How to Fundraise When the Cost of Living is High
HIGH COST OF LIVING
CAN YOU HOLD A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL FUNDRAISER IN THESE TIMES?
No matter what is happening in the economy, schools still need to upgrade their resources with new decodable readers, shade cloth, playgrounds etc. So, the high cost of living can impact not only school families but also schools. The extra financial pressures can make it extra challenging to raise vital funding to improve the learning environment for students.
In this blog post, we’ll explore what to look for when choosing an easy school fundraiser that will work for your school… even when the cost of living is high!
How To Choose the Right School Fundraising Campaign
When fundraising for your school, in times where the cost of living is high, it is essential to choose the right school fundraising campaign. It is best to choose a school fundraiser that will (1) resonate with your school community and (2) protect your school from a financial loss. Below, we’ll take a look at fundraising elements that will please your families and protect your school.
PROTECT YOUR SCHOOL FROM FINANCIAL RISK
No set costs
Stay away from school fundraising ideas that place a financial obligation on your school families.
For example, if you hold a traditional “Buy and Sell” fundraiser, like a chocolate drive, your families might feel compelled to buy the products… or simply not participate at all in the fundraising… which can either add financial pressure to your community and/or adversely affect your school’s fundraising.
Alternatively, look for sponsorship-based school fundraising ideas. This model of school fundraising means that your families and their donors have no set prices to pay. Instead, they can donate any amount they are comfortable with, including nothing at all.
No risk
Likewise, try to use school fundraising ideas that have no upfront costs or financial risk to your school. If you organise a School Fete for example, your school will incur costs upfront and if your community does not spend big on the fete day, you might not fundraise as much as you’d normally budget for. In theory, your school might even lose money.
Instead, the smart move here is to seek out school fundraising ideas that are 100% SELF FUNDING with NO OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES to your school. That way you’re guaranteed to bank a profit no matter what happens as someone else (aka your school’s fundraising provider) is holding all the risk.
Full support fundraising
A lot of fundraising service providers will know that their offering is going to fall short of expectations when the cost of living is high. As a result, they are likely to offer you a heap of gimmicks, or a discount on their fees. What you really what however is… full support service from your fundraising provider. In short, there’s no need to compromise on the amount of money you’ll be raising this year, you just have to choose the right fundraising model for the current economic environment. So, don’t compromise on your fundraising.
For example, at School Fun Run, you’re assigned a dedicated Fundraising Coach. Your coach will be working in a collective with all our other coaches here at School Fun Run. As a group they service hundreds of schools and that means they can identify (fundraising) trends that are currently working for schools (even when the cost of living is high). That’s important because your Fundraising Coach will be discovering low-cost ideas that are being well received by other school communities almost daily. That’s so helpful, because your Coach will then share those lessons with you so these things can be applied to benefit your school too!
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
Make it an easy school fundraiser (for everyone)
Don’t ask your families to collect physical cash.
If you collect cash, it must come from your local community and these potential donors can easily get fundraising fatigue as they already support your school in various ways. Instead, look for online fundraising (or cashless fundraising options) as this money normally comes in from outside your local community (like grandma in New Zealand, an uncle in England or an interstate family friend).
By choosing an online fundraising model, the money will come in from all over the world. It means your donor community is vastly expanded, and as such, there is a much bigger opportunity for your school to connect with people who can afford to make a pledge; hence you’ll raise more!
Utilise social media
Linked to the above statement, it’s important to use social media. This has become an essential tool for fundraising in today's digital age. Your school community (parents and carers) can utilise social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote your school fundraising campaigns. Social media can help your school community reach a broader audience and encourage more people to donate. It’s another way to ensure your exposing the school’s fundraiser to a much wider audience the just your local community. Again, this gives you the opportunity to connect with a wide group of people who can afford to make a pledge.
Reward your whole community (not just the outstanding kids)
When the cost of living is high, it’s a great idea to hold fundraising challenges that reward your whole school, as opposed to competitions that reward individual students for their outstanding fundraising. Holding whole school challenges means a lot of people will be engaged to raise a little bit of funding and this tends to work better than relying on just a few exceptional families raising a lot of money each. The Fundraising Coaches at School Fun Run have a truck load of low cost whole school challenges to share with you and your school community.
