Corporate Sponsorship School Fundraising

Updated on April 30, 2011
L.C. asks from Chicago, IL
7 answers

Hi Moms,
I recently volunteered to lead the corporate sponsorship for our fundraising effort at my children's school. From the initial conversations I have had on what the school has so far, it appears that this effort has been spotty and inconsistent over the years. I know it needs to be organized. I think a strategy is in need as well. I know there are a lot of you great, involved and very experienced moms out there, and I am hoping to tap into your knowledge and experience! Are there any resources or ideas out there you can point me to as a good starting point? Looking forward to your responses!

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G.T.

answers from Chicago on

Hey L.!
A lot of school fund raisers I've been to set up a "carnival" type party. The kids and parents have a great time! My business just did one on Sunday and it was a hit. The school sold tickets to the "carnival" and also sold individual tickets for the attractions. Our booth was 2 tickets and the kids could get their face painted, hair put up in a mohawk with color spray, or funky hair styles with tons of glitter. We got over 600 tickets but the end of the 3 hour event! Check out my business' website! Let us know if you'd like some help with planning your event =)
www.theglittergirlz.com
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R.A.

answers from Chicago on

Hi L.,
I am a mom of 2 grade schoolers and know that fundraising can be difficult. However, I am now a consultant for PartyLite and since have found that it really isn't all too complicated. PartyLite offers fundraising that offers 50% back to the organization. Would love to help you out. My website is www.partylite.biz/raquelscandles no. is in my website if you are interested.

R.

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K.P.

answers from Chicago on

An important step in fundraising sucess is constant contact with the parents - at least 3 times with reminders - e-mail (if you can), backpack mail, and school newsletters are good for this. Also, experts recommend that the actual fund raising period be of a short duration; about 2 weeks. It can be helpful for the kids to have different levels to work toward ... particularly in this economy. Our school's fundraising effort was down this year - partly due to the economy, and partly because the fundraiser was stale (wrapping paper for the 3rd year).

I'm the owner of a mom-based organic coffee company called Emerald Frog. All of our coffee is Fair Trade Certified, which means strict child labor standards ... which is why we sell it.

And if you like, we can help you run your fundraiser.

We provide coffee-based fundraisers. It's a nice break from the wrapping paper and popcorn. And I'm not sure where you're located ... but if you are in the Chicago area, we can come to your school and talk to the PTA, we will provide all paperwork, advertising materials and also deliver for free.

We can even private label the coffee and accept internet orders. Emerald Frog recently did a fundraiser for a Naperville-area girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

I would invite you to check out our website, which is www.emeraldfrog.com. And since the products are 100% organic, and 100% Fair Trade - it is something that people actually want. For people who don't drink coffee, we have flavor sprinkles ... and it makes a great gift.

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts, and also how much your school would like to earn.

Cheers,
KP

K. Pomazal
____@____.com
www.emeraldfrog.com
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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

the only way we have gotten such funds is really going into the business and asking for donations for raffle items. Hope you get some great ideas!!

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D.F.

answers from Chicago on

Hi L.,
I think if you really push alot of PR and encourage student and parental support, you'll be fine. But the key is starting early, and making sure the student body and families know what is going on. Sometimes schools do not find out about certain events until the last minute, and alot of opportunities are missed.

Happy Holidays!

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R.L.

answers from Chicago on

First of all let me tell you that I have been doing Premier Designs Jewelry for quite a while now. With that I have also assisted in several fundraising events with different schools and organizations. I would be able to get you quite a few vendors to participate in this event. The way that it normally goes is that there is a price for each vendor to participate. This cost is usually $10 - $35. The lower your cost, the more vendors that you will receive. If you are providing tables, but have a limited amount, then you can charge out for tables as well. Ususally each vendor is required to donate an item as well. The cost of the donation is usually around $25. I usually also donate a portion of my total sales to the events. Some places will waive the vendor fee for the percentage or take which ever one is higher. This helps both the vendor and the organization. Please feel free to contact me if you need any more information or if you are in need of a Premier Designs Jewelry person.

Thank you,
R. Lane
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____@____.com

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M.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

First of all, congrats on getting your fundraising started! Raising support for a worthy cause can be super rewarding. But obviously, if you're not an official non-profit, it can be really tricky finding a good way to build support for your cause.

One route you might want to consider: setting up a homepage for your group on a fundraising website. Having a group homepage online makes organizing and fundraising infinitely easier ... And though the majority of fundraising sites require you have official non-profit status, many good ones only require that you are a group - and will give you plenty of the tools you need.

For example, one good site is Meet Up (www.meetup.com), who allow you to fundraise directly to your account, and register a group without having an official non-profit status - and they cover groups around the world, while giving you some tools to do event management. But the tools they offer are a little limited outside of fundraising.

Another good option would be Empowered.org (www.empowered.org), a platform that also helps small groups fundraise and organize (regardless of non-profit status). They also work for international groups - and offer a fair amount of useful tools, like the ability to organize your group or to create volunteer activities and fundraising campaigns for more targeted ways to raise support.

Or you could always try to send up your own PayPal account to link to you directly to help you fundraise, but this is a little trickier and a bit inflexible.

Good luck getting started moving forward! Hope that helped.

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