School In Kind Donation Fundraising Plan – How to Make One

Unlike charity fundraising, fundraising for schools is usually achieved through several small programs; not one big single event.  It should also be achieved through a proactive plan and not simply rolled out when the school is in great need of extra income – at that stage it might be too late to seize the opportunity!

So in order to be successful, fundraising has to take place all the time, or at least at set schedules to ensure there is spare money in the bank account. Most schools have a fundraising coordinator who is a person (teacher or parent) in charge of all the fundraising activities.

For best results most schools employ more than one method of fundraising and have several fundraisers throughout the year. We advise doing just a couple of fundraisers (4 or 5 total) BUT doing them well.

This is a good idea in order to avoid fundraiser “burn out.” Not only do volunteers tire of fundraising, donors also become tired of being continually asked to contribute.

To maximise your fundraising profits conduct companies that give in-kind donations a variety of fundraising programs throughout the year, this will attract everyone at some point during the year.  For example, you will discover that by having a few different programs your volunteers and sponsors will want to be involved in one type of fundraiser and may not be interested in another – so in the end you get the lot!

By offering different fundraising events during the year you will have cast your net over the whole community. For example, some people may think a fun run or walk-a-thon is a lot of fun and will want to participate in that, while others may prefer an arts & craft fundraiser.

Most states in Australia have four school terms that relate loosely to the seasons (Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring).

Use this to your advantage and try a mix of two event fundraisers plus two buy-and-sell fundraisers that relate to different times in the year.

EXAMPLE:

Term 1 Hold a Fun Run or Walk-a-Thon in conjunction with your schools annually cross country to promote healthy themes and save you work planning a one-off event.

Term 2 Hold your school fete and make profit off Coffee, Jumping Castles, Spices, Arts & Craft, Photography and heaps more.

Term 3 Hold a Chocolate or Baked Goods Drive in Term 3 (the Winter months) when its cold and people are seeking items to make them warm and happy.

Term 4 Hold a Sunscreen Drive in Term 4 leading into summer holidays and save your community money on a relevant product.

HINT: Hold your fundraiser on a day of significance to help you gain community support and set a learning platform for your students. EXAMPLE: Look for special times of year like National Skin Cancer Week to hold a Sunblock Drive or World Environment Day to hold an ecological fundraiser!

If your school is looking for easy school fundraising ideas that are risk free, healthy, proven and profitable then we can help you. You will benefit from 22 years experience when you let The Fundraising Group (TFG) assist with your school fundraising.

All of our ideas for school fundraising are all self funding so you do not require a budget and they are free from financial risk to ensure you make a profit. Best of all our fundraising ideas are supported by full time staff that are here to help you every step of the way. No matter where you are in Australia or New Zealand we can help you raise… MORE MONEY with LESS WORK.