales, or when the cheerleading squad has their big fundraising event. Try to schedule it for a time when their is as little conflict as possible from the community and smaller groups within your school.

3 Know what you are raising money for, how much money you need and when you will need it. Calculate all costs and decide how much money you actually need to make to reach your goal. Then, communicate this with the PTA or PTO , parents and the community.

4 Do some research and figure out what type of fundraisers have been the most successful for your school or group in the past. People like things that are familiar, so if you’re school is used to doing a catalog fundraiser, try not to deviate from that because you know it has worked in the past.

5 Set a beginning and end date for each step along the way. That  way you will know if you are on track or behind schedule.

6 Use past fundraisers as guidelines. Check and see what funds were needed and use them as goal points for your current fundraiser.

7 Make sure you have a visual reminder of your goals and display it. It is helpful to use something like a goal chart to remind your entire school how the progress of the fundraiser is going.

Types of fundraisers
Their are three main categories of fundraisers. Make sure you choose the best one for your group based on the size of your group, how much money you need to make and how many volunteers you have.

1 Product Fundraisers
Product sales work very well because there is an exchange of product for donation which increases participation. Sales extend into the community at large, not just to parents of students. There is an option of online sales with most fundraising companies.

Some things to consider:
•Choose a reputable fundraising company. Make sure you do your research and pick a company that has a proven track record and provides high quality products as well as quality prize and incentive programs.
•Promote the product fundraiser with a school wide kick-off. Make sure the students know what they are selling and what kind of prizes and incentives they can earn.
•Product fundraisers can generate enough money to be your one main school fundraiser, so make sure you take the time to research different products and companies and choose the one that works best for your school.

2 Event Fundraisers
Event fundraisers are a popular choice when you want to get the entire communuity involved in doing something together. They can be anything from school carnivals, car washes and talent shows to golf tournaments, walk-a-thons and even consignment sales.

Some things to consider:
•Event fundraisiers require a lot of volunteers. Check out volunteer logs from past events your school has thrown, and see if anyone would be willing to lead a committee. Try to match up volunteers with what they are interested and skilled in.
•Use incentives that people will want. If you are holding a walk-a-thon, come up with a way to award people who walked the most miles or earned the most pledges. Reward committees who have done a lot of work and gotten a lot of donations.
•Be enthusiastif when promoting your event. Have a countdown til the event, ask the principal to talk about it in morning announcements, remember promotion is the key to success!

3 Pledges and Donations
Pledges and donations can be done on their own, or they can be incoorporated into product or event fundraisers.

Some things to consider:
•Have a list of potential donors that you know you can approach for a donation. Send them letters and/or call them personally.
•If you are having an event fundraiser, you can place donation envelopes on tables for people to give what they can.
•While there have been some big success stories, pledges and donations are the most successful when combined with something else.

Volunteers
It’s important to know that with any fundraiser you do, you will need to have volunteers. Encourage teachers at your school to put a volunteer sign up sheet in their classroom so parents can sign up when they drop off their children. At PTA and PTO meetings, make a point to ask for volunteers and encourage members to ask their friends and family members if they would be willing to get involved. Motivate your volunteers with incentives and prizes, and reward all-stars!

Promotion
Promotion needs to be a priority with any fundraiser. Your community needs to know that their is a fundraiser going on, and they need to know what the money is going towards. Make sure to announce this in PTA or PTO meetings. Ask the staff and administration at school to put up a bulletin board about the fundraiser, talk about it in daily announcements, and offer incentives to students participating in the fundraiser. Get the principal involved also. Making the fundraiser a priority will lead to success.