It was all good vibes and big hearts when my social media newsfeed was blessed with a call for donation and fundraising campaigns to help with the victims and evacuees due to the recent Taal Volcano eruption. 

Fundraising very much reflects the spirit of Filipino Bayanihan. 

Is your school looking to improve its facilities or launch a new extracurricular program? Do you need

additional funding to provide learning tools and equipment for your students and teachers? 

featured photo by  Jp Valery on Unsplash

Fundraisers are a great way to invigorate the student body and motivate a community into raising money to help out with the school’s many expenses. For a truly successful fundraiser, though, you should make an effort to encourage and excite donors into donating. Below are a few fresh ideas that can help you do just that:

Launch an Online Crowdfunding Campaign

According to the Digital 2019 report from Hootsuite and We Are Social, Filipino internet users spend a whopping 10 hours and 2 minutes online every day on average. We use the internet to look information up in a snap, perform a variety of tasks, keep in touch with our loved ones, and entertain ourselves while idle. It makes perfect sense to take your school’s fundraising efforts online, where it can gain more visibility and reach a greater number of potential donors.

Popular online crowdfunding platforms in the Philippines include Gava and The Spark Project. You can also check out leading global crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe. These platforms are great because they take a wide variety of payment options and can take care of everything for you without requiring a fee upfront. All you have to do is market it well and spread the word.

Use Food to Bring People Together

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to fundraising is convincing people to hand their money

over without getting back anything in return. You may be able to raise money faster if you style your

fundraiser as a sale or a service, where a portion of the proceeds can be put towards your cause.

Food is a universal attractor, and there are several ways to use it for fundraising purposes. Tried and

true methods include holding a bake sale or selling tickets to a potluck buffet. More innovative

experiences include putting together cooking classes, holding a “Best Adobo” contest, or getting people together for an outdoor picnic or barbecue.

Hold a Benefit Concert

Benefit concerts are popular because they tend to attract many people—including ones that aren’t

necessarily members of your school community—and they’re a lot of fun. It helps if your school has

existing features you can use to hold a show such as a basketball court or a dedicated performance

space, but you can still hold a concert at a local venue if your school has neither of these. You can invite home-grown talent, go with a lineup of mainstream artists, or both.

Adding a merchandise booth raises fundraising potential. You can sell souvenir shirts and other

apparel, accessories like silicone wristbands, posters and other types of memorabilia to commemorate the event. A portion of the proceeds can go towards your school’s needs.

Organize a Fun Run

Fun runs and walks have the potential to raise a lot of money while promoting physical fitness. They

encourage participation, foster school spirit, and school pride, and like the other suggestions on this list, can bring the community around your school closer together. Motivate your student body to solicit financial support in the form of pledges from their families, friends, and neighbors. After the run, donations are collected based on the pledges and their run performance.

Putting the “fun” into your fundraiser run is easy: you can incorporate an overall theme such as a

pajama or a costume run, turn it into a rainbow-hued color run, or hire student actors to dress up as

zombies and chase after participants. After the event, gather everyone together for a dance party or

picnic.

Hold a Garage Sale 

If you are thinking of disposing old items in your home and clothes you no longer wear, holding a garage sale and donating all sales to fund a cause would be a great way to help free space in your home, recycle stuff (your trash can be someone’s treasure), and raise fund. 

Fundraisers don’t all have to be stodgy and businesslike. Soliciting donations is much easier if you

choose enjoyable events. The community will love them, and you’ll all have a fantastic time while raising the money.