by Johanna Ableson

Don't Assume PTA or PTO Members Get It The First Time. When you are trying to get the parents of your students behind your fundraising efforts, never be afraid that you are covering the same ground too often. Tell them many, many times why you are doing the fundraiser. It will surprise you how little makes it into your parents minds, even after they have read or heard something twice. Here are some tips to help you make sure that your important announcements get noticed and noted.

Have Specific Goals For Your Fundraiser. It is always better to be raising money for specific items or events than to be raising money "because the PTA or PTO needs it." You will find that if you communicate to the parents and teachers precisely what you are going to do with the money raised, they will be much more willing to participate.

Methods: Take Home Flyers, Several things that should always be done in preparation for your fundraising drive. One action to take is to send a letter out to parents early in the year telling them what fundraisers you will be doing and when. Tell them in the letter what you need funds for and how you're going to accomplish your goal i.e.: catalogs sale, cookie dough sale, car wash, candy sale, smencils etc. They won't feel as though your hands are constantly in their wallets.

The second thing you will want to do is write and attach to your sales brochure a letter to the parents of your students. In this letter you will tell them again why you are doing a fundraising project. You might even take this opportunity to tell them what you spent the money on that was raised in last year's fundraiser.

Methods: Email If you are fortunate enough to be able to use the school's e-mail system to announce your sale. This is a one button operation that give you great coverage with the parents of your school children.

Methods: Marquee Put a message up on the school marquee to let parents know about the sale. When it starts and ends are the best times to have a message up on the marquee. You can even change the message at various times during the sale just as a quick reminder that the sale is in progress.

Methods: Reminders via students Send a note home with the students midway through your sale to remind them about the sale. I recommend sending it home right before a weekend so they can sell over the weekend while with family and friends. It is a good idea to put any special promotions on this note to keep it in their minds.

Methods: Signs You can post signs advertising your fundraiser in various places around the school where parents will likely see them when dropping off or picking up their children.

Inside the school is where you want to do promotions that appeal to the students. The very best promotions will be geared toward the prizes that the students can earn. Things that are "different" will stand out to the students as the walk through the halls.

Methods: Do a live kick off This is much more motivating to students than a video presentation. They can see how the prizes work and it means that something different happened at school today. When parents ask their children about the day, they will remember this much better than sitting at their desk and seeing someone on a TV screen in their classroom.

Methods: Public Address System Do reminders on the daily announcements. This is a great opportunity to keep students motivated which in turn keeps them selling.

Work closely with your fundraising representative. Planning is key to communicating your fundraiser to your parents, faculty, and students. If you know what you're going to do and when you're going to do it, it is much easier to facilitate and run a profitable fundraiser and that is what it is all about. Your goal is to raise the most money possible for your group in the particular sale you are planning. After all, if you raise all the funds you need in the first one, you won't have to do a second fundraiser! You can achieve that by working smarter, not harder.

About the Author:

AIM Fundraising is a nationwide fundraising company that takes great pride in the fact that most of the groups it works with increase 40-400% over previous year's sales. Go to this link for complete fundraising information.

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