Booster Partners with Dude Perfect

March 24, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Getting students and families excited about a school fundraiser can have a tremendous impact on its success. If your community is motivated to take part in your event, you will raise more funds. Sounds simple, right? But tapping into that excitement isn’t always easy. Which is why we’re so pumped about Booster’s new partnership with Dude Perfect!  

Kids (and parents!) love these YouTube stars — with over 58 million subscribers! Dude Perfect brings big energy to everything they do, and it’s this energy that will have students more motivated than ever!  

Beginning in the fall of 2023, Booster will have exclusive Dude Perfect content to share with participating schools throughout each fundraiser. Plus, lots of fun official Dude Perfect swag prizes to keep participation strong all the way through the event.  

If you have a child who is a super fan of this ultimate Dude Perfect crew, ask them if they want to be in a personalized video with the Dudes. You’re going to get a very ecstatic “yes!” With Booster and Dude Perfect teaming up, now we can make that dream come true! Parents will upload their child’s picture to be featured in a Dude Perfect video, trick shots and all. 

To celebrate this new partnership, Booster is also hosting a giveaway! Enter to win VIP tickets to Dude Perfect’s Panda-Monium tour and give your child an experience they will never forget! The winner of these VIP tickets will get early access to the event, amazing seats and an exclusive photo opportunity with the Dudes themselves! To learn more and enter to win visit http://bit.ly/3Zl7e46. 

Filed Under: General, Slider Tagged With: , , ,

7 Expert Tips for Running a School Fundraiser

April 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Running a school fundraiser may sound easy when you’re in the brainstorming stages, but you’ll likely encounter unexpected challenges along the way—especially if you’ve never run one before. Thankfully, fundraising for your school can be easy (and fun!) with the right team, planning and helpful resources, like those available from Booster. When you do it right, your school fundraiser can be a huge success that everyone remembers for years to come.

Use these seven expert tips to help you run a school fundraiser that will raise the funds you need and get the community involved. Whether you’re planning a small event or a major annual fundraiser, these tips will help you get the most out of your fundraising experience. 

Tip #1. Plan Ahead

First, give yourself plenty of time to plan. There are several reasons to do this. By starting early, you’ll have extra weeks or months to create and execute your plan, which will reduce your stress. Plus, the sooner you start your fundraiser, the more money you can raise for your school community. You can also coordinate back-to-back fundraisers so there’s no “lag time” between seasons.

At Booster, we recommend planning for fall fundraisers in the summertime, and spring fundraisers during winter break. Following this suggested schedule will allow you to ample time to plan, form your team, and get all of the pieces you need in place to launch your fundraiser for success.

Tip #2. Recruit Volunteers

When you’re thinking about how to run a school fundraiser, it may be tempting to do everything yourself, so you have complete control—but going it alone means you’ll also carry full responsibility for the workload. Instead, recruit volunteers from your school community. Talk to other parents, faculty and staff, and create a fundraising team to share the work. The more the merrier! 

Ideally, your volunteer team should include people with different skill sets. Is there someone on your team who can handle social media and emails? Do you have someone talking to local businesses? What about people who can help get kids involved? As you recruit volunteers for your fundraiser, consider making a list of “job roles” to fill. 

Tip #3. Set Goals and Expectations

As you and your team create your school fundraiser, think about your goals and expectations. Are you raising a specific amount of money for a school trip or new sports equipment? How much money do you hope to raise? If you only raise 50% of your goal, will that still be enough to help your school community with this endeavor?

Be clear about your goals and expectations from the very start. This is an important step in learning how to run a successful fundraiser. Remember, if you’re not sure how much you should be raising, talk to your school administration or seek free advice from fundraising experts like the team at Booster.

Tip #4. Have Fun and Get Creative!

There’s a reason you can’t spell fundraiser without FUN! You’ll have a more successful fundraiser if you’re enjoying yourself. Be creative and make it fun for you, your team and your community by using a theme, holiday or creative prizes to get people involved.

A fun, creative fundraiser will stand out from the crowd and encourage people to both make more donations and share the fundraiser, so their friends and family can participate too.

Tip #5. Keep Your Community in the Loop

You’re raising this money for a reason—so your school community should always understand what’s going on with their donations. Periodically update parents, teachers, staff and other community members about your progress. 

Give notice about the fundraising dates, send reminders, and create an email list, social media group or website where you can share updates as you get closer to your goal. Platforms like Booster make it easy to create an online component for your fundraiser, which makes it super easy to keep everyone in the loop.

Tip #6. Get the Whole Family Involved

As you plan how to run a fundraiser, why not encourage the whole family to get involved? Kids can participate by decorating cookies for a bake sale, creating arts and crafts to sell, holding a car wash, or putting on a talent show. 

