5 Reasons Schools Raise More Money With Online Fundraising

It’s sometimes called “social fundraising”, “friend-raising” or “peer-to-peer fundraising” – Catchy terms for students and their families asking their friends for financial support on your school’s behalf.  It can be a powerful tool to reach more people…and their charitable donations.

The more than 98,000 public schools and nearly 29,000 private schools in the US rely heavily on donations to deliver anything from paper and pencils to arts education to technology to scholarships.  Enabling people connected to your school to reach other supporters is critical to your fundraising success.  A popular source of fundraising for many schools is the walk-a-thon (or any “a-thon” for that matter).

When the school PTA plans an event like a walk-a-thon, jog-a-thon, or read-a-thon, it relies on families to ask their networks for financial donations.   Turning students and parents into active fundraisers requires that the fundraising organizer make it:

• Convenient for the student/parents to ask
• Easy for the supporter to donate
• Simple for the volunteer to track and receive donations

But most schools haven’t caught up with the new wave of online social fundraising that is transforming how people give. Here are just 5 of the many reasons online fundraising leads to success for schools:

• Engage the parents: Online fundraising can be done any time of the day, so busy parents can stay on top of the fundraising.
• Ask more people:  Word about your fundraiser travels much faster, further and to more people by email, facebook and twitter – around the country and across the globe.
• Take donations online:  Donations are processed immediately by credit card, so it’s easy for the donor to give.  Mom no longer has to embarrassingly ask grandparents or friends to write the check for their pledge commitment (or give up and write the check herself!).
• Feature the students:  Personal fundraising webpages mean that students can show off their personalities with photos, video, and a specific message.  After all, this is for the kids!
• Stay on top of the goal:  Students and teachers can watch their personal and class team fundraising progress, which encourages them to strive for prizes and enjoy a little healthy competition.

If you’re shy about dipping your toe in the online fundraising waters, rest assured it has already proven successful for schools.  And if you’re ready but don’t know how to start, Fundly has announcement the 12 Schools in 12 Weeks Challenge, to help 12 schools succeed in online fundraising for their Spring 2012 “a-thons” with dedicated support from Yapper Girl and a fundraiser’s toolkit worth more than $3,000.