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Successful Fundraising for Schools

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The-Secrets-to-Planning-a-Successful-Charity-Event-A-First-Timer’s-GuideI cannot think of one school I have worked with these past couple of years who have been able to pay for our products entirely out of the school budget. Sign of these still austere times I guess. So increasingly schools are having to look to alternative ways of finding the necessary funds for their playground projects…and this is where we come in.

I am convinced that in order to be successful, the expression “where there is a will, there is a way” is of paramount importance because I have seen so many schools fall by the wayside because they have simply given up or not put in the required effort. And the other thing I am convinced of is that you need to think outside of the box when implementing your campaign and maybe go outside of your traditional comfort zone – and be a bit more commercially minded. And school governors need to understand this too.

But we also understand that school staff are busy and sometimes do not simply have the time to devote to the cause. We therefore work with schools on how to implement a strategic plan on how to raise the necessary funds and this can involve a whole facet of initiatives which usually run concurrently to maximise the chances of success.

  • We look at ways the school PTA can help fundraise but we like to come up with novel ideas which inject a breath of fresh air into somewhat fatigued traditional school fundraising events;
  • We advise on potential grants which could be available for your school project;
  • We tell you about renting or operating leasing possibilities for our products which now a lot of schools can take out on a typical 3-5 year lease period;
  • We tell you how to set up a crowdfunding website for your school to help spread the word and give your project a far wider audience;
  • We tell you how to approach local companies for financial support and donations;
  • We tell you how you can rent out your existing school facilities to earn a meaningful income (some schools we know who are doing this are getting approximately £30K a year for renting their premises and facilities);
  • We tell you about our own customer referral scheme whereby your school can earn commissions from the Hideout House Company for referring us to other schools;
  • We tell you about a scheme we have with the green energy supplier Ecotricity whereby your school can earn money each time someone switches to their tariffs

All we ask in return is that you are dedicated to the cause and are prepared to push the boundaries out a bit more than usual!

For further information about how we can help your school run a successful fundraising campaign, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

Our website is www.hideouthouse.com

 

 

How To Successfully Use Crowdfunding For Your School Playground Project

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Schools are beginning to use crowdfunding ever more as a successful way and means of raising money for their school playground projects. If you are not fully aware of what crowdfunding is, it is best described as asking a large crowd of donors to each make a small donation to your school – mainly done via the internet of course. It should be effective for schools given the fact that they have a ready-made network of people in their community – be they local businesses, parents, PTAs etc – who all have a vested interested in seeing the project come to fruition. You can also use a crowdfunding campaign to help raise awareness of your school and its vision and to create new partnerships and alliances.

To be successful though, you need to bear in mind the following:

  • Concentrate on projects which are more likely to motivate your local community to donate. Create interesting and compelling stories which very clearly demonstrate how all parties will benefit and prosper as a result. Crowdfunding is all about the sharing community and people power!
  • Be clear in your online communications – explain what the project is, why it is so badly needed, who will deliver the project, in what timeframe and who will benefit; get all associated costs together because you will need to have a target
  • Go for the low hanging fruit first – contact parents, local businesses etc
  • Use social media to its full effect. The average individual has 170 contacts on social media so you can easily spread the word very quickly through this medium
  • Get noticed – you need to make your project interesting and don’t be afraid to be creative. Give your project attention-grabbing straplines and spend some time doing exciting visuals to be used on your website, social media, blogs etc. Use video too – put together a short film (with the children’s involvement perhaps) explaining how the funds will be used, who will benefit and how. Crowdfunding sites with videos are far more likely to attract funding and to succeed.
  • Contact the local press and radio stations as they are always interested in supporting good local causes and will give your project much needed and welcome publicity
  • Consider offering rewards. Rewards are what you give donors in return for their donations. They give an added incentive for people to sponsor your school project – for example, a mention on the school website, offering the school hall for business meetings when not being used, tickets to the next PTA event, have their logo or name on the products if applicable etc
  • Last but not least, always say thank you and keep in touch – get the children to write thank you notes.

For a good example of a successful crowdfunding campaign, please have a look at the below link:

Brooke School crowdfunding campaign

There are some crowdfunding websites which specialise in school projects. These are:

www.crowdfunded.org.uk

www.hubbub.net

www.crowdfunder.co.uk

And then you need to give us a call as we specialise in all kinds of products for school playgrounds including outdoor play equipment, outdoor classrooms, shelters, nature play areas, classroom buildings and growing gardens.

For further information, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com