With kids and families involved, more people will want to donate to your fundraiser. And bonus—this is a great way to reinforce what kids are learning in school, broaden their social skills and boost school spirit.

Tip #7. Use Technology

Nothing beats an old-fashioned fundraiser, but technology like email, social media and streaming videos are a great way to broaden the scope of your fundraiser. For example, if you’re having a school talent show, relatives and friends from out-of-state can join the fun via Zoom and make donations online.

Booster makes it easy to run school fundraisers online, with online software that’s customizable for all your fundraising needs. 

Remember—You’re Not in this Alone! 

Booster is here to help you create a successful fundraiser for your school community—big or small. Have questions? Ready to get started? Connect with us today to discover how fun it is to raise funds with Booster! 

Lisa Cardinal is the manager of brand marketing and marketing operations at Booster.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

National PTA does not endorse any commercial entity, product or service. No endorsement is implied.

Filed Under: General, Money Matters, Slider Tagged With: , ,

Rock Your Kickoff: How the Right Start Gets the Best Fundraising Results

January 10, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Authored by Mariah Muller 

A new calendar year means new needs for your PTA and school to meet to give every child a high-quality education. But what’s the key to getting students, volunteers and teachers excited and engaged for your next fundraising campaign? A motivational fundraiser kickoff event! Here are some tips on how to plan and execute the best one possible. 

What is a Fundraiser Kickoff, and Why Do You Need One? 

Every good fundraiser starts with a kickoff event. Your fundraiser kickoff is how you communicate the purpose and details of the fundraiser in an approachable, organized way. More importantly, your event is an easy and fun way to generate excitement from participants, including students, volunteers, teachers, parents, community members, and anyone else whose support you need to get the most out of your fundraising campaign. 

So, the first tip to making your fundraiser kickoff the best it can be is holding your kickoff event right at the start of your fundraising campaign. When planning your fundraiser, put just as much thought and preparation into the kickoff as the rest of the campaign. 

The Basic Components of a Fundraiser Kickoff 

Since there are so many different types of school fundraisers—from selling spirit wear to hosting a fun run or dance event—there are just as many different ways to approach your fundraiser kickoff. It all depends on the type of campaign you are running! However, your kickoff event should include at least the basic elements listed below. 

  • Purpose: One of the best ways to get people excited about participating in your school fundraiser is to tell them exactly why you’re raising money. Don’t be afraid to share specifics! Donors love to know how their money will help the school, and volunteers and participants love to know that their hard work is going to a good cause. Use your kickoff event to clearly communicate the purpose of your fundraiser. 
  • Details: After explaining the campaign’s purpose, it’s time to share details about how the fundraiser will work, including important deadlines, event dates/times and locations, and any other information volunteers and participants need to know. 
  • Materials and Literature: As you plan your kickoff event, ask yourself—are there are there any flyers, newsletters or other materials that students and volunteers will need in order to participate in the fundraiser? Consider how will you share those materials—will there be a letter or email sent out to parents with more information? It’s critical to have a plan for disseminating important literature or communicating what will be sent out after the event. 
  • Prizes or incentives: Some fundraisers—such as sales, fun runs and auctions—incorporate prizes or incentives to promote participation. Your fundraiser kickoff event is the perfect time to show off these incentives to get people even more excited.  

Conveying Your Message: Innovative Ways to Host a Fundraiser Kickoff 

  • Host a In Person Event 
    One of the most popular fundraiser kickoff events is a school assembly. Kickoff events work best when there is a large audience all gathered together, so the attendees can feed off each other’s excited energy. With an assembly, you can get the whole school community involved, featuring speeches from school administration and performances by student groups such as the school band or cheer team. All of this helps people feel like part of a big fundraising community. 
  • Host a Virtual Event 
    Of course, assemblies may not be possible or safe these days. If that’s the case at your school, don’t worry—you can still get people just as excited through a virtual event. To mimic the feel of an assembly as closely as possible, line up exciting speakers and entertainment just as you would for an in-person event.

    Use accessible technology and make sure all participants have access to the links and passwords they’ll need to log into the event ahead of time. Don’t forget to have a practice run to make sure all of the technology works as intended. There are a lot of details to consider when hosting a virtual event, but with enough planning, it can be exciting and fun for everyone. 

Other Key Considerations for Your Fundraiser Kickoff 

  • Create a Kickoff Video 
    Whether you’re hosting an in-person event or a virtual event, you should create a kickoff video to play for attendees. Include the basic components listed earlier in this blog in your video, such as the purpose and type of fundraiser, date and location of the event, and how volunteers or donors can participate. 
     
