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Schools Turn to the Internet for Fundraising Success

(ARA) - We’re getting close to fall fundraising season. Indeed, in no time, the opportunities to help out a school by buying or selling such items as chocolates, cookie dough, coupon books or calendars will be upon us.

No doubt, with rising education costs and limited funding, most schools today rely on selling “stuff” to supplement their budgets and help finance things like new playground equipment, classroom supplies, art programs and library books.

But as anyone who’s ever participated in a fundraising campaign knows, not all programs are created equal. Some run smoothly and generate impressive profits, while others create stress and fatigue among participants, and result in less-than-ideal returns.

So what differentiates a great fundraising campaign from a mediocre or poor one? And what tactics do fundraisers who experience success employ to supercharge their programs? One thing that sets many schools and students who do fundraising well apart is that they take advantage of technology -- specifically, the Internet -- to maximize the effectiveness of their efforts.

While most in the industry agree that it’s unlikely the Internet will ever fully replace more traditional approaches to fundraising, plenty agree that cyberspace can significantly benefit school and non-profit organizations who sell products as means to raise money for their programs.

A few of the most common advantages that the Internet is bringing to school fundraising are:

Increased reach through email

Some fundraising companies now provide e-mail tools to their customers, which allow students to reach out-of-town supporters. For example, hundreds of thousands of students will sell Sally Foster gift wrap and gift items this fall. Through www.SallyFoster.com, they can easily create and send personalized e-mails to family members and friends, inviting them to support their schools by making a purchase (which can also be accomplished online). Later in the campaign, students can send reminder e-mails to the same distribution lists.

Easy e-shopping

Several companies, Sally Foster included, have also migrated their product catalogs online so would-be shoppers no longer need to get their hands on a paper catalog. Today, supporters can view fundraising product offerings online, order by credit card and have their goods delivered directly to their homes, whether its two blocks or 2,000 miles away from the school itself. And both student and school get credit for the sale.

Help for the chairpeople

The Internet is making life easier for students and supporters, but what about the campaign chairpeople who often donate hours and hours of time to ensure that a school fundraiser goes well? Suppliers like Troy, Mich.-based Entertainment Publications (www.entertainment.com) offer a laundry list of online tools to help make a campaign chairperson’s job easier and ensure that orders are processed and tabulated accurately. Best known for the Entertainment coupon book, Entertainment offers those who sell its products as a fundraiser an arsenal of online tools including flyers, publicity supplies, order entry and reporting tools, parent letters and tracking capabilities.

Yosi Heber, Entertainment’s chief marketing officer, said the company makes these tools available because people often have little time for fundraising, yet aggressive money-making goals.

“We keep two major facts in mind when we design tools for our customers,” he said. “First, chairpeople want their sales campaign to be easy. Second, they want it to be as profitable as possible. The Internet has opened up a lot of avenues to address both of these desires. But even more exciting? We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to what technology can bring to school fundraising.”

Courtesy of ARA Content

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