Let’s talk about school fundraisers. Fundraising season is year-round nowadays because how else are schools expected to cover the sizable deficits in their operating budgets? Things like art and music programs, physical education, field trips, libraries, computer labs, and facility improvements are all essential items that many schools need to fundraise for.
Our reality as parents is, once children start going to school, fundraising becomes a part of parenting. And like all parenting decisions, it’s a personal one, and every family does it differently — whether you donate money or time or decide you simply don’t have the bandwidth and quietly do nothing.
In Los Angeles, the larger school fundraising events either take place in the fall or spring, and that means parents with school-age children will soon get hounded by school event organizers to donate auction items.
These requests fill most parents with dread. Engaging the school community to lend a hand in soliciting donated items is a struggle for many event organizers, and it’s no surprise given the tremendous amount of work involved. It requires a large outreach to local businesses, your personal and professional network, and meticulous follow-up to procure the goods and services. Most parents don’t have the time for any of that.
If you’re a parent who’s eager to help and up for the task of procuring donations for your school auction, here are tips for easy wins in five different categories.
Food
Businesses that offer fresh baked goods are great candidates to inquire about donations for day-old goods. Visit your local bakery and see if they’re willing to donate whatever is left over at the end of the day. Use the donated items to cater a school event, like a teacher appreciation breakfast.
Gift cards
National retailers have corporate giving programs for nonprofit organizations, which your school PTA or booster club qualifies for. You’ll have to plan ahead and make the request in advance of your event, as many programs require 4-6 weeks to process requests.
Tickets
Local attractions like museums, aquariums, amusement parks, theaters, etc., honor ticket donation requests from nonprofit organizations. Search “attraction name + donation request” to find out how to make the request; some organizations have dedicated online forms you can fill out. Otherwise, reach out to the general contact information listed on the website.
Camps and classes
If your child is an existing customer of a class or camp, ask those business owners if they’d consider donating to your child’s school. Some businesses can be generous, and there’s a chance that you can score donations of a free month of classes, or a free week of camp.
Gift baskets
If your generosity extends to the idea of buying an item to donate, online gift shops like Ikaga Co. (ikagaco.com) offer a curated collection of gift sets perfect for school auctions and galas. They’ll even send a donation packet including product photos, item description, retail value, etc., that you can pass along to school event organizers so they’ll have everything they need for creating an auction listing.
Wishing you a successful event, and expressing gratitude for all you do. After all, the work involved in gift procurement can be laborious, but we hope these tips provide some actionable steps you can take.