    This is your chance to show off your school’s personality and create an entertaining but informative experience for your audience. You can then post the kickoff video on your fundraising website, school website, social media platforms and more. It’s an investment that goes a long way!
  • Make the Most of Social Media 
    Social media is a crucial promotional tool for any fundraiser. To make the most of your kickoff event, take photos and videos of the event and post them on social media with a custom hashtag, and include links to your fundraising or donation page. Ask kickoff attendees to also post about the fundraiser on their own social media accounts. Soon enough, word-of-mouth about your fundraiser will spread like wildfire. 
  • Have a theme 
    Want to add some extra personality to your fundraiser kickoff? Consider having a theme for your fundraiser and introducing it during the kickoff event. Boosterthon’s Character Program is one way to dress up your fundraiser with a fun, memorable theme that promotes good values for the people who benefit most from fundraising … your students! 

Learn more about how Boosterthon can help make your fundraiser dreams a reality, from kickoff to collection, at Boosterthon.com. 

Filed Under: Communications, Education News, Family Engagement, General, Money Matters, Slider Tagged With: ,

5 Steps to Maximize Your Fundraising During the Pandemic and Beyond

March 19, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Can schools effectively fundraise this school year? Many parent groups are wondering if it’s possible or even appropriate to raise funds considering job losses and the fluctuation between virtual, hybrid and on-campus learning across the country. My own children’s school went through this consideration process as well. 

Beyond being on my children’s school board, and two other non-profit boards, I’m the President of Boosterthon, the nation’s largest elementary school fundraising organization. We’re famous for exceptionally successful, fun fitness event fundraisers. We’re proud to say that’s true even in these challenging times for schools. 

When COVID hit last spring and we strategized how to best help schools fundraise, I thought through a simple five step fundraising framework that would allow any organization to fundraise more strategically now and in the future.

As part of National PTA’s Learning Lab webinar series, I shared this framework in a more detailed video, as well as the bad news and the good news of fundraising. 

The good news: It’s not only possible to fundraise, it’s critical to fundraise this school year—and schools are doing it successfully, even in the current climate.

If the pandemic has made fundraising plans foggy for your school, use this framework to give you and your board clarity, so you can make better decisions moving forward.

So, why do schools/non-profits fundraise in the first place?

In short: their cause is greater than their capital. That is a good thing. I believe the pursuit of a good cause will always outpace your current resources. The desire for better learning, more resources, and an ever-improving educational environment requires resources. So, schools fundraise to make up for the gap between what they want to achieve and what they have. It starts with their cause.

Step 1. Cause

A school’s cause is the compelling purpose of their organization. The pandemic has actually made school causes even more important. Our country is facing the biggest educational crisis in modern history. The pandemic has shown our need for better access to technology, more aid for teachers, more need for mental and physical health support, and it has certainly created greater family needs in the school community. While the cause is greater for schools, the pandemic has made the capital feel father away because of job loss and distance learning.

Best practices during these times:

  • Show complete alignment as one school. Don’t distinguish between PTA initiatives and school initiatives.
  • Look ahead to needs for next school year. Don’t just focus on present needs. With looming budget cuts in the future, raise funds now for when states will hand out smaller budgets due to less taxes due to job loss.
  • Share stories of impact whenever you can.

Especially in virtual learning, schools need a reason to rally and support each other—which brings us to Step 2.

Step 2. Campaign

A school’s campaign is an event or activity that builds urgency and anticipation. Your campaign is your time-sensitive fundraiser. For Booster school partners, it’s their Boosterthon fundraiser—a week-long fundraising program that concludes with a fun Fun Run or Dance Fit event that every student gets to participate in. But a campaign could be a bake sale, a direct give campaign, a gala, or a read-a-thon. Whatever you pick, choose a campaign that people will enjoy and get behind.

Best practices during these times:

  • Link your fundraiser to a tangible school improvement. Stay away from “General PTA Budget.” Get specific.
  • Equip teachers with communication about your campaign to take work off of them and ensure alignment. 
  • Ensure every student can participate. This is especially true for virtual learners. We’re proud that our virtual Boosterthon Dance Fit event allows virtual and hybrid learners to be included in the fun.

Steps 3 & Step 4. Campaigners & Channels

Campaigners are committed and connected individuals who multiply your campaign. These are the people who donate or share about your campaign with others. Identify who these people are. Are they school parents? Local businesses? School families’ extended family and friends? 

Channels are the platforms you use to engage these people. Ensure you have a communication strategy that reaches campaigners consistently on your channels—Facebook, email, Remind, etc. Be creative and varied in your communication. Try written, video, and visual communication to keep people’s attention. We recommend starting your communication several weeks in advance of your fundraiser so you can build anticipation for your event. People need time to learn about your campaign, how to participate, and follow through with giving.

