No parent wants a child to miss out on an important opportunity when in school. Sometimes, however, it is challenging to fund all the great learning experiences we want our children to have. Luckily, the PTA is willing to step up by taking on fundraising responsibilities. This can help a school district immensely when a budget falls short. Still, for fundraising efforts to be successful, the PTA needs the support of other stakeholders within the school. Fundraising partnerships can help alleviate the stress that comes with raising money for a cause. It is an incredible task to have to take on a fundraising endeavor alone. Aside from determining how to get people to participate, the fundraising campaign will need its own workforce as well as advertising. A school store can help meet those needs when partnered with the PTA and administration to raise money.
The Right Merchandise
Once the cause is known for the fundraiser's purpose, carefully select the merchandise that will be sold in conjunction with the fundraiser. When possible, choose items related to the fundraiser's cause. For example, money may be needed to purchase a special collection of books for the school library. The school store could sell bookmarks or novelty items picturing storybook characters on them to promote reading and raise an awareness about the need for the new books. If sports equipment or playground equipment needs funding, sell items that connect to a healthy and active lifestyle. Use the proceeds from the sale of items related to sports like pencil toppers or erasers shaped like balls to make this connection. Not every endeavor to raise money will have items that are easily connected to the fundraiser's goal though. For this reason, plan to add items that have been personalized. Add catchy words and phrases related to the cause to T-shirts or pencils, for example. Doing so will help raise an awareness of the need for funding while funds are being raised from the sale of those items.
Use the school store to advertise the fundraiser
The school store should already have procedures in place for advertising their own sales and special events. The PTA can team with the store to get the word out about a fundraiser. At school, advertisements can be used to target students and adults. Using posters and other visual ads will help. Loudspeaker announcements will do the job, too. The school administration can lend a hand in the advertising campaign, as well, by informing parents in newsletters, for example. Depending upon the needs of your fundraising campaign, advertisements may inform consumers of the option to pre-order an item or order merchandise in bulk. This is especially helpful when items using personalization are being sold. No matter what you are selling, the PTA and other school stakeholders can work together to reach a common goal that will improve the student body's learning experience.
Get Organized
No matter the scale of the fundraising project, it is going to take a great deal of organization. When a partnership exists for fundraising, no one is stuck with doing all the work alone. In addition to advertising, you will need the manpower to sell your items and collect money from your supporters. The students and teachers responsible for the daily operations of the school store may be able to help with this. Since they have been trained to run the school store, they may be able to take on the task of selling merchandise supporting the fundraiser. Also, if possible, have these people supervise guest workers who come from another sector of the fundraising team. This will also help gain the attention of new customers. People will notice because they can see others are going out of their way to support a cause in which they, too, believe in.
Include Students
Perhaps one of the best reasons to partner with the school store in a fundraising effort is that those who will directly benefit from the money raised can be a part of the fundraiser itself. These students will be able to see how hard everyone is working to improve the quality of their school experience. They can also have the opportunity to buy the fundraiser merchandise directly from the school store. The act of buying and selling the items is a learning experience in itself. Whether the students are buying or selling the items for the fundraiser, they are practicing many of the skills about financial responsibilities that they have learned in the classroom. Be sure to partner with your school store and other school stakeholders the next time you want to raise money for the betterment of the students.