Online Fundraising Options for School Foundations
Fundraising for school foundations is one of the most effective ways to enrich students’ basic education needs and provide them with extra opportunities. Through these sponsorships, schools are able to raise money which is then used to benefit both students and the entire school in general.
With the advancements in technology now, school foundations often opt for online charities to support different causes and increase their funds. They still follow the basic guidelines of the traditional school fundraisers, except that sponsors now do all of this remotely using a reputable donation platform for digital fundraising that not only helps campaigns go smoothly but also helps them gain new donors.
In addition to building out a comprehensive school fundraising toolkit, staff members, students, and even parents should also explore their options and look for lucrative online charity events that will be just as exciting as the traditional bake sales or walk-a-thons.
For more inspiration, here are four online fundraising options you can consider for your next school fundraising campaign.
Annual fund campaigns
Creating an online annual fund campaign is one of the most effective ways to raise funds. To do it properly, you will need to build a donation page on your school’s website and encourage financial support from parents and the community on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.
On the landing page, be sure to highlight the impact of each bequest and demonstrate how donors’ contributions will benefit both the school and its students.
Causes that can fall under the annual fund campaign category include raising money for purchasing new school equipment such as laptops, interactive boards or particular subject supplies, organizing informative field trips, replacing the gym floor, and many others.
Peer-to-peer fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are a specific type of crowdfunding in which individuals organize personal fundraisers to collect donations from their peers. One of the main components of these charity events is the opportunity for fundraisers to individualize the cause and tell donors how their contributions can benefit their campaign.
Some popular online peer-to-peer fundraising ideas include friendly competitions, bake sales, and holiday parties. This way, you can encourage people to fundraise on their own terms for the cause.
If you want to increase revenue even more, allow remote donors to also be part of the cause by paying a participation fee and offering their services as well.
Events registration
If your school hosts fundraising events such as annual galas or sports tournaments, you can try selling tickets online. This way you will be giving sponsors an opportunity to support your school foundations and raise money for it by making an online event registration.
If you want to make it more appealing to donors, you can offer a discount if tickets are bought early. This makes it easy for people to register for the event while giving you enough time to gather attendee information such as email addresses electronically. You can use this information to reach out to new potential donors about donating to your cause at a later time.
Product sale
Probably the easiest and most popular online fundraising your school can do is to engage in a product sale. This includes selling items online on your school’s website and raising money that will benefit both the school and the students.
Some items you can sell on your website include school spirit wear, candies, books, and handmade crafts. Add a shopping list on the landing page and allow visitors and sponsors to make their donations at any time.
Once donors make their purchases, inform them about how to pick up their orders. You can either mail them to their homes or ask students to distribute them directly.
Final thoughts
It’s back-to-school season, which means it’s time for schools to get ready to organize different events to raise funds.
While many continue to host traditional fundraisers on their parking lots and in gyms, other schools take their campaigns online and allow people to make a donation from anywhere and at any time. To ensure the success of your online fundraising campaign, consider including a donation feature on your school’s website or using a donation platform. This will allow donors to contribute quickly and easily for the benefit of both the school foundations and the students.
In case you need help along the way, be sure to refer back to our guide and choose the most lucrative online fundraising idea for your school.
