How to Get the School Principal Behind Your Fundraiser

If you are in the process of planning a school fundraiser it will be vital to gain the support of your parents, teachers and students. Yet the most important person to win over is probably going to be the principal. Since the principal is the most influential person in the school it is obvious that gaining their support will help your cause. It’s one thing to have them approve your fundraiser; however if you can go a step further and get them involved in some capacity, you have the potential to take your fundraiser to another level.

1. Gain the Support of Your Principal
If you want the principal to support your school fundraising efforts then you will probably need to sell them on the ‘why’ behind your fundraiser. Hopefully you have already talked to various people on campus about what the school needs. When it comes to the approaching the principal however we recommend that you do the following:

1. Request an appointment. This will give you more time to discuss your goals and objectives
2. Show up prepared. Write down the things that you wish to discuss. It may seem obvious that you plan to focus on why you want to do a fundraiser; however as you work through your list you may think of additional things to talk about. In other words, plan to have an organized presentation outline. Principals are busy so make wise use of the time that they give you
3. Dress for success. Even though you may already know the principal, make sure and dress professionally. You should plan to dress at a level that is at least on par with the principal. Believe it our not but wearing a sweat suit probably won’t make a very good impression

2. Ask the Principal to Become Involved
One of your goals at your meeting with the principal should be to ask them if they would also be willing to become involved. You may be able to convince the principal to help out if you can correlate their involvement to increased fundraising sales. The principal can unite the entire school towards the fundraiser goal. They can also help you promote your fundraising kickoff as well as make daily announcements while your sale is going on. Perhaps the biggest way that they can help though is by becoming the primary motivation for the students. For example, you can create a condition for the students that if they reach their fundraiser goal then the principal will agree to perform a specific act. Here are some examples of what you can ask the principal to do if your goal is reached:

• Spend a day on the roof
• Come to school in their pajamas
• Dye their hair
• Kiss a frog
• Dress up as a ____________

These are all things that shouldn’t take up too much of the principal’s time. Once the principal understands what you are trying to accomplish they will perhaps think of their own ideas as well. This is when you know that the principal is really going to support your fundraiser. Make sure that the ideas that are discussed are going to be both fun and funny for the students; otherwise it may not motivate them to want to bring in more sales. After all, that should be the main reason you are meeting with the principal in the first place.