Make sure no one misses out
In times like this, when the cost of living is high, people can feel isolated as they tend to do less socially. A School Fun Run is a great way to bring your whole school community together as all students can take part in the fun… even if they don’t fundraise! In that way, a School Fun Run can foster a sense of community involvement, boost school spirit and increase student wellbeing.
SCHOOL FUN RUN
Organising a School Fun Run is an excellent way to conduct an easy school fundraiser… even when the cost of living is high.
This school fundraising idea:
Involves participants seeking online donations.
Has no set costs and its 100% self-funding.
Is risk free, with no products for your school to buy.
Has no products for your families to sell.
Allows donors to give as little, or as much, as they want.
Provides you with a Fundraising Coach to help you from start to finish.
Boost school spirit and student wellbeing.
There are several other reasons why a School Fun Run is a good fundraising option during times of high living costs:
It is Cost-Effective
Hosting a fun run is a cost-effective, easy school fundraising method compared to other school fundraising ideas/events that may require renting a venue, hiring entertainment, or purchasing supplies. In fact, when you hold a School Fun Run, everything you need to run the event is provided to you.
For example, you will receive all the printed material required to create a run-away success, including:
Kick Off Videos,
Full Colour Sponsorship Forms,
A Coordinator’s Guide,
Participation Certificates for everyone
Achievement Certificates and Medals for high fundraising classes and kids.
Promotional Posters,
Teacher Kits,
Prewritten Parent Letters,
Prewritten School Newsletter Article,
Prewritten Social Media Communication,
Fence Banners,
Prizes for the Students, and
Much more!
It can Generate Significant Revenue
For your school, a School Fun Run can generate significant revenue. On average, schools raise over $20,000 per event and we’ve helped some schools raise over $80k, $90k and even $100,000+ in single School Fun Runs!
In conclusion, a School Fun Run is a great fundraising method during times where the cost of living is high. It encourages physical activity, fosters community involvement, is inclusive, financially risk-free, and can generate significant revenue for the school. It also has no set fees, costs or products to buy and sell.
Want to know more about School Fun Run?
It’s super easy fundraising – We believe our customer service is the best in the industry bar none! As mentioned above, you’ll receive a personal Fundraising Coach to help you throughout your event. Your Fundraising Coach will host a strategy session with you to understand the unique needs of your school and craft a tailored fundraising plan for you. Following that, you can easily review your fundraising progress in LIVE TIME with our ‘Fund’s Tracker’. That means you can update and inspire your school community anytime you want! You’ll also get an ‘End of Event’ report custom to your school with all the statistics and recommendations you’ll need to improve year-on-year! You also have access to on-demand video tutorials and of course your Coach is always just a phone call away.
Fully flexible – You can tailor the School Fun Run to your own needs. You choose your event type to suit your school. It’s also flexible enough to fit any school calendar as you pick the date and location!
Complete credibility – You can have complete confidence in the School Fun Run, we have over 36 years’ experience. Plus, we’ve been awarded Fundraising Company of the Year for the last 7-years running!
Healthy & Fun – In addition to raising funds for the school, a fun run encourages physical activity, which is essential for overall health and wellbeing. Encouraging students, teachers, and community members to participate in a fun run promotes healthy habits and can help combat the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
Awesome rewards – Motivate your students and teach them how to set goals with the best range of award-winning S.T.E.A.M. based prizes.
No risk – The School Fun Run is based on online sponsorship with no online fundraising fees which means there are no products to buy or sell and you can fundraise globally at the touch of a button with our state-of-the-art website. With no upfront cost, it’s 100% self-funded so you don’t need a budget to start and can’t lose money at the end of the event. Financially, School Fun Run holds all the risk and we support you from start to finish!
Discover why industry experts, The Fundraising Directory, have crowned School Fun Run “Fundraising Company of the Year” in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022!
