Profitable fundraising
ideas for 2020
Image: The House of Fundraising
By Rosie Clarke, Editor
Schools increasingly rely on fundraising to afford new technology, resources and upgrades.
place throughout the year with less fuss. They often integrate with events too!
How does outsourced fundraising work? Some companies specialise in supplying products to schools,
Image: Sustainable Fundraising
For large schools with active community engagement, a couple of events each year may be enough to generate the additional funds required. For smaller and lower decile schools, it can prove more of a challenge. One-off events can be very fruitful but there are more sustained ways to fundraise that enrich the fabric of school community engagement and can take
specifically for fundraising. Schools can reach out to them with their fundraising goals and find out which products, approaches and fundraising initiatives might work best to achieve those goals. There is a wild array of possibilities here. Schools can place an order for wellknown brands of chocolate, drinks and snacks, household products, school stationery items or sustainable products like keep-cups and reusable straws. The next step is to distribute them for students to sell within their communities. E-commerce options are even available so that payments can be made electronically, sending third-party reminders to parents about fundraising goals and initiatives so that
schools don’t need to send students home with letters or hold out for cash donations. When you place an order for outsourced fundraising products, you may receive free promotional materials to distribute to your fundraisers, and you can mark-up the products to maximise profitability. Many of the suppliers will buy back unsold stock so that you aren’t left in the lurch. Sustainable products, like produce bags, reusable coffee cups and straws are popular items that could work particularly well if your fundraising goal is linked to sustainability (perhaps an investment in your STEM equipment or saving for a solar array).
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Term 1, 2020 | schoolnews.co.nz
Term 1, 2020 | schoolnews.co.nz
products around based on popularity and the success rates of other students/groups.
See a need, fi ll a need Outsourcing products that your wider community, parents and friends would purchase anyway is a great way to fundraise. Even if you mark-up products, knowing they are supporting a school initiative should make selling the products more seamless. Household items that families use every day like sunscreen, lunchboxes, toothbrushes, kitchen supplies
Image: Couplands Bakeries
Image: Couplands Bakeries
Don’t forget that students should wear their uniforms if they will be fundraising in public, both to present a professional image for the school and to boost confidence and a sense of pride. Students should always be accompanied by an adult when fundraising, so encourage students to buddy up or get into teams that make parent chaperoning easier to manage. Keep records too, so that you can identify best-selling products and spot your fastest selling little fundraisers. You can shuffle
and bin bags will always sell so use your imagination when hunting for products but keep your audience in mind. Do parents tend to loiter during pick-ups and drop-off s? This could be a good opportunity to have snacks, drinks and reusable beverage items for sale. Bumper stickers for cars and other branded keepsake items also work well.
Pre-orders are your friends Minimise effort to maximise profits by communicating with
2020 FUNDRAISING SUPPLEMENT
families as early as possible and incentivising pre-orders. The easier you can make it on parents, the better. Sending students home with a box of stuff to sell without warning and a with a tight deadline won’t win over many mums or dads. So think about whether you’d prefer to invite parents and students to order in advance or whether a strategic stall set-up will get the job done. When ordering online, it helps to get buyers onboard if they are familiar with the products already.
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Image: Tasman Bay Food Company
include first aid kits and reusable coffee cups, seed bombs, beeswax food wraps, produce bags, steel straws and a variety of others.
Goals and motivation Make a big deal out of anyone who’s selling well, meeting or exceeding targets and getting your school closer to that big goal by handing out incentive rewards. Experiential rewards can work well; for instance, allow your top selling students to do something fun or decide the theme of an upcoming school event.
Kiwi families are doing their very best to create a sustainable future for themselves and their children. A fantastic way to encourage this behaviour and support your school fundraising endeavour is to partner up with local businesses and bigger vendors that specifically offer sustainable items for schools and other groups to sell. Many of the products available
The healthier fundraiser
This is a very cool way to help fund a specific project like installing solar panels, buying sports equipment or taking students on a sustainabilityrelated school trip because it aligns with your school’s goal. Not to mention you also get to supply homes with functional items.
Fundraising events that stand out of the crowd You can rent and purchase all sorts of activities, inflatables, mazes, games and experiences like gladiator set-ups, rock climbing walls and even dunk tanks that will give your fundraising event plenty of unique selling points to get parents, families and wider community members through the gates. Generate some competitive appeal by sorting
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Use the discount code 'SCHOOL10' at check out for 10% off your entire order, valid throughout 2020. juicies.co.nz/fundraiser
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2020 FUNDRAISING SUPPLEMENT
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Schools can team up with a company to sell baked goods on school grounds. How these arrangements work is the school chooses a date and time for the sale, then students (and staff, if they like!) make their orders in advance. The company, bakery or other vendor will then make all your treats to order and your school will get a percentage of all sales. Financially, this usually works out at around $2 per item sold. Prett y good money for a day’s order and you can try the same schtick with different types of food or items on different days, or maybe make it a regular event. How about a maths tie in for Pi Day?
Image: Mr Peg Fundraisers
Have you tried tasking a business studies class to market some fundraising products? National vendors can also help you create a fundraising website with an online ordering system, product stock list and rolling calendar of events.
