3 School Fundraising Ideas to Save Money and Boost Your ROI

Guest post from OneCause

Your school needs a reliable flow of revenue to enrich your students’ academic and extracurricular experiences at your institution. By tapping into fundraising, you can expand your bottom line, empowering your school to invest in new facilities, enhance educational programs, fund field trips, and meet other existing needs. 

But, like most schools and school-related organizations, you’re likely working with a tight budget and don’t have a lot to spend on lavish fundraising events. This might leave you wondering: what fundraising ideas are the most effective for both saving money and increasing profit? 

In this guide, we’ll cover the top three school fundraising ideas to cut costs and maximize earnings. As you read through this list, consider your school’s community and which type of fundraiser would make them the most excited to give. 

1. Auctions

Auctions are one of the most flexible fundraising ideas and can be shaped to fit your school’s exact needs and budget. When executed with careful planning, these events have the power to produce a massive ROI. If you’re thinking of adding an auction to your school’s fundraising agenda, follow these important planning steps: 

Choose the type of auction you’ll host

When you think of an auction, your mind might immediately jump to an image of an auctioneer announcing bids and participants raising paddles. This is a live auction, which can take place either online or in-person, and creates a dynamic and high-energy environment that is sure to enthrall your audience. 

Your school can also choose to host a silent auction, which involves setting up tables of items and packages for guests to bid on using paper bids or their smartphones with the help of mobile bidding software. If an in-person event isn’t feasible, your auction can be done completely online to reduce overhead costs, or you might even host a hybrid auction (taking bids online during an in-person event) for the opportunity to engage two audiences at the same time, bringing in more bids! 

Invest in comprehensive technology

Auctions have plenty of moving parts, and without the right tools, it can quickly become overwhelming for any fundraising team to handle. The OneCause guide to silent auction software recommends investing in a solution with these key features:

• Event management: Leverage your platform to seamlessly sell tickets, manage registrations and RSVPs, provide contactless check-in and check-out, and create a well-designed event site in just a few moments. 

• Mobile bidding: Whether you’re hosting a live or silent auction, mobile bidding makes getting in on the bidding action simpler and more rewarding. 

• Item and package management: The right auction software will equip you to easily track the status of your item procurement efforts and customize starting bids and minimum raises. 

• Gamification: Infuse healthy competition into the bidding process by adding a fundraising thermometer to your event microsite and displaying scoreboards with the top bidders.

The best fundraising software won’t just make it easy to host live or silent auctions; it’ll empower your school to host all kinds of events—from peer-to-peer walk-a-thons and galas to text fundraisers. As you research options, prioritize investing in an all-in-one solution so you can maximize your ROI. 

Market your auction 

Your school’s community can’t attend your event if they don’t know it’s happening! Take a multichannel marketing approach to increase touchpoints with as many supporters as possible and keep your auction top of mind. 

For example, you might use the following channels to promote your auction event site and boost registrations: 

• Social media 

• Your website’s blog

• Your school’s ambassadors

• Email newsletters

Keep in mind that your school’s students can also support your marketing efforts! Send them home with well-designed flyers that explain the purpose of your auction and how the funds will be used to enhance your students’ academic experiences. This way, you can easily broadcast your event to your students’ parents or guardians. 

2. Peer-to-peer walkathon

If you’re looking for a school fundraising idea that will get your students involved in the action and will appeal to all age groups, look no further than a peer-to-peer walkathon! Walkathons are easily adaptable events that can fit all budget types, and by adding a peer-to-peer element, you can accelerate giving while encouraging students to play a rewarding role in your fundraiser. 

To make your peer-to-peer walkathon a success and keep costs down, use these tips: 

Organize a walking route on your school’s campus

One of the best parts of planning a walkathon is it can take place anywhere! Some ideal locations where you can host a walkathon right on your school’s campus include:

• The track

• Sports fields

• Indoor gymnasium

• Around the perimeter of your school

Hosting your walkathon at school takes away the hassle of having to reserve an area of your local park or other venue and any additional costs associated with this. Keep in mind that you can also take your walkathon online and encourage students to meet their walking goals on their own or with friends or family. 

