PTA Walk-a-Thon Fundraising Success Story

One of our clients, Adena Elementary School, used our Event-a-Thon to raise funds for their school. They beat their goal so we asked them how they did it. They have some great tips we want to share with you!

1. Set a Specific Goal (Purpose and Dollar Amount)

Let donors know exactly how their money will be used. Adena’s goal was $15,000 to replace old playground equipment.  Stage 1 was completed two years prior.

2. Tell Your Story

Explain why the project you’re raising funds for is important to the school and the children. In this case the playground equipment was from 1978. Use photos to help tell the story.

3. Involve the Administration (Principal, Vice Principal)

According to Adena, this was key to a really successful drive. The administration agreed to get “Pied in the Face” by students who reached their personal fundraising goal! Any student raising $50 or more got entered into a drawing and two students per grade were chosen. We’ve seen administrators do lots of fun things to encourage children with fundraising goals. Ask yours what they are willing to do!

4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

Getting the word out to teachers, students and families is vital. Use whatever means your school already has in place, weekly newsletters, school website, fliers home, etc. In addition Adena created a Walk-a-Thon Facebook group and promoted it to parents and school faculty. They used the page to share updates every 3 days and to encourage fundraising with shout outs and tips. Parents also shared stories of their children getting excited about raising funds.

5. Create Teams and Competition

Using our Event-a-Thon platform, create a team for each classroom. The teacher is the captain. Adena set the classroom teams up instead of leaving it to the teachers to do.  This saved time, made team pages uniform, and ensured it was ready to go when needed. Then each student created a personal fundraising page. The classes with the most participation got a choice of a party (pizza/ice cream/popcorn) and the top 5 overall fundraisers earned a limo lunch with the principal at a local pizza parlour.

6. Ask for Funds

Students were able to use the personal fundraising page to send the link to family and friends who live out of town. They also went around the neighborhood to collect in person donations. Both approaches produced the best results! Parents can also share the personal fundraising page on Facebook.

Good luck with your school’s event. We’d love to hear what you’re doing to make online walk-a-thon fundraisers successful!