Best practices during these times:

  • Families are 53% more likely to share about your fundraiser than last year. Change your call to action to campaigners from “give to our fundraiser” to “share about our fundraiser with others.”
  • Make it easy and fun for donors to give. People are used to high-performing, nicely designed mobile platforms. Select a fundraising software that makes it fast for people to donate.
  • Make it easy for families to share. It multiplies your fundraising efforts when families can share on social media, text message and email. In fact, families are 80% more likely to ask three or more people to donate than they were last year.

Step 5. Capital

Capital is the financial support for your cause. When you put everything together, from championing your cause, picking a campaign, communicating with your campaigners through various channels, the capital follows. 

Best practices during these times:

  • Corporate matching is up 10% this year. Find a fundraiser that offers corporate matching so that you can take advantage of generous programs from large organizations.
  • Add local business sponsorships. Do not be afraid to ask for support from your community partners. Find out ways you can help them as well. A true partnership is mutually beneficial.

If anything, use this five step framework as a fundraising diagnostic with your PTA Board and assess how you are doing in each of these areas to ultimately raise enough capital for your cause. Plus, you can use this downloadable fundraising checklist to help you plan for and determine the right fundraiser for your school.

Booster has made significant adjustments in each of these areas over the last school year to make our school partners as successful as possible. It’s why our school partners will end up profiting more than $41 million for education even during these difficult times.

If your board is interested in learning more about hosting a fun, flexible and successful Boosterthon fundraiser, we’d love to chat!

Filed Under: Family Engagement, General, Slider Tagged With:

How Boosterthon Turned This Skeptical Dad into a Fan

September 26, 2019 By Leave a Comment

I hate school fundraisers with a passion. You see, I have three kids in school, from seventh grade all the way down to third grade. We’ve reluctantly participated in our share of school fundraisers over the years and will likely face many more in the next decade or so to come. Each time we’ve done so, I’ve cringed. While I understand that fundraisers are a necessary evil for many public schools, I’d much rather cut a check at the beginning of the school year and never have someone tell my kids that if they’ll only sell X amount of stuff that no one wants, then they can have this cheap trinket and the school will make a percentage of those sales dollars… much less have to try to sell 3X as a family so each kid can have a cheap trinket that will get lost, broken, or trashed before the week is out.

This is coming from a guy who serves in key positions with a number of local fundraising organizations. Included in that mix is my role on my youngest daughter’s elementary school PTA board as the school Watch D.O.G.S. chairman. It has been my experience that I am not alone in my disdain for student fundraising, as reflected last fall when it came time to talk about fundraising options for the current school year. Oh, joy! Do we decide to sell this or to sell that?

This school year, a newer member of the PTA board suggested taking a different approach. Prior to moving to the district, her children had participated in a Boosterthon Fun Run at their previous school district. She mentioned that it had both gone over really well with everyone involved–students, families, and school staff–and saw better participation and results than a lot of more traditional (read: “sales”) fundraisers they had done in the past.

Boosterthon Malachi Story

I was skeptical. “They do all the work and we get paid” has never played out that way for me in my fundraising experience. But, I kept my mouth shut. Anything that didn’t involve asking grandparents, neighbors, and co-workers to buy something (especially with Girl Scout cookie sales going on at that same time of year) was the lesser evil, in my opinion. Additionally, I wasn’t confident that the school’s administration and teachers would be cool with someone not connected to the school district coming in and telling them how this fundraiser was going to go and taking a portion of their instructional time. Principals and teachers tend to be Type-A personalities. Even if we moved forward as a PTA board, there was still a chance this would be murdered somewhere down the line.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised with how well our first Boosterthon program went.

How Boosterthon Worked

Our PTA board leaders and building principal sat down with a Boosterthon representative and selected a date for the Fun Run, which in our case was Thursday, January 18, 2018. A pair of Boosterthon team members arrived on Monday, January 8 to begin setup. Over the next eight school days (which was interrupted by a holiday and multiple-day school closing due to winter weather), the pair got students pumped up for the run by sharing Boosterthon’s “Castle Quest” character-focused curriculum. Their presentations were high-energy (as a parent of a child with sensory processing issues, I was, yes, skeptical of the approach) and effective. From day one of the lead up to the Fun Run, my daughter was excited.

Just as importantly–if not more important–the teachers were excited as well.

Boosterthon school

Instructions were sent home that walked parents through using Boosterthon’s online tools to create a donation page for each child and share instantly on a number of major social media networks. Donors could choose to make a flat donation or a per-lap donation. Boosterthon caps the number of laps a child can receive credit for at 35, so per-lap donors can do a little math and keep their donation within their budget.

