{"id":16998,"date":"2019-08-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=16998"},"modified":"2024-05-08T23:25:56","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T23:25:56","slug":"school-fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/school-fundraising\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Top School Fundraising Campaigns You Can Learn From"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re a school administrator, or on the PTO, do the words \u201cschool fundraising\u201d strike terror into your heart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you picturing hours and hours of thankless admin, crates of wrapping paper or lollipops to sell, or shuffling piles of order forms and sign up sheets?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be that way. Bring your school fundraising into the future, and launch a streamlined, easy-to-manage online campaign with CauseVox. You\u2019ll raise more money with less effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at these top school fundraising campaigns, and their top fundraising takeaways to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Bike-a-thon: Strathcona Initiative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Campaign Overview: Student teams bike for 24 hours, raising money for a nonprofit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funds Raised: $560,000<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Participants: 151 teams<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Donors: 3969<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year since 2008, Strathcona High School has united to raise money for important causes with the Strathcona Initiative. Students form teams to raise money, culminating in a stationary bike-a-thon in the school\u2019s gymnasium. Working together, teams try to keep their bikes going for 24 hours. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CauseVox
$388,580 raised online, and $171,420 from offline efforts–way to go!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, the Strathcona Initiative raised $560,000 on and offline for Doctors Without Borders. Students formed 130 fundraising teams, easy to manage on CauseVox. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaway: Make Students The Leaders Of School Fundraising<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitiative\u201d isn\u2019t just the name of the project, it\u2019s the secret to its success. Students show tremendous initiative as they create their fundraising teams, goals, and campaigns. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe try to empower the student voice in every part of the planning. The students end up voting for the nonprofit organization we support,\u201d says curriculum coordinator Tom Yonge. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students choose the name of the campaign, the campaign logo, and make their own fundraising pages with CauseVox. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While top-down decrees are a hard-sell for teenagers, putting them in charge has had great results: \u201cWhen they set a goal for themselves, they will achieve it. They use peer to peer networking, it\u2019s a world they understand. They\u2019re able to activate their network.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students use online fundraising with CauseVox, as well as in-person fundraising like selling treats at lunch hour, to meet their goals. They become social entrepreneurs, learning skills like marketing, cooperation, and storytelling. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Strathcona<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best teams that we\u2019ve seen upload pictures and send updates to their networks,\u201d Yonge notes. The school offers students a fundraising toolkit, organized simply on Google Drive, to help everyone follow best practices. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students set ambitious fundraising goals, but they\u2019re determined to meet them. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen they have that real autonomy and they have the tools, they can really actualize their hopes and make their goals become a reality,\u201d says Tom. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Walk: Mercy High School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Campaign Overview: Students commit to walking 5k to raise money for school programs. In 2019, they raised money for renovating the library.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funds Raised: $102,429<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Participants: 515 fundraisers<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Donors: 2320<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercy High School has hosted a walk-a-thon fundraiser for 15 years. Each of the 400 students was expected to raise $100 for the walk-a-thon, and they did. With 100 percent participation, the school consistently raised about $40,000. Not bad, but it was time to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan Devany, Director of Advancement, formed a committee with all interested stakeholders–students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They concluded that if they took their campaign online and used social media, they could raise a lot more. They launched their campaign on CauseVox with a fundraising goal of $100,000.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mercy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Instead of a general campaign to raise money for the school, they focused on a specific goal: renovating the school library to be a modern learning center. This goal resonated deeply with the school\u2019s greater community. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents, students, and alumni all had different reasons a renovated library was important to them, but united around a common goal. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaway: Include Your Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CauseVox\u2019s social sharing tools made spreading the word to the larger community easy. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each student made her own fundraising page on CauseVox, then shared her personal fundraising link across all of her social media channels. \u201cOnce we put all the pieces in place, it actually was pretty easy,\u201d Susan says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Susan and the team at Mercy, including the Director of Alumni, communicated about the campaign with every possible audience. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe used every channel possible,\u201d Susan says. They sent letters to alert their network that a fundraising email was coming. They shared it on social media. They contacted each class of alumni, sent postcards, and mailed invitations to attend the walk-a-thon. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community got into it, following the campaign on CauseVox, where they could instantly see progress. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone had it on their phones and were able to see how close we were getting to our goal,\u201d Susan says. \u201cPeople really wanted us to be successful with this.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the day of the event, they\u2019d reach $90,000, already more than double their previous years\u2019 totals. \u201cWe had the entire day to raise the final $10,000. We all had our phones, and whenever a donation came in, the entire parking lot cheered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the day, the walk-a-thon raised $102,000 from 2,316 donors. \u201cWhen we hit $100K, it was a big party here. We knew people were cheering with us,\u201d Susan says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3 Dance Marathon: Cardinal O\u2019Hara High School <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Campaign Overview: Students raise money and perform a line dance for 12 hours straight.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funds Raised: $88,000<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Participants: 463<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number of Donors: 1755<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"O'Hara's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Takeaway: Be Personal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Danny Hammond Dance Marathon is personal at Cardinal O\u2019Hara High School. It\u2019s named in the memory of a Cardinal O\u2019Hara High alum, who passed away at age 20, after a long battle with cancer that began when he was only 9-years-old. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CauseVox<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His compassion for others and determination to help people inspired the dance marathon fundraiser that bears his name. Danny\u2019s story is a major part of the fundraising appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students made a hopeful video to motivate participation and giving, with many students expressing why they dance in the marathon. This video is a great reminder that stories and authenticity are what move people. It\u2019s simple, but highly engaging. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n