Profitable fundraising ideas for 2021
Raising the school fundraising bar By Heather Barker Vermeer Industry Reporter
If baking’s not your thing and you cleared out the garage already, what are your options for raising money for your school? The fundraiser has come a long way in recent years, with Kiwi schools now producing professional standard products and events and, in some cases, employing professional fundraising companies to run their fundraising programmes for them. Simple, profitable ideas that generate extra income to allow the purchase of school equipment and resources beyond the existing budgets are what every school seeks.
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Actively involved parent volunteers are the cornerstone of any successful fundraiser, so schools need to make sign-up as appealing as possible to maximise support. In this special supplement, we present ideas and inspiration to encourage parental buy-in and make 2021 your most successful school fundraising year yet… Big ticket events such as school fairs are a great way to attract attention, raise large amounts of money and create lasting memories associated with the school. However, as they require plenty of voluntary help, organisation, health and safety considerations, and are weather influenced, they can be the most difficult fundraisers to co-ordinate. Sponsorship of local sports events
such as fun runs, swimming challenges and walks have gained popularity as fundraising options, with the organisational onus being on events companies and schools taking a cut. Some schools may choose to sell products donated by companies, or bought at reduced rates, for fundraising purposes. Wine and chocolate sales are usually a hit, and household items such as pegs, or tea towels won’t make your school millions but can all be added to the money-making mix. Items designed by pupils generate good emotional buy-in. For example: greeting cards, mouse mats, calendars, keyrings and coasters, can make easy gifts for relatives and can be produced affordably.
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Photography is another winning way to add to school funds, ideally if you have a talented photographer within your school community who is willing to help for minimal outlay. In 2021, sustainable, eco-friendly options will be increasingly soughtafter, so how about trying some upcycling, vintage clothes sales, reusable coffee cups or tote bags?
Professional ideas for phenomenal fundraising To give us a steer on tips for making an event run smoothly, we asked Lynne Pearson from Rock Up Adventure Activities to share some of her school fundraiser learnings. P04
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2021 FUNDRAISING SUPPLEMENT
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Image courtesy of GiveGood
P02 Lynne says: “Schools are finding it increasingly difficult to get helpers/volunteers to assist with school fundraiser events, so I would recommend creating a central ticketing booth for food and activities at your events. That way, operators can collect tickets on the school’s behalf. This not only reduces the number of helpers/volunteers required but also gives security to money handling.” Owner operator Lynne suggests schools chose event activity options that have ‘a high throughput’, are ‘highly visible’ or ‘add movement’ to the event.
“Other options include dunking tanks that create a spectator attraction and hype and spinning wheel raffles.” We asked fellow industry expert Dana Unkovich of club and school fundraising specialists Raise It to give us her top tip for school fundraising. “Take your paper-based fundraising online – you will significantly reduce volunteer administration, no more coins to count or paper forms to tally.” By reducing the paperwork, you reduce the room for human error and save time, which can then be spent on widening your promotional and fundraising net,
she says. “You will expand your reach of who can donate; friends and family from all over the globe can participate with increased ‘visibility or shareability’ of your fundraiser. Going online can be daunting, however professional companies take the headache out of the transition and can assist you with each step of the process.”
groups all over the country to fundraise themselves. “Fundraise intelligently and efficiently by serving the needs of the schools, fundraising committees, students and community members.
Founder of Good Give, Angela Wong helps schools manage their fundraising and is clear on her number one piece of advice:
Fundraise with products that people already know about and use regularly. Keep it simple and easy for friends and family to support and make sure it’s fun for the kids.”
“Digital fundraising platforms are the future,” she says. Angela established her secure online fundraising platform, which empowers schools and community
By keeping their fundraising simple and making buy-in easy, schools can take out the headaches and put the fun in fundraising this year and beyond.
New platform reinvents fundraising with grocery essentials Amidst the uncertainty of 2020, an innovative online platform has transformed the fundraising efforts of forward-looking schools across New Zealand. “This is the way all schools should be fundraising! The level of ease was unbelievable!” Says Juanita Oldfield, fundraising organiser at Wellsford School. GoodGive.co.nz, a revolutionary new fundraising platform is on a mission to remove the burden of traditional fundraising through easier, more effective online campaigns. “We looked at the current landscape and asked ourselves ‘Why? Why should
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schools have to put in so much time into their fundraising efforts? Why should families who are already stretched have to buy things that they don’t want or need?’” says Angela Wong, GoodGive Founder. By reimagining the way schools fundraise with everyday groceries online, GoodGive completely removes fundraising burdens from school administrators and families alike. One of the most successful products on the platform has been Cancer Society
Sunscreen. “ We all buy things like sunscreen every summer, so we didn’t have any worries in asking our students to get their friends and family to buy their sunscreen through our GoodGive.co.nz fundraising website. It was a no brainer.” Says Gareth Kruyen Head of Fundraising at Murrays Bay Intermediate School. Our students could fundraise without having to handle cash or manage stock” says Kruyen. “GoodGive was completely free to use and at the end of the campaign the money showed up in our account.” “We’ve made it our mission to create the most seamless possible fundraising experience for schools.” says Wong. Students and families can fundraise online without handling cash or managing stock. The logistics for each
2021 FUNDRAISING SUPPLEMENT
campaign are completely looked after by the GoodGive team and all products are packed in tidy compostable packaging on the school’s behalf. There are no costs whatsoever – schools simply receive the funds at the end of each campaign. “Our overall experience was fantastic. We loved the graphs, updates and fast delivery” says Rutherford Primary School administrator Michelle Kelly. We can’t wait to run our next one in Term 1 and we’re excited to partner with the exciting range of brands that GoodGive is bringing on board.” GoodGive is now accepting enquiries for 2021 by email at info@goodgive.co.nz. The online platform is free to use for all schools and fundraising campaigns can be live within 24 hours. Term 1, 2021 | schoolnews.co.nz