Parent involvement is one of the most important elements in a successful PTA fundraiser. Because of that, you need a strategy that gets parents excited and willing to contribute their time, talents or other resources. Here are six tips for getting parents to help with your fundraising event.
1. Be Visible and Welcoming
In order to begin a conversation with parents, they need to be familiar with you. Set up a table at school events, and be welcoming when you introduce yourself. You could have board members greet parents as they enter events or ask board members to walk around the events to introduce themselves. Use name tags so that newcomers feel comfortable rather than left out.
2. Share Your Vision and Research
When you discuss your fundraiser, sharing your goals for the campaign will increase excitement among the parents. Knowing what the funds will be used for will inspire the parents and give them something to work toward as well.
On top of that, share research that parents getting involved in student functions improves student performance and test results. Students are also less likely to have behavioral problems and use drugs. Knowing that their involvement is healthy for their children will get a lot of parents on board.
3. Boost Student Excitement
When students are excited and passionate about raising money for their school, that enthusiasm is likely to inspire others in the community to get involved.
You can keep the students excited about your fundraiser by implementing a friendly competition and offering some sort of reward for the students that do the best.
4. Work With Parents’ Availability and Talents
Parents who have never gotten involved in school events are usually afraid that volunteering will be a huge time commitment. For this reason, you should make it known that parents can volunteer as little or as often as they want. Then, honor whatever amount of time that they can contribute.
In addition to time, many parents have interesting skills and talents that they can contribute to your fundraiser. For example, maybe a parent works in marketing and has a knack for spreading the word about events, which would be a valuable tool for your campaign.
5. Balance the Work and Fun
When you run a fundraiser, much of the time that you spend on it will be hard work. However, parents don’t want to leave their regular jobs only to work more somewhere else. Because of that, you need to make the work a little fun.
If parents have to come together to volunteer on the weekends or weeknights, make sure to play some uplifting music, order pizza, and encourage everyone to get to know each other.
6. Show Your Appreciation
Simply saying, “Thank you,” goes a long way in making parents feel appreciated for volunteering to help. Publically giving them compliments for a job well done will inspire other parents to get involved; post your gratitude on the school’s social media accounts and in the school newsletter.
If you have the means, you could pass out awards each year at PTA meetings as a small incentive to participate.
Getting Parents Involved in a GotSneakers Campaign Is Easy
You might not need to use all of these tips to get parents involved in a GotSneakers campaign because a sneaker drive fundraiser isn’t time-consuming. All they need to do is drop off slightly worn sneakers in a designated area. If they don’t want to be directly involved in the sneakers collection, you could send them digital marketing tools that they can post on social media or email to family and friends that directs them to the collection area. Learn how it works today!