The field of education fundraising has been struggling recently with retention, but total donations have maintained a steady level.
The education sector encompasses an array of foundations for education, schools as well as universities. So here’s a list of suggestions that work in any of these areas:
Opportunities for sponsorship
Sponsorships could be a means to attract organizations as well as individuals. One way to provide opportunities for various capabilities to give is to create levels of sponsorship. As an example, you might have silver, gold and bronze different levels. It is possible to name each patron at every level, or maybe the higher levels get an additional benefit (such as the ability to permanently place their name on some item).
A few ideas are:
- Make a donation to the use of a play area tile.
- Sponsor a bench.
- Your company’s name should be on the banner for your sponsor.
- You can sponsor or participate in an occasion (where your name appears in the promotion events)
- Make a brick your sponsor.
Peer-to-peer fundraising
Peer-to peer fundraising is when you Unique Fundraising Ideas supporters to raise funds for you by leveraging their networks. One of the most popular examples is the numerous types of “a-thon” available that ask for sponsors in exchange for their participation in the task.
The fundamental elements of P2P fundraising are:
Define a campaign (e.g. walkathon etc). What kind of fundraising event is it and what’s the objective?
Create individual fundraising pages (or collect pledges on paper). Forms made of paper are the most traditional method to collect pledges however, online page for fundraising makes it easy for your attendees to promote the cause and collect donations from further distances.
Make sure your Unique Fundraising Ideas efforts are successful. Your attendees need fundraising materials that clearly describe what they are doing to get donors.
Acknowledge your fundraisers. Thanks them for their work! Sometimes schools will offer rewards or prizes.
A product-based fundraiser
Product-based fundraising is exactly as it sounds. Organizations sell their products to raise money. One advantage to doing this is that if have a product that is appealing it is easily sold and, consequently, generate funds.
Take Girl Scout cookies as an example of this – people search for them around a certain season. One Unique Fundraising Ideas is that they typically don’t offer a lot of margins, which means you may not be making a profit per pound sold.
There are online companies that create “to purchase” items. This means you create the product, and they produce it once it’s requested by customers. The benefit of selling products in this manner is that it doesn’t require huge initial costs to order. One example is an organization.
Some suggestions for products include:
- Cookie dough.
- Wearing gear for the supporter, such as caps, t-shirts and beanies.
- Chocolates.
- Scratch cards.
- Calendars.
- Gift wrap.
- Coffee beans.
- Seasonal fruits from your region. (Some school located in Queensland, Australia sell mangoes).
Discount card fundraiser
Discount cards (or coupons books) are frequently well-liked by local patrons, particularly when they offer discounts at local establishments that they already trust and like.
This is a case of a business that creates discount cards that are customized for fundraising events of an organization. The cards are wallet-sized and may offer discounts for up to twenty businesses within your local area. The company is in direct contact with local merchants to negotiate discounts.
A different option is to adopt an DIY method. Contact businesses to inquire whether they’ll give you discounts, and then get cards printed along with the details of discounts that are available.
Host an auction
Raffles are usually popular with the general public, particularly when you offer desirable prizes. The trick is to price tickets to ensure that you are able to sell a lot of them however, you should also make up the worth in the reward.
You can collect items to auction off or search for attractive items that won’t cost anything. For instance, a reserved parking space, priority pick-up queue, VIP seating at an event, or the main attraction to the entire day…
Wishlists of in-kind donations
In-kind donations can be described as donations of services or products that your business requires. This kind of fundraiser could be beneficial because it keeps the need to locate the money needed to purchase these items out of your operating budget.
Websites such as Amazon provide the capability to create a wishlist for things your company requires. This is ideal for items such as office equipment and stationery, art materials and much other things. You can input the number of an item you require and they will be taken off the wishlist when someone purchases them.
You could also ask for donations of second-hand goods in case you require these items, such as the furniture, or even tools. It is possible to make this happen by putting up an wish list, either via your Facebook or Twitter platforms or by sending an email. Be precise about what you want and do not need in order to avoid having to throw away unnecessary things.