School fundraiser: setting a target

The goal of every school fundraiser, of course, is to make money.  The important thing to keep in mind is how much money you’d like your fundraiser to make, because that number will have a big influence on all the other decisions you make.

Schools run fundraisers for all sorts of different reasons:

  • Some raise funds because they need to receive a certain amount in order to keep operating for the next year
  • Others raise funds because they’ve got a specific item or project they’d like to fund (new equipment for the gym, a new classroom building or library resource, etc)
  • Or a fundraiser may be primarily a social occasion, with the funds raised being seen as an “added bonus” to the school

Which category is your school fundraiser in?

School fundraiserThe important thing is to know which category your fundraiser fits into.

If it’s one of the first two categories, then you’ve likely already got a specific figure in mind. That’s your fundraising target, and you should gear all your activities towards meeting that target.  The size of the target will differ for every school, and it will dictate a lot of things about your program (the number and type of fundraising activities you run, the size of the market you need to reach, etc).

If it’s the last category, to some extent you’re under less pressure.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still set a fundraising target though!

Setting an aspirational target can be a fantastic motivator, both for you and your fellow organisers, as well as the people who are donating.  It may seem arbitrary to set a goal of, say, $5000 to raise for the night, but people can surprise you!  Often you’ll find they’re willing to bid just a little more on an auction item, or purchase a few extra tickets, so that they can feel like they’ve made a real contribution to the ‘success’ of the school fundraiser.

Just make sure your target is a realistic one – setting your target at a million dollars when you’re unlikely to get anywhere near that mark is unlikely to be helpful, for example!