Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

With the start of school now upon us, it is important to make sure the most vital of your preparatory work is complete. In my opinion, the most important fundraising priorities are those which will set you up for year-long success. Therefore, here is a brief run-down of the five most important things you can do to prepare for the school fundraising year.

Get on the Same Page
You’ve heard the old expression: “The right hand doesn’t know what the left one is doing…”. Don’t let that happen in your school. The end result of this methodology is disorganization and poorer fundraising.

Therefore, before anyone plans any fundraising events or activities, it is vitally important to set up a meeting with all the groups and people who will be part of the overall revenue generating effort. (more…)

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Although the following information is not strictly written for schools, it does contain some great advice for all non-profit organziations, including schools.

I highly recommend you take a look. Here’s the link through Digg.

Thanks!

20 Free Grant Writing Resources for Non-Profits

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As regular readers of this blog may be aware, I am currently working on writing an e-book on how to run a profitable golf outing for Step By Step Fundraising, which is the “parent” blog to Top School Fundraisers.

Recently, we posted a survey on Step by Step, which asked people to share their questions, concerns, or advice on the topic of charity golf outings. I was very excited to learn what was on our readers’ minds.

The survey is now over, and we received some terrific feedback. I have a lot of great material to work with.

One question that came up numerous times was a variation of “How do I distinguish our golf outing from so many others in our area?”

After reading this one question so many times, I realized this is a real, pressing concern for many non-profit leaders. And, if they are asking it about golf outings, I’m sure they are asking it about all their other fundraising endeavors, as well.

I still have a long way to go to finish my e-book, but I’d like to address this particular question in its very basic form- “How do we distinguish ourselves from other non-profits?” (more…)

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We at Top School Fundraisers are always happy to share news of grants that become available. To that end, we are very excited to tell you about the recent announcement from the national office of the Parent Teacher Association.

Awards of up to $1,000 to local PTAs who are making an outstanding commitment to promoting health and wellness in their communities

Applications must be received in the PTA Office of Programs and Public Policy by 5:00 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 5, 2008.

For more detailed information and to download an application, please visit the PTA website.

The following snippets of information were taken directly from their site. Good luck! (more…)

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It’s a feeling I’m sure many of you have had. That sinking sensation in your stomach when you know you’ve got to hit up your co-workers for cash to support your child’s school fundraising project. We’ve all been there. You hate to impose on the people you work with, but the school needs it, and there’s a great prize your kid wants. You can help by selling to as many people as you know.

Is it possible to actually solicit financial support at work and not become a dreaded member of your staff?

The answer is yes, but it’s tricky and you must really walk a fine line to avoid this negative reputation.

1. Make Sure You Support Their Kids’ Fundraisers

This is the most important tip. I know that this recommendation is going to cost you money, but if you don’t buy chocolate chip cookies from your co-worker’s kid, she’s not going to buy from yours. Office fundraising is definitely a quid-pro-quo arrangement. You will have a lot more confidence asking someone to buy from you if you’ve already bought from them. This is just one of those occasions in life where it’s going to cost you to be a parent. So, unless your office bans this kind of fundraising activity, you’ve got to jump with both feet into this game. (more…)

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Yesterday, I picked my daughters up from day care. While we were driving home, an ad came on the radio for a local fundraiser that was on the horizon.

My five year old daughter Erin asked me, “Daddy, what’s a fundraiser?”

I quietly laughed to myself and then answered, “It’s when you try to get money to do something good. If your day care wanted to build a new playground for the kids, they would have to have to go get some money to pay for it. They would have a fundraiser.”

I saw Erin nod and take this information in.

I then said to her, “If you needed to get some money for something, what would you do for your fundraiser?”

She smiled as wide as her little cheeks would allow, and then she said, “I’d give you a kiss!”

Daddys and their daughters. If life were only this easy…

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If you’ve been checking in with Top School Fundraisers for a while, you know that we have a very friendly relationship with eFundraising, which is a division of Readers’ Digest magazine. eFundraising produces excellent products that can tremendously help your school meet your revenue goals.

Like Top School Fundraisers, eFundraising also provides information on the topics of how to raise money for your school.

Just recently, the kind folks over at eFundraising asked me to write an e-book on this topic. It is called How Can I Convince Someone to Give to Us When There are So Many Worthy Causes? and it was published on the eFundraising main site. It is free to download.

It is filled with very practical advice and I invite you to check it out.

Thanks!

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