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One Simple Change That Will Double Your School Fundraiser

by: JuanFranco
Total views: 8 | Word Count: 508

Education in schools has taken on a broader meaning than I remember it. Today there are a variety of events and activities that students have available to them outside of the classroom that add to their education. These things usually cost money. With cuts in school budgets, principals and PTA / PTO organizations have to turn to fundraising in order to raise the money needed for them.

It is fundraising that many consider to be like the "third rail" on a subway system. It is either viewed as the power source to make things go or it is viewed as the thing everyone wants to stay away from. However, a properly run fundraiser is a blessing for all. There really is no reason why teachers, volunteers, students, parents and the community should dread the start of the school fundraising drive. If the product is right, the incentives are worthwhile, the rewards will be enjoyed by all.

The fundraising programs that are generally viewed negatively are more often than not the ones that the organizers don't take into account what the participants will be getting out of the fundraiser for themselves. This is especially true if their child is not one of those on the bus for the 5th grade field trip. Consider that even the First grade teachers have been raising money for that trip and they never get to go. After a few years that begins to wear down even the most soft hearted staff.

Have you ever wondered why some schools, while all else is equal, will have a $50,000 sale and another of the same size has a $20,000 sale? They could even be selling the same product, at the same time and still have that much difference in their sale. The answer to that is really pretty simple. It's "How" they run the sale that makes all the difference.

A case in point is Fern Bluff Elementary in Round Rock, Texas. For years they had been having $25-$29,000 sales with their 700 students. One year, they made a few changes in only one thing...it wasn't in what they picked for their fundraiser, that remained the same. All they did was make a change in how they ran their sale and the year after they had a $29,000 sale they had a $68,000 sale. They actually made as much that year as they had sold the year before!

One added benefit of the change was that because they had more people "into" the fundraiser, they cured their problem of not having enough volunteers. They even had teachers pitching in and helping on delivery day! That had never happened before.

All this came about because they chose to run their sale differently than they had run it before. What they discovered is that by making a change in the why they thought about their fundraiser and by running the sale with this different philosophy in mind, they were able to get more of what they wanted.

About the Author

You can keep looking for the hottest product for your school fundraiser and you can have already discovered it! It's not always that product that is holding your school fundraiser back. The most effective place to make a change is in how you run your fundraiser.

One Simple Change That Will Double Your School Fundraiser

About the Author

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