School Fundraiser? Get a Small Business to Help!

I am the proud mother of three boys, one of whom is still in the school system.

My other accomplishment is being the owner of a busy auto repair service center. So I have been involved in school fundraisers both as a PTA member, and also as a business owner.

Here are my 8 tips for a creative and organized fundraiser. Let me start by giving you an example of one we are involved in right now.
My youngest son is autistic, and attends a small charter middle school for high functioning autistic children.

We are having a car wash in my business parking lot that the kids will be involved in. Our technicians will donate their time and do oil changes (more about this later).

All of the proceeds will go to the school.

You can use about any small business and target their services for a unique fundraising idea.

For example, a beauty salon/barber shop offering a "hair cut day"; a bakery offering loaves of bread at a "no loafing around for xyz school".
Use your local, successful businesses to help you.

TIPS Start Early! Organizing generally takes longer than you expect.

You can count on running into unforeseen issues to work through.
Give yourself plenty of time. Recruit a few movers and shakers. You will need a select group of advisers to bounce ideas off of. Brainstorm with them.
Create a plan. You will want to approach the business with a well thought out plan.

If someone comes into my store with just a rough idea, I want to turn and run the other way because I know the responsibility will fall on my shoulders. Tell them how it will benefit the business.

Will it give them exposure with the media? Will you advertise it on your school's reader board? Will you send emails with the business name on it to all the parents? Get support sponsors to sign up, or suggest that the business can do so.
In our oil change example, we have our local parts supplier donate the oil filters, and our oil supplier donates the oil.
They are usually happy to do so, if we put up their banners on the big day.

They also help advertise at their places of business to their customers.

Come up with a list of specific jobs, and recruit responsible and motivated people to oversee these tasks. Trust me, it always turns out to be more work than you thought! For our fundraiser, I will need a mom/dad/teacher to be in charge of advertising/marketing; someone to be in charge of the car wash supplies and supervising; and I need extra help supervising our autistic kids. So I am recruiting a local church youth group and their advisers.
Before the event, please be sure to rally the troops! People actually tend to forget, and need reminders the big day is near.
Get ATTENTION on the big day. Posters, balloons, people dressed up, etc. In our example, we are having our advertising parent make posters to get passing motorists attention.

Don't make the mistake of having posters with small words, and a few people holding them right in front of the event location.

Have you ever driven by a fundraiser, trying desperately to read the poster and figure out what is going on.
By the time you do, you are already past the event! Make the words on the posters BIG, and place the posters far enough away so the passersby can read and prepare to attend your event. We will be having about 6 posters on each side of the street, spaced in intervals starting a block away, with key words on each poster.
People holding signage is great.
But you may not have enough recruits, and instead need to plant them using stakes or H stands.

After the event, be sure to thank everyone.
Write a card, or have the kids write thank yous on a poster, or make cookies.
Everyone appreciates a nice thank you. And if the event was successful, you can repeat it next year. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Good luck to you, and happy fundraising.

Our schools need your help.
Feel confident knowing that you are doing a great service.