Fundraising Tips for Students
My dad would take a box of chocolate bars to set at the front counter at his work when I was a kid and our school was doing its annual chocolate fundraiser. Customers waiting to get their cars repaired were happy to pay a dollar for a chocolate bar to help out a local school rather than grabbing something from the shop’s vending machine, and in a week the whole box would be gone.
–Janet B. – Old Fashion Candy customer
Fundraising opportunities are all around us. Think of all the people that you, your family, and your organization members encounter over the course of a week.
Old Fashion Candy: Chocolate Fundraisers
Teaching students to be aware of the opportunities around them is important in getting the most out of your fundraiser. Here are some tips that will help students be more effective and get in the right mindset:
Tell customers about how close you are to reaching your goal!
Let customers know that you need to sell 50 and you’ve already sold 40. Many people may be ready to buy more because they want to help you out in a big way.
Make phone calls and go door-to-door.
Emails are very likely to be deleted. You will get more attention with face to face interactions. Be sure to explain to kids the many reasons that people may say no because contacting customers directly might be intimidating, and rejection is hard for children to deal with.
Parents and children should always be aware of safety precautions while fundraising. Share this link or print the flyer to be passed out:
Old Fashion Candy: Safety Tips
Give a Q&A sheet to kids.
Give kids answers to common questions they may be asked while fundraising such as “How long will I have to wait?”, “Do I have to pay now?”, “This is specifically what we are fundraising for: _____”
Divide territory among students.
Make sure that students are not overlapping territory and visiting the same places multiple times.
Bring fundraising material with you to give to people while out and about.
Dentist Offices, Gas Stations, Work, Church – Any place you or a student can run into new people is a good place to get your message out.
Old Fashion Candy offers fundraising brochures that can be sent to you for FREE.
Old Fashion Candy: Brochure Fundraisers
Keep good records.
So much time can be saved and problems avoided by solid record keeping of the details of your fundraiser.
Old Fashion Candy has a collection of free tools that you can use for your fundraiser:
Old Fashion Candy: Fundraising Tools
You can share the link with your fundraising team or print copies to pass out.
Remind donors they can give directly.
Donors can give directly to the organization with a check if they don’t want to buy something they may not need. Getting your organization the funds that it needs is most important.
Using these tips should help your fundraiser get started on the right foot, students will keep motivated when they see how well the fundraiser is going. Good luck and happy fundraising!
Give us a call, and we’ll be ready to get you started: 1-800-500-1234