Keep School Fundraising Safe and Courteous

There is only one thing that should be more important than raising a lot of money for your upcoming school fundraiser and that is ensuring the safety of your students. Brochure sales are probably used more than any other fundraising method and there is good reason for that. It is relatively easy to implement, with the fundraising company already providing a built in system, it’s been proven to be profitable and people are already familiar with it and know what to expect. Once your school fundraising kickoff has taken place, and assuming that you have a good prize program, your students are extremely motivated to go out and start selling so that they can win those big prizes.

But wait. Before they leave the assembly will you make sure that you communicate your fundraising safety rules? More importantly, will you make sure that they understand and follow these rules? If done properly, you can help make certain that your fundraiser is both safe and effective. Here are some important tips:

• Make sure that your students talk to people that they already know like neighbors, family members and family friends
• If they do go out and sell make sure that they ask a parent, guardian or older family member to accompany them
• Ensure that they are asking older family members to take their brochure to work and ask their work friends to buy from them as well

Make your fundraiser a success from a public relations standpoint as well. You can do this by encouraging your students to be courteous when engaging potential customers:

• Students of all ages should be told to smile and always look people in the eye when they greet people. Older students should also be taught how to introduce themselves and let people know why they are raising money for their school or organization
• It is important that students know to say “thank you” when someone does buy and “thank you anyway” when they don’t. This will help foster a positive impression about your school and will possibly make it easier for people who don’t buy the first time to say yes the next time around
• If someone does make a purchase from your fundraising catalog, people should be told approximately when they can expect to receive their merchandise (it’s usually safe to tell people approximately 3 weeks). Don’t just leave them hanging especially when they have already entrusted you with their payment you up front