Train students on peer-to-peer fundraising best practices

To raise as much money as possible from your peer-to-peer walkathon, you’ll want all hands on deck. Prepare your students to step into their fundraising roles with confidence by: 

• Explaining how to create a personal fundraising page with the help of your peer-to-peer fundraising software.

• Encouraging students to set a personal or class-wide fundraising goal that is ambitious yet reasonable.

• Covering best practices to meet these goals, such as asking neighbors, friends, and family members to make a pledge or donate.

This is not just a great opportunity to raise more money for your school; it also teaches your students invaluable leadership skills that will benefit them down the line! 

Generate a creative theme

To incentivize all of your students to take part in your walkathon, you need a compelling theme that will set the tone for your event and create excitement. 

For example, if you’re hosting a year-end walkathon, you might challenge your participants to dress up like their favorite holiday movie character. Or, add your walkathon to a pajama day fundraiser where students donate a small amount to wear PJ’s all day long!

Then, use cost-effective strategies to integrate your theme seamlessly into your event. For instance, you might have students or staff create decorations using art supplies you already have. 

3. Text-to-give

Your school’s community members lead busy lives, and chances are, they might not always have a few minutes to sit down at the nearest computer and donate to your institution. Simplify the fundraising process by making mobile giving a possibility! 

According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, mobile users made up 33% of online donation transactions last year. By incorporating text-to-give into your school’s fundraising strategy, you can make donating more convenient and rewarding, resulting in greater earnings.

Use these best practices to get started with text-to-give:

• Work with the right text-to-give software so you can easily send communications and donation appeals to your school’s community year-round in advance of fundraising deadlines. Your supporters should be able to click on a mobile-friendly version of your donation page and give a gift in just moments. 

• Create a clear call to action to give in your texts and include the reason you’re asking for gifts and how they’ll make an impact. For example, you might write “Donate by midnight tonight to help fund the purchase of new computers! With your support, our students will gain access to cutting-edge technology in the classroom, helping them to advance academically.” 

• Couple text-to-give with your fundraising events to maximize funding. For instance, if you’re hosting a silent auction, you might ask parents and community members to donate ahead of the event so you can make early headway on your fundraising goal. Plus, text-to-give is a great alternative for donors who can’t attend your auction or aren’t interested in bidding. 

Regularly check in on metrics, like conversion rate, so you can assess the effectiveness of your text-to-give appeals and make changes as needed to your strategy. You can also survey your supporters directly to learn more about their communication preferences and what they want to hear from your school. 

Wrapping Up

There are many fundraising ideas available to your school, but not all of them are the most efficient use of your funds. Use one or a combination of these cost-saving ideas to increase your fundraising potential, engage your school’s community, and enhance your institution for students and staff alike. Then, make sure to acknowledge your donors and thank them for their contributions! 

The preceding post was provided by a guest author unaffiliated with DonationMatch. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of DonationMatch.

4 Ways Mobile Bidding Can Expand Your Nonprofit’s Audience

Guest post by ClickBid

It’s no mystery that audience expansion is important to your nonprofit. To accomplish its goals, your nonprofit needs a growing supporter base. Supporter expansion leads to increased donations and volunteer involvement, which helps your nonprofit make a meaningful impact.

Auctions are a highly engaging fundraising idea that likely excites your existing supporters. But how can you leverage auction tools to reach a larger audience? In this guide, we’ll look at four ways mobile bidding can help you reach more potential supporters:

1. Increased accessibility

2. Donor engagement

3. Data tracking

4. Streamlined event management

For an auction to be successful, you’ll need to collect auction items, track your in-kind donations, plan event logistics, and promote your fundraiser. All of this leaves little time to focus on audience expansion, which is why you should leverage mobile bidding software’s outreach tools. Let’s get started!

1. Increased accessibility

Remote bidding allows participants to bid on auction items from their mobile devices, meaning they can take part in your auction virtually. This incentivizes supporters to participate even if they’re:

• Sick at home

• Out of town

• Committed to a prior engagement

Not only does mobile bidding make your auction doable for busy supporters, but it also attracts participants who aren’t involved in your organization. For example, people who have never donated or volunteered with your organization might learn about an enticing auction item through your online item catalog and register for the event in hopes of winning it. Other elements of mobile bidding that increase accessibility include:

• Push notifications: Mobile bidding software keeps participants in the loop, so they’ll be just as involved in the event from their phones as they would be if they attended in person.

