If this is your first time planning a Fun Run Fundraiser, you might feel much like an early explorer navigating a new territory. Where do I start? How do I begin? How long will this take? What tools do I need?
In this blog, you’ll learn more about:
In this blog, we’ll give you our top 6 tips for executing successful Fun Run Fundraisers so your PTA/O team can start your fundraising journey on the right foot.
Engaged couples plan a wedding months in advance. Teachers spend their summer planning for the school year. And if this is your first time organizing a Fun Run, then you’ll need to start early to be successful too. So make sure to give yourself plenty of time to plan.
Pro Tip: Take great notes for future Fun Runs! This will save you or future PTA/O’s hours.
During this initial planning phase, you’ll want to find answers to key questions such as:
Which leads into our next tip….
Gone are the days of handwriting out pledges and keeping track of so, so, so many numbers, names, and checks. Meet your new best friend: the school fundraising platform.
Take time to research, compare and contrast. There are plenty of stress-saving features that the best school fundraising platforms can offer like: family dashboards for families to track their donations, an admin dashboard to view real time data and stats, text and email features to easily send donors to your school’s fun run fundraiser page to get the word out.
And, in the vein of “getting the word out”...
If you are not a marketing pro, promoting and communicating can start to feel overwhelming. There are so many ways to communicate: social media, email, text, in person, marques, flyers, your fundraising website, video, and more.
Plus there are so many different groups of people you will need to communicate with such as students, parents, businesses, teachers, administration, donors, and community leaders.
Our best advice? If you don’t have a company with communication resources and expertise leading this initiative, then find a single volunteer who will manage this component for you. Make them the Communication Volunteer! They decide the answers to: who do we need to communicate to? How will we communicate to them? When will we communicate to them?
Remember, your communication plan needs to include: teaching parents about your fun run fundraiser, sharing key fundraising information to donors, and notifying students about your awesome fun run!
And since we brought up students…
A common mistake is to just put all the focus and hype on the actual fun run. But before you get there you have a week or two of fundraising to do. Students need motivation and inspiration to stay engaged in the fundraising process. Get creative and have fun!
To dream up something really inspiring for your students, answer questions like:
And speaking of the students who receive the most donations…
Whether you choose to reward individual students, a whole class, or the whole school, when you incorporate incentives into your fun run it inspires students to stay on track and keep working towards the fundraising goal.
Incentives should absolutely be a part of your fun run! When thinking through the best incentives for your school you’ll want to discover the answers to questions like:
And on the note of celebrating…
Everyone has done a ton of hard work. YOU deserve to celebrate. School parents deserve to celebrate. Students and the entire school deserve to CELEBRATE! So when you plan the actual fun run event, think celebration.
The day of the Fun Run could include decorations, awards, a speech at the end, refreshments, and music. This event could become one of the most memorable events at your school, and something families look forward to annually. Many school communities already see their fun run as their favorite annual event!
If this sounds like a lot, never fear! There is a company who has already thought through all these fun run details and tips for you. In fact, they are the leading expert in school fundraising in America.
Booster have perfected the whole communication calendar and strategy. They will plan your entire fundraiser. They offer the most innovative donation website to power your fun run fundraiser. They’ve created a week long, Hollywood-quality program for your students leading up to the fun run. They’ve interweaved all types of incentives for students, classes and schools. And they put on one of the most epic celebrations your school community will ever have all while helping your school profit more than ever before! So what are you waiting for? See how Booster can help your school rock the fun run fundraiser this year!