School Fundraising Resource Hub
Everything your school needs to lead and succeed in online and virtual fundraising
Together with a nationwide community of fundraisers, we’ve put together:
- School Fundraising Guides and Resources
- Virtual Fundraising Webinars
- Virtual Fundraising Success Stories
We’d love to help you reach your goals.
Why Virtual Fundraising is More Important Than Ever For Schools
The events of 2020 have forced us to rethink the way that we deliver programming. They’ve also forced us to reconsider how we fundraise. For many schools, the traditional gala, live auction, or other in-person event is no longer feasible. That’s left many nonprofit fundraising developers wondering what’s next.
The fundraising professionals at GiveSmart have teamed up with nonprofit fundraising professionals across the country to answer that question. On this page, you’ll find virtual fundraising resources specifically created for schools like you, including:
- Fundraising Success Webinars
- School Fundraising Study Guide
- Blogs & Resources
- School Success Stories
- and more!
So take advantage of the knowledge, insights, encouragement, and opportunities that we see from working with fundraising developers every day on the GiveSmart virtual fundraising platform. For more information about GiveSmart, or to schedule a demo of our fundraising software, visit us here.
Fundraising Success Webinars
There’s a new way forward with fundraising and plenty of options to meet your donors where they are and connect with them all year round. This sampling of school-related success webinars dives into all those things.
Hear your peers share success stories on:
- How they grew their reach
- Exceeded their targets
- Applied creativity to their virtual fundraising
- Communicated with donors
Enjoy all 15 #OutsideTheRoom webinars.
Episode 10: OTR - Crossnore School & Children's Center [RECORDED]
Episode 12: OTR - St. Mary's School [RECORDED]
Episode 13: OTR - PENCIL Foundation
Episode 4: Your School's Pivot to a Virtual Fundraising Event [RECORDED]
Episode 5: Creative Uses of Technology [RECORDED]
Ultimate School Fundraising Study Guide
At GiveSmart we are focused on providing plenty of resources for our partners to be successful in their endeavors. The Ultimate Study Guide for School Fundraising provides access tips and tricks to ace your upcoming fundraising events and efforts.
Here are a few of the items included:
- Fundraising Event Checklist
- Go Big or Go Home: Event Enhancements
- Unique Items for School Auctions
- Four Tips for your Auction and Fund-the-Need
- How to Incorporate Students in your Fundraiser
- How to Re-Engage your Alumni
- Keeping them Hooked
Your Virtual Fundraising Checklist
“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy
Remember, opportunity still exists, but your original plan might not be the one to help get you there. During these unpredictable times, you and your team will face challenges, new situations, and tricky obstacles. You will, however, emerge stronger and more resilient than before. Additionally, there will be lessons picked up along the way that will help grow your mission that may not have surfaced otherwise. Your pivot to virtual fundraising checklist will walk you from taking a deep breath to assessing your fundraising opportunities and risks, and gearing up to run fundraisers virtually. Read the virtual fundraising checklist.
Virtual Fundraising Examples
Get Virtual Fundraising Ideas from Real Life Campaigns
Customers and partners have reached out to GiveSmart for examples or ideas of how to fundraise virtually. Virtual fundraising campaigns are the new normal for fundraising and every organization is trying to figure out how this fits in their fundraising strategies.
We’ve pulled together 40+ inspiring examples of virtual fundraising from real-life campaigns. Each of these remarkable organizations has worked with GiveSmart to meet and even exceed their fundraising goals.
School Examples:
Crossnore School – Crossnore Strawberries 2020
Cardinal Spellman High School – Cardinal Spellman High School Legacy Gala and Chairman’s Challenge
Mountain Lakes Education Foundation – Mask Up ML!
Saint Peter School – Virtual Fall 5k
St. Ambrose Academy – See the Joy Benefit Dinner
Friends of Blaine – Winter Wonderland Walk
Get inspired by these virtual fundraising examples, and let us know how we can help you reach your goals.
More School Fundraising Resources from our friends at Diamond Mind by Community Brands
Four Out-of-the-Box Giving Trends to Implement in 2021 Recorded Webinar
Independent School Giving Guide
Online Giving Toolkit
Blog: Increase Donations with Recurring Payments
Fundraiser Marketing for Success: School Checklist
Blog: Maximize Your School’s Online Giving Goals
Should We Be Fundraising Today?
One of the questions that our nonprofit partners are asking is whether this is the right time to be making an ask of their donors. Our answer is, there has never been a better time to ask. The need has never been greater for the communities that you serve. For millions of people who’s lives have been disrupted, this opportunity to strengthen and sustain the causes that they care about is a great way to to encourage them, and to show them what’s possible when we work together. Our own Diane Kleiber, VP of sales at GiveSmart, sat down with Ron Russino from Russino’s fundraising professionals to discuss this very question.