One of the great things about the Boosterthon Fun Run is that every student gets to run, regardless of donations received. With other fundraisers, students who don’t sell whatever have to watch while much-coveted trash and trinkets are distributed to the top sellers among their classmates. Nothing like drilling the ol’, “Put that half-pint of milk down. Milk’s for closers.” mentality into them while they’re young, right? Everyone runs during the Boosterthon fun run, and all the laps are counted, even if they’re run for free.

On the day of the event, additional Boosterthon staff arrived and transformed our school gym into a track/rave/party room. String lights marked the inside and outside lanes of the track. Tents were erected and audio equipment set up in the infield. Parents were invited to come and cheer on their students, who arrived at the gym bearing their class-designed flag and entered through an inflatable tunnel. Once the rules were laid out, the students walked a half of a lap to get warmed up, the gym lights were turned off, and the kids were turned loose.

Boosterthon Glow Run 2

As volunteers, this is the only part of the process where we had to do any real work. Adult volunteers were lined up at the lap marker with Sharpies. Each runner had a sticker on his or her back, and as they completed a lap, they slowed down and their stickers were marked for the corresponding lap number. With so many kids running and with the number of volunteers we had, that meant that the runners got a chance to catch their collective breaths for a few seconds as they worked their way through the line. Periodically during the run, the Boosterthon DJ would slow it down and have the kids walk a couple of laps, which still counted toward their goal of 35 laps, in order to keep anyone from going all out and getting overheated.

Our school chose to have students run during their related arts hours, to minimize the impact on classroom instruction. Even with a two-hour late start on the day of the event (remember that winter weather I told you about?), all students who were present were able to participate over the course of that single-day event.

What Were the Financial Results?

That’s all great, you say. The PTA and volunteers didn’t have to do too much. You didn’t have to go out and sell a bunch of stuff that nobody wants or needs. Everyone got to participate and no one brought home a cheap squeeze toy or one of those sticky things you throw at the wall that “walks” down and ends up covered in pet hair. Good for you. How much money did the Fun Run raise for your school?

The goal for our school was to raise enough money to cover Boosterthon’s take (around $2,000 or so, for setting up, promoting, handling the donations, and hosting the event… your school’s cost may differ) and net the school $10,000 to cover the final costs for the greenhouse project. Was that a realistic goal? We didn’t know, but the Boosterthon folks suggested that for a school with our enrollment numbers, it wasn’t unrealistic. It all came down to donor participation.

4 Reasons Why We Choose Boosterthon Every Year

Because we had a holiday and two days of school closing due to weather, Boosterthon extended our donation deadline by a few additional days. As I type this article, we have raised nearly $15,000 from the event, exceeding our goal by around 30%. With enrollment around 640 students, that’s a per-student average between $20 and $25 (which doesn’t tell the whole story, when about 40% of the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunches). To say that this event was successful beyond anything even the least skeptical among us could have hoped for is an understatement.

Conclusion

That evening, our PTA held our annual Winterfest, which was scheduled to serve as a wrap up for the fun run activities. Parents shared with me and others that they were thrilled with this fundraiser, even without knowing the final numbers. The overwhelming sentiment was that parents and students very much enjoyed the idea of the kids getting character instruction and running laps during the school day over the thought of having to sell a whole lot of something in order to reach some unattainable goal to get an upgraded piece-of-junk prize, then being upset when they didn’t sell that crazy amount in order to get what cost pennies if ordered in bulk from Oriental Trading or some such source.

Barring some unforeseen change, we expect to bring Boosterthon back again next school year.

If you are tired of your child being used to move product for a company not connected with your school or community in order for your school to get a relatively small piece of the pie, you might consider attending a PTA meeting–or, gasp!, joining the PTA and volunteering–and suggesting that your child’s school take a look at Boosterthon.

Note: This post was written by Joey Mills and originally appeared on GeekDad.com. National PTA or Boosterthon did not ask for nor influence his review in any way. 

Filed Under: Communications, Family Engagement, General, Slider Tagged With: , ,

5 Proven, Hassle-Free Elementary School Fundraising Ideas

March 4, 2019 By Leave a Comment

 

Let’s face it: most schools don’t like fundraising. But no matter what elementary school community you’re a part of, nearly every school needs help raising funds. And if you’ve ever served on a volunteer parent group, you’re always on the lookout for elementary school fundraising ideas that line up with your school’s priorities.

We didn’t like fundraising either, so we reimagined something completely different and schools LOVED it.  In fact, thousands of schools have trusted Boosterthon to increase funds and inspire students through our remarkable fitness and character program. But we didn’t just stop there. Over the years we’ve developed a number of fundraising programs that are proven to get results. Here are five proven, must-try school fundraising ideas.