Term 1, 2020 | schoolnews.co.nz
Image: The Rubbish Whisperer
entrants into teams and score throughout the day. Make novelty items available at school fun days, discos, fetes and free dress days. You can team up with a company that supplies novelty items or design your own school memorabilia. There are a huge variety of knick-knacks you can sell that kids go gaga for, such as glowsticks, tumblers, sunglasses, and packs of cards. Here is a secret... parents are easy to motivate if they see the
end goal. So, communicate well! Send reminders and update them on progress with a steady stream of photos through your newsletter, text, Facebook, assemblies or even signage. Note: However, your school decides to raise funds there are strict rules set out by the Ministry of Education that must be adhered to and you are strongly advised to consult them first before planning an event.
System gives fundraising ‘new lease of life’ “With 3,200 dozen cheese roll orders to account for, Kindo was a life saver. Running the fundraiser this year was so easy that it’s given our efforts a new lease of life”. Those were the words of West Rolleston Primary School PTA member, Joanna Burnett — the long-suffering organiser of the school’s popular cheese roll fundraiser. Kindo is a school online payments system that can handle invoice-type payables as well as taking Term 1, 2020 | schoolnews.co.nz
money up front via the ‘shop’ to support fundraising opportunities, receive orders and payments for school lunches, sports subscriptions, uniforms and much more.
available through Kindo, using existing items from affiliate suppliers or schools can choose to add their own ideas and bring fundraisers to life quickly and easily.
Angela Cosford, PTA member at Stonefield School in Auckland, had a similar experience when they started using Kindo. “I think that being able to pay online immediately made a huge difference to our sales.”
“Setting up a new fundraising product or service, takes the school admin a few minutes. There’s no cash to count or tallying to do, just a few clicks to create the item for parents to purchase,’ said Kindo CEO, Sandra Finlay. “We also offer pre-made fundraisers with several companies selling items for special events like the recent Rugby World Cup – or everyday items from awardwinning social enterprises like Munch Eco Shop and The Rubbish Whisperer.”
Kindo partners with hundreds of New Zealand schools simplifying fundraising events, mufti and food days, selling fundraising items, collecting donations and more. There are ready-made fundraisers
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Joanna Burnett couldn’t be happier with West Rolleston school’s 2019 cheese roll fundraiser. The school is $20,000 better off, with the funds raised without increasing the pressure on the school’s hardworking admin team. “Since using Kindo for PTA fundraising, we have less cash handling, better recording of orders and it’s so convenient for staff and parents.” Get in touch with one of our knowledgeable helpdesk team by email enquiry@tgcl.co.nz or telephone 0508 454 636 (toll free). www.kindo.co.nz/save-time
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Image: Rockup Adventure Activities
Image: Mish
Top school fundraising strategies from around the industry… “Most parents don’t have cash on them or much spare time, so offering something useful or fun and that’s easy for parents to buy anywhere, anytime, works well. Definitely consider online for parent participation and to save admin time!” - Sandra Finlay, Kindo “Top fundraising strategy tip is that it has to be user-friendly!” – Barbara Martin, Kings Seeds “My top fundraising strategy stems from my background
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in marketing and it is to know your audience. That is how I start all my projects. Once you know your audience, you know what they want and need, how to speak to them and what will attract them to support your cause. Are your main supporters parents with pupils at your school? Would they appreciate the chore of 'wash car' lifted from their long to-do list and to munch on something refreshing while waiting for the family car to be washed? Would they like to hear how their donation will make an impact at your school? Answering these sorts of questions from your audience’s point of view will
enable you to only focus your time and energy into fundraisers that will be most impactful.” – Kelly McLeod, Tasman Bay Food Co “My best advice for a fundraiser type activity would be to have a ticketing system for a fundraiser event as a lot of schools now struggle to get helpers. It is more convenient and it keeps all the money in one place rather than having lots of people handling money, which is also safer and more transparent.” – Lynne Pearson, Rockup Adventure Activities “Top tip: A good game is a fast
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game! Apply that logic to your fundraiser to ensure success. Allow sellers a maximum of two weekends to get the job done. Then re-issue unsold products to keen sellers who might be chasing prizes!” – Mark Bennett, House of Fundraising “My top tip is for schools to fundraise with only one product at a time, then people aren't overwhelmed with choice and it means you can fundraise again with different products the next term.” – Helen Townsend, The Rubbish Whisperer
Term 1, 2020 | schoolnews.co.nz
Images: Kings Seeds
Seedy Schools Fundraiser Programme! Seedy Schools Fundraiser Programme!
Kings Seeds Seedy Fundraisers Kings Seeds for Schools!
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• Buy our retail packets at a discounted price for resale! Pre-sell our Top Sellers at their standard retail price, place your order with us and we’ll supply just what you have sold. No leftovers! You pay the discounted price and make a healthy profit!
Gardening Booklet
• Buy bulk seed at a discounted wholesale price, grow them into seedlings then sell them • Run competitions to grow giant pumpkins, gourmet vegetables or sunflowers. Great for School Fairs! “Fundraising is a community sport! Build a team and strategise to make it quick and efficient. You’ll have much more success trying to run another event if the initial experience was painless and fun. The most successful school fundraisers are always driven by a well organised
team with roots in both the community and the school.”
• Grow cut flowers to sell at the school fete. • Buy seed on a small scale for projects in your school garden and we will discount you 20%
– Alex, PlastiClip “Get your fundraiser out as quick as possible to give people lots of time to collect their fundraising orders!”
Want to find out more? Give us a call today!
– Johanna Ryan, Couplands Bakeries
0800 GERMINATE (0800 437 646) www.kingsseeds.co.nz • accounts@kingsseeds.co.nz
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