8 Tips to Follow When Fundraising

When it comes to fundraising, some struggle with where to start. If you are looking for a little guidance, here are eight essential tips to follow that will ease your stress and help you increase your sales. 

1. Publicize Early and Often

Getting the word out early enough is key. If you promote your fundraiser early enough, more people will become aware of it through word of mouth and by exposure to the promotion sources. One popular way of getting the word out is by having your school do an “email blast” through the PTO/Parent Organization school/group website to all of the parents telling them when and where the fundraiser is taking place. Other popular sources of promotion are newsletters, websites, outdoor signs, and the local newspaper.

2. Limit the Number of Fundraisers

More products aren’t necessarily a good thing. Some parents believe it can get to be too much and will eventually walk away from the sale. If you focus on having fewer fundraising products, people will be more apt to buy.

3. Promote the Product as a Gift

Market a product as being a great gift to a friend, loved one, or family member. Individuals prefer this because they are supporting a good cause and also buying a gift for a special someone. Our Gourmet cheesecakes, pies, and cookie dough are always great options because who doesn’t love a sweet treat every now and then?

4. Personalize the Product

Putting a slogan on your product might be helpful when it comes to selling. Adding images helps if you can add it to the slogan. It also engages the sellers and gets the parents and teachers involved.

5. Try a New Product

Try selling one of the new items in the fundraising brochure. There are many things that would strike someone’s interest in our brochures including our new products for 2014. Finding fresh, new things to sell makes a world of difference instead of focusing on selling the same items each fundraiser.

6. Switch the Timing of Your Fundraiser

Timing is everything; individuals who have changed their sale to November or early fall have seen tremendous success. It helps to have your fundraiser when others aren’t going on at the same time. 

7. Use Creative Prize Incentives

Offering prizes for selling five to ten items will increase student participation immensely. At Ashley Farms, we like to reward students for their hard work, and we do this with our Disney World Grand Prize drawing. Having incentives makes students want to work that much harder because they can get rewarded for their efforts.

8. Rethink Your Sales Approach and Sales Territory

Having a child go to a place of business and ask around for orders is actually very effective. Going to churches and the local courthouse are good options as well. You will be amazed at what power young children possess. 

Whether you use one or all of the eight tips during your next fundraiser, we hope they help you exceed your fundraising goals!

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!

Building Character Through Fundraising

 With all of the things that your school does for its students, how does it address the prime objective of growing up- not just teaching students academics, but helping them to become good people? Fundraising can teach a child many skills not taught in the classroom, such as trustworthiness, responsibility, citizenship, philanthropy, communication skills and much more.

Fundraising teaches a child self-confidence, and self-worth. It gives opportunity for a child to learn how to talk to strangers (in a safe environment) and maintain a positive attitude in the face of rejection. Rejections can lead a child to feelings of disappointment and dismissal. However, this is also an important opportunity to build character. Handling rejection is an important part of life and going door to door is a way to receive a good amount practice in rejection. 

Other important lessons that can be learned are about people and sales skills. In order to successfully sell something to others, the child needs to develop a number of skills in how to talk with people and what is the best way to present oneself. Good salesmanship, involves good customer service and treating people correctly. Communication skills are some of the most sought-after skills that employers are looking for, and teaching a child the basics of good communication early on will build better communicators in the future.

Being a successful fundraiser involves speaking politely to people and talking with confidence. It teaches children at a young age the skills that help shape them into the people they will become in the future and helps them understand the ups and downs of attempting to accomplish a goal. Fundraising is a great way to watch a child grow confidence and character, and what could be more satisfying than that?