School Fundraising Ideas
Boosterthon Fun Run

The Boosterthon Fun Run is our signature nine-day program that consists of four main parts: Pep Rally, Team Huddles, Fun Run, and Collection. Over the past 16 years, we’ve completed over 10,000 programs and helped our elementary school partners profit more than $200,000,000. In the process, we’ve perfected a fundraiser that’s been proven to raise our partners 60% more funds (on avg.) than their best previous fundraiser. It’s one of the many reasons why 3,000+ schools happily choose Booster year after year. But we know that every school has unique needs. That’s why we offer the Boosterthon Fun Run at four different service levels.

School Fundraising Ideas #1
Boosterthon LIVE

Boosterthon LIVE is our full-service, all-in-one fundraising program. Our enthusiastic team visits your campus daily, handling every aspect of the program. This hassle-free experience is the same Boosterthon program that thousands of principals and PTA leaders all across the country are RAVING about.

Boosterthon LIVE is perfect for schools that…

  • Love in-person customer service
  • Value a fun, professional team leading every program and collection detail
  • Want a magical student experience at every turn—from the Pep Rally, to character lessons, to the Fun Run

School Fundraising Ideas #2
Boosterthon EVENT

Boosterthon EVENT unites the enthusiastic Boosterthon team with your energetic school volunteers! Our team is on campus for the Pep Rally and Fun Run events, allowing you the freedom to uniquely customize the lessons and rewards in between.

Boosterthon EVENT is perfect for schools that…

  • Want a greater level of flexibility
  • Are willing to put in some work to receive higher profit
  • Want the energy, fun, and showmanship of the Boosterthon team for the Pep Rally and Fun Run

School Fundraising Ideas #3
Fun Run YOU

A favorite of many schools, Fun Run YOU is perfect for schools that want the benefits of Boosterthon’s expertise, technology, and reporting, with the perks of a self-run event.

Fun Run YOU is perfect for schools that…

  • Organize their own jog-a-thon but want to take it to the next level
  • Want to keep a higher percentage of funds
  • Have an involved volunteer team to help with daily logistics

School Fundraising Ideas #4
Boosterthon Color Run

One of our favorite school fundraising ideas, the Color Run is a fun way to boost your Fun Run experience for older grades. Students run laps around the Fun Run Speedway while getting periodically “colorized” with FDA/EPA-approved colored powder. The experience is safe, fun, and designed specifically for older students.

School Fundraising Ideas #5
Boosterthon Glow Run

If you live in a colder climate but you’re still looking for fun school fundraising idea, then look no further. The Glow Run transforms your gym into a pulsing neon celebration complete with rope lights, disco lights, and black lights. With Boosterthon’s Glow Run, rain, snow, and cold can’t hold back the fun—it rocks in any weather.

Interested in learning more about one of these school fundraising ideas? Click here to find out if Boosterthon is right for your school!

 

Filed Under: Education News, General, Money Matters, Slider Tagged With: ,

Snack Duty Made Simple

June 15, 2018 By Leave a Comment

(Sponsored Post) Many school snacks of today would have been hard to imagine even just 10 years ago.

When I was growing up, most products available on campus were synonymous with indulgence. I vividly remember my mom helping with school fundraisers … I couldn’t wait for the bake sale!

A lot has changed since I was a kid.

Today, the items available to our children at school still taste delightful—but the products’ nutritional content has drastically improved for the better.

The Vegas Family enjoying post-snack time activities

This is all because we’ve raised the bar for foods and beverages sold to students on campus. Since 2014, the USDA’s Smart Snacks in School Standards have put in place nutrition guidelines for snacks and drinks sold in vending machines, school stores, snack carts, á la carte lines and in-school fundraising, as well as for products served at celebrations and events.

As a parent, I couldn’t be more thrilled. Knowing that my school is prioritizing the health and well-being of my kids is incredibly important to me, so when I need to bring in snacks for parties or fundraisers, I want to be sure that I’m supporting the efforts of my school. As a busy mom though, I don’t have the time (or the math know-how) to calculate percentages of sugar and sodium while zipping through the supermarket aisles or while frantically placing an online order in between baseball innings.

That’s why I worked with Amazon Business to create the Healthier Generation Store, which features hundreds of products that meet the Smart Snacks standards. So if you need to order 30 (or even 300!) snacks for that end-of-year school party, check it out. In the wise words of my six-year-old daughter, it’s “easy-peasy lemon squeezy”.

Set up your PTA’s free Amazon Business Account to access business-level pricing and easily shop for all your PTA needs. Tie your school’s Amazon Smile account to your business account to maximize your donations.

The product assortment is growing by the day, so leave me a note in the comment field about what products you’d like to see added to the store!

Register your PTA and shop for Smart Snacks today!

