Fundraising Tips

There are a lot of aspects that go into school fundraising. Having to organize and implement a fundraiser can be stressful and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are 5 tips to help make your school fundraising run smoothly and successfully:

Make the Fundraiser Manageable

Find a fundraising company that is willing to be your partner throughout the whole process. For example, Ashley Farms offers their customers a complete computerized sales report showing the group sales and profit as well as individual student sales and profit. Small things like this can save a lot of time and eliminate a lot of stress!

Sell Usable Products

If you’re selling products that people will be able to use and benefit from, then they will be more willing to contribute to the fundraiser! Try to find items that people of all ages will be able to use or enjoy!

Make the Products Affordable

Relatives and family friends usually help the students and schools out, but some don’t want to spend too much money. Try and have a variety of products that are a variety of prices! That way those who want to spend more can and those who want to contribute a little are still able to show their support!

Include Everyone

Students like to be involved and do their part to help out, and so do parents! Try to include each age level of students in the fundraising and make sure the tasks are something they are able to handle and succeed in! That way, they will feel proud of their accomplishments!

Make the Fundraiser Important

Find something that the school or the students need and make that the focus of the fundraiser. When it’s something that is important to everyone, more consideration and time will go into selling the products by the students and parents!

What other fundraiser tips can you think of that we did not mention? Comment below to share your ideas!

Doing Your Fair Share

A team can achieve far greater things together than they can apart. In order for this to be true, it is important that every individual is doing their fair share so the group can achieve their overall goals. When each member contributes their own unique abilities and efforts, the result can be something quite incredible.

For example, here’s how Jim Messina (President of Ashley Farms) relates doing one’s fair share to a musical performance:

"Everyone must attend all of the rehearsals, have a good attitude at rehearsal, there must be group discipline, students must work on their parts at home- or in other words, show up for the performance as prepared as you can be individually. That is the definition of doing your fair share.” 

Doing ones fair share can add up to something wonderful, in the case above: a flawless performance.

The concept of doing one’s fair share can definitely be related to fundraising as well. For example, if each student participating in an Ashley Farms’ fundraiser takes a brochure, shows it to friends and family and sells at least a minimal amount of 10 items, then two goals have been reached. The student has achieved an individual goal- which adds up to a collective group goal. 

Working hard alongside others to achieve a common goal (whether it is your teammates, group members, classmates or coworkers) is a skill that will be used throughout one’s entire life. Just remember- better results can be accomplished as a team, not only the collective results but the individual results as well!