School fundraising in a pandemic may seem a Herculean task. Not only are you schooling from home, but traditional fundraisers such as bake sales, pizza lunches, and carnivals are out.
Enter online school fundraising. It’s incredibly effective and relatively easy. Plus, as things slowly transition back to normal, virtural fundraising in tandem with in-person efforts will reap amazing results.
Thanks to our customers who’ve shared details about their own online school fundraisers, we’ve got some great ideas!
Our favorite online school fundraising ideas
Read-a-thon
This virtual fundraiser’s education focus emotionally connects with donors. Base pledges on how much your child reads, and organize everything for your A-thon online including gathering supporters (and pledges) through Facebook posts!
Auction
Our customers tell us they’ve raised exponentially more by bringing their school auctions online. This is because virtual auctions enable you to cast a wider net. It’s easy to email the auction link to alumni and share it on social media. Another tip from our customers? Brand your auction with your school logo and include item pictures and helpful descriptions. It may be the first time someone is exposed to your school is through the auction. It’s a great chance to impress and make them a part of your donor base.
Student artwork t-shirt sale
This one is great because, like the read-a-thon, it gets the kids involved. Students can submit artwork to be made into a t-shirt to the PTA, who will then choose the winning art. From there, you can add the artwork to a t-shirt and use the preview of your design to display on your school’s fundraising site. Send a link to everyone on your email list and share on social media. Supporters can pre-order with a click, enabling you to avoid pre-purchasing stock! Here’s an example of how an online school sale fundraiser works.
Online raffle
Right now, the prospect of winning a prize is something everyone can get behind. Eventgroove customers report that running an online raffle fundraiser is as effective as selling tickets in person, and sometimes more so! Prizes can be dinner deliveries from DoorDash, home office gear, online baking classes, or whatever else teachers and PTA can drum up. Bringing your raffle online means you’ll expand your fundraising reach—just by posting it on Facebook, you’ll enable your online community to participate with a click.
Tips for successful PTA fundraising:
Be specific
When you host your next fundraiser, don’t just state that you are raising money for the PTA. Give details on exactly what the donations will go to support—a new computer lab, a new playground, or an upcoming school field trip. This will help supporters connect with your cause and the impact their donation will have.
Use online tools
Online fundraising makes it even easier for anyone who cares (and is able) to make a quick and easy donation benefiting the student. Encourage parents to use their social media and email contacts to ask their network to support upcoming efforts. Hosting an online school fundraiser with Eventgroove also simplifies collecting donations and managing donors, leaving you to focus on other things.
Make it personal
Use Eventgroove’s team fundraising feature to enable students to create their own unique fundraising profile on their school’s fundraising site. Students can add photos and their personal stories to inspire their friends and family to make their gift.
Create friendly competition
Raising the stakes always makes things a litte more fun. Use incentives to create a friendly competition between parents to see who can bring in the most funds for the school or between classes to see who can raise the most dollars. The winning class can get a socially-distanced pizza party or online movie night, and the winning parent could receive a break from the next needed volunteer opportunity.
Connect online fundraisers with in-person events
When things slowly settle back to the new normal, online fundraising only enhances your ability to raise money for your child’s school. By using online fundraisers alongside in-person efforts, you’ll reach a wider audience, simplify donations, and more easily manage funds. When it comes to getting students and parents excited and engaged, live events are unmatched. Put the two together and you have a major win!
About Eventgroove: We make it easy to start your online fundraising campaign, share it with parents and community members through social media and email outreach, and accept funds. Eventgroove handles the tax-receipting for donations and deposits the funds directly into your account so that you can focus on your school’s fundraising initiatives. To learn more, visit Eventgroove Fundraising.
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