 

Elizabeth Vegas serves as the director of business sector strategies at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. She’s a tired mom of two awesome kids who consistently waits until the last minute to get most things done.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Fundraising for This Year and Next

May 4, 2017 By Leave a Comment

(Sponsored Post) At this point in the school year, PTA groups often experience turnover with members moving on and new members coming on board.  It’s a time of transition that does not always go as smoothly as planned.  The last thing PTA groups want is their support of the school to pause as a result of such transition.  After all, the reason we get involved in PTA is to give back to the kids.

Whether or not your PTA group is in a time of transition, it can be difficult maintain your fundraising efforts from year to year to continually support new curriculum and programs.

One program that has found a way to help schools maintain their fundraising needs year after year is the Schwan’s Cares™ fundraising program.  The Schwan’s Cares program is an online fundraising program in which a group can easily share their campaign with PTA supporters and easily shop for groceries from Schwan’s Home Service, Inc for delicious foods they are likely already buying.  The digital element of this program allows for an easy transition amongst school groups to maintain a certain level of funding each year.

A Wisconsin school recognizes Schwan’s Cares as a solution to fundraising, “As a middle school teacher, time is of the essence and the focus of middle school students is typically not on fundraising, which means that Schwan’s Cares fundraising is the perfect solution for our district.”

As the school year winds down, the focus of students and teachers is on finishing the school year strong and preparing for the next school year ahead.  However, we all know that funding is still needed at all points of the year to support programs.

“The Schwan’s Cares program is easy to set up and navigate for busy people.  Students are able to create their own personal accounts linked with mine.  They then have the opportunity to ask friends and family from all over the U.S. to support them.  The students love to see how much money they have earned each day as the sales are tracked.  Parents are excited that they do not need to pick-up or deliver orders for this fundraiser.  Schwan’s takes care of it all!” –Wisconsin Middle School

Whether you need to raise funds for the remainder of the school year or would like to get a jump start on next year, the ease of the Schwan’s Cares fundraising program could help provide a needed solution for your school.

To learn more about the Schwan’s Cares program – please visit www.Schwans-Cares.com.

 Robb Kaufenberg is the Manager of Fundraising Operations for the Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. fundraising program Schwan’s Cares.

Filed Under: Money Matters Tagged With: , ,

The Rewards of Spring: Fundraising

April 13, 2017 By 1 Comment

(Sponsored Post)  For many PTAs, Spring is a time of finishing the school year strong by continuing to support the school and its students so the students are well prepared for the next grade.  PTA plays such a critical role in that by helping to provide programs, curriculum and other opportunities that would not otherwise be available to many students.  With school budgets continuing to tighten across the country, the question is typically not “what programs should we provide our students”, but rather “how will we fund them?”

Schools earn funding from a number of sources throughout the year.  Once source that can make an even larger impact beyond the funding the school may expect is fundraising.  Now, you may be thinking to yourself “Our families are burnt out on fundraising and cannot support another one”.  This is where Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. can step in and help.

Back in 2012, Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. set out find an effective way to further give back to communities.  What they built is a cutting edge fundraising program call Schwan’s Cares that is revolutionizing the way schools raise funds and reinventing the perception volunteers have about fundraising.

A school in Illinois had this to say:

“The Schwan’s Cares™ fundraising program was a huge success for our school.  As a small-town school, it can often be difficult to raise money to keep the curriculum current.  Through the generosity of our school families and community, we were able to raise over $7700 this past year.  Schwan’s, along with other fundraisers, allowed us to purchase a new English/Language Arts curriculum for our students.”

The Schwan’s Cares program is an online fundraising program in which your PTA supporters shop from the over 300 delicious foods from Schwan’s Home Service, Inc with up to 40% of each purchase going back to the group.  Schwan’s takes fundraising a step further by also taking the orders, delivering the orders to each supporter and handling the cash.  The foundation this program was built on was to give back to communities by providing a seamless, effective program that eliminates the hassles associated with more traditional forms of fundraising. As a result, the Schwan’s Cares program has hosted over 14,000 campaigns and have helped give back over $11M to communities.

You know your PTA and school families better than anyone. If now is not the appropriate time to run a new fundraising campaign then there is no need to push it.  However, if your PTA or school could still use funding for end of year celebrations, additional program or curriculum – the Schwan’s Cares program might just be the perfect solution at this point in the year.

To learn more about the Schwan’s Cares program – please visit www.Schwans-Cares.com.

Robb Kaufenberg is the Manager of Fundraising Operations for the Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. fundraising program Schwan’s Cares.

 

 

Filed Under: Membership, Money Matters Tagged With: , ,

How Do They Do It?

April 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment

(Sponsored Post)

One hardworking local PTA meets the wide-ranging needs of 1,800 K-8 students and their families spread across four grade level centers.