• Self-check-in and payment processing: Participants can join the auction and pay for the items they won directly from mobile bidding software. 

The increased auction accessibility offered by mobile bidding capabilities broadens your potential audience to just about anyone. Not only is this a solution for your busy supporters, but it can also entice outsiders to become involved if you promote this in your auction marketing efforts.

2. Donor engagement

You might promote mobile bidding as you market your event, but the mobile bidding software itself can also be used as an outreach tool. ClickBid’s guide to silent auction software recommends using the platform to create an event landing page for your auction and providing the landing page’s link on all your other communication channels. You can also engage donors with targeted communications, through capabilities such as:

• Mass messaging: Send messages to all participants or specific groups of them. This makes widespread messages easier to send and organize, especially if you’re sending different messages to different groups of supporters. For example, you might send a specific thank-you message to only the winning bidders at the end of your auction, encouraging them to enjoy the item they won.

• Volunteer tools: Don’t just think of your donors as bidders in your auction—volunteers are also donating their time to make sure your event runs smoothly. Use volunteer tools included in your software to send important messages or fun event updates, keeping your volunteers engaged throughout the event.

• Outbid alerts: Keep bidders invested in the outcome of your auction by leveraging the outbid alerts feature of your software.

Outreach tools can help your nonprofit engage its audience, giving them a positive experience to share with their family members, friends, colleagues, and others when these supporters advocate for your organization. 

Your nonprofit won’t only reach out to auction participants—you might use your software to share an auction catalog with potential item donors to contribute to your event. By engaging the community through item procurement, your nonprofit will entice more auction participants, who can ultimately be converted into long-time supporters.

3. Data tracking

Whether you’re raising money for a school, church, or charitable organization, the importance of data-driven fundraising strategies applies to everyone. The same technique is important for auction management, and data can also influence the responsiveness of your audience. 

The right mobile bidding software can help your nonprofit track donor and fundraising data related to your event, such as: 

• Average bid amounts. Your auction will raise various monetary donations since auction items will vary in price, but you can still track metrics such as the average amount of bid increments to determine the success of your event. Use this data to adjust future item pricing strategies so that you can appeal to the budgets of more bidders.

• Bidder behavior. Evaluate how many people bid on each item and how many times they were willing to raise the price. This may reveal your auction’s most popular items, which can influence item procurement for your next auction. You’ll appeal to a larger audience of bidders when you collect a variety of coveted auction items.

• Participation history. Track participants’ histories with your organization—is this their first auction or are they regular attendees? When you understand their participation habits, you’ll know how to craft compelling appeals for support in future outreach efforts.

Use donor profiles or custom analytics reports from your mobile bidding software to adjust your fundraising strategy when approaching your next fundraising initiative. AlumniFinder’s donor data guide suggests collecting data in a constituent relationship management (CRM) system, which can be integrated with your mobile bidding software. Managing this data in one, comprehensive platform makes it easier to identify patterns or areas for improvement.

4. Streamlined event management

Unlike crowdfunding campaigns or peer-to-peer fundraisers, many resources are required to host and manage an auction. Mobile bidding software can streamline event management, decreasing the resources your nonprofit spends on administrative needs. For example, your auction will require:

• Item procurement and pricing. Mobile bidding software organizes items in a catalog as you collect them, along with information about each item.

• Day-of volunteer management. Volunteer tools will streamline communications and volunteer roles so that your volunteers won’t need to be closely supervised during the event. If your volunteers do need assistance on the day of your auction, choose an event management software provider that offers event advisors to guide your auction.

• Item display cards. Depending on how you host your auction, you might need to display additional context about each item for your attendees. When item information is input into your mobile bidding software, you can automatically print item display cards instead of manually designing the cards and adding item information to each one.

With all of these capabilities, mobile bidding software simplifies event management and allows nonprofit leaders to focus on supporter engagement. With all of the time and resources saved, you can instead focus on audience expansion through prospect research, targeted communications, and creative marketing campaigns.

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Whether this is your nonprofit’s first auction or its hundredth, mobile bidding software can turn your fundraiser into an outreach strategy that will expand your audience and grow your supporter base. Research software options and determine which platform meets the needs of your organization and event.