Kim Mayton, a mom to seven-year-old twins, has a familiar story about how she ended up in a PTA leadership role. “When my kids were entering pre-K, the teacher told us parents that the class needed a Room Mom. I was interested in getting involved, but also intimidated. You couldn’t volunteer as a Room Mom unless you first joined the PTA. That made me pause. I had certain stereotypes in my head about the PTA and I definitely hesitated. But I wanted to help my kids transition well into school, so I went ahead and joined.” Kim laughs as she recalls, “It kind of snowballed from there.”

Kim now serves as the vice president of fundraising, co-chair of hospitality and chair of the school supply committee at Homewood PTA. Located 25 miles south of Chicago in the village of Homewood, Ill., this one hardworking PTA supports 1,800 K-8 students and their families spread across four grade level centers. “It definitely can be a challenge to have one PTA spanning multiple campuses,” remarks Kim. “We probably don’t run exactly like a traditional elementary school PTA but I’m betting we are more alike than different.”

Homewood PTA currently has their dues set at $10. With a little over 600 paid members and a typical annual operating budget of approximately $40,000, successful fundraisers are critical to ensuring they have adequate resources to deliver the depth and breadth of programs their PTA has become known for. “We simply cannot afford to have unsuccessful or underperforming fundraisers,” says Homewood PTA president Ann-Marie Webster. “We have to get this right to hit our budget. We carefully consider which fundraisers will yield the best results while not being a burden to our volunteers and families.”

So, that prompts the burning question: Which fundraisers does Homewood PTA choose?

A member of the Homewood PTA board was a longtime Schwan’s Home Service customer and advocated for the group to consider the Schwan’s Cares™ program (the charitable fundraising platform within Schwan’s Home Service, Inc.). When Homewood PTA discovered that Schwan’s Home Service delivers right to individual customers’ doors, instead of requiring a scheduled pick-up by families or requiring the PTA to accept and manage inventory for distribution, “We were thrilled!” says Kim.

Homewood PTA launched their first Schwan’s Cares™ campaign this school year. In addition to all the “usual” promotions, such as featuring the campaign on the PTA’s website, Facebook and sending home printed materials to families, they recognized that “tasting how great the food is would probably lead a lot more people to buy it.” So the PTA used a small amount of funds to purchase a selection of Schwan’s® foods and encouraged tastings at two PTA general meetings. Kim notes, “I highly recommend offering samples for any food-based fundraiser based on this experience – even if you have to buy the sample food out of PTA funds. It really helped people decide what to order!”

The PTA took some additional steps to promote the fundraiser, including:

  • Passing out Schwan’s® catalogs (tagged with a sticker for the Homewood PTA fundraiser) at local libraries and senior centers, after receiving permission to do so at those locations
  • Collaborated with the secretaries at the four campuses to compose and send an e-blast to all families about the campaign
  • Making sure that fliers and catalogs are featured at any school events during the campaign

Ann-Marie cautions that the relationship with Schwan’s Home Service is new and they don’t yet have a full grasp on how profitable these campaigns will be, but she is optimistic based on how things are going. “Have you had Schwan’s® ice cream? It’s amazing. If people just order lots of that, we’re going to do fine.”

Advice for Fellow PTA Leaders

Given Homewood PTA’s success over the years, what advice does Kim and Ann-Marie have for other local PTAs?

Ann-Marie has plenty of suggestions. To start: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. One or two people cannot run a PTA! If people indicate a willingness to serve in some way, actually ask them to serve! Delegate!” In addition, she suggests:

  • Homewood PTA prioritized having a modern website for their PTA and they keep it current so members will want to check it frequently and rely on it for information.
  • Use all forms of communication. Paper is fine, such as the typical PTA newsletter that goes home in the backpacks. But also use social media. Find parents who are really good at those and ask them to take responsibility for updating. Homewood PTA values social media because “it creates two-way dialogue.”
  • Show appreciation constantly to your volunteers, administrators and teachers. Homewood PTA has a strong bond with their campus principals and “they are amazing allies. They promote the value of PTA at all opportunities. They encourage all the teachers to join PTA and always are supporting us.”
  • Always talk about and “promote” what PTA is doing to support the students. “When individuals know all the things that PTA has been doing to benefit their kids and the community, they will pay dues and maybe even donate more than the dues.”

For more info about the fundraising opportunities and discounts available to schools and PTA members through the Schwan’s Cares™ program, visit PTA.org/Benefits.

 

Kris Carey Prevatte is the Associate Director of Corporate Alliances for National PTA and a former local PTA president in Maryland.

Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. is a financial sponsor of National PTA. National PTA does not endorse any commercial entity, product, or service, and no endorsement is implied by this content.

Filed Under: General, Money Matters Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts