Many schools in a number of states such as Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee, among others, have now resumed in-person classes. Yet many schools that reopened had to shut down again due to reports of outbreaks. 2020 has been a year of great shift in every aspect, be it our personal lives or even business.
School fundraising ideas too, have changed drastically in terms of the level of creativity it requires, from the generation of ideas, payment methods and campaigns; the situation demands more innovation. In light of all kinds of news, it is “back to school” season and marketers just cannot miss out on this as it is truly a big business; it is second only to the holiday season considering the sales numbers involved.
Coming to payment methods, there are tools like text-to-give that simplifies and enhances the process of remote giving; so it isn’t all “difficult” even in tougher times.
In this article, GiveCentral has compiled a list of ideas and examples that can add to your back to school efforts and help you really up your game.
Amazon’s ad channeling aspirations
This is a 15 seconds advertisement in which the teacher conducts a roll call but not with their names, but with the professions the students would like to pursue, The teacher starts with calling out a “marine biologist”, then “aspiring songwriter”, he then goes on to call “Captain Laser Cat”. The last kid is seen to be wearing a T-shirt that suits his dreams and aspirations. The goal behind this video is to tell viewers that Amazon has everything for students to pursue their dreams, not just get back to school. This is an excellent example of thinking forward and of course, broader.
Acer India
Acer’s “Back to School” campaign is primarily aimed at helping parents and students to easily purchase a new Acer laptop, thus ensuring that learning never stops. The brand has partnered with EduThrill that uses gamification to conduct tests and assessments, making sure that learning happens in a fun manner and eventually, more marks are scored. This is a whole new shift from the traditional way of learning.
Acer India has come up with different offers that will provide an explicit buying, owning and learning experience to students and parents. Customers can buy an Acer laptop at zero down payment and very low EMI cost. If you are looking for school fundraising ideas, here’s an idea of interesting offers and possible collaborations to attract more audience.
Staples
In 2019, there were a number of back to school campaigns and one of them was by Staples. The store, or rather, the brand gave an opportunity to the parents wherein they could connect with the child’s teacher before the school reopened. In this campaign, parents would enter their receipts online and a 5% back in rewards would be given to the child’s teacher. This was an opportunity for parents to provide their children with their requirements and at the same time, helping and appreciating the teacher. This was an offer focused on emotional satisfaction, that of care and satisfaction.
Currently, Staples is running a campaign called #ThankATeacher on Twitter and Instagram where parents can nominate a teacher using hashtags #ThankATeacher and #Sweepstakes, then tagging @StaplesStores. With no requirement of any kind of purchase, the winner walks away with $10K in Staples gift cards. The whole concept is around a lasting impression and interaction, not to mention the touch of warmth and happiness.
Fun and games
When it comes to school fundraising ideas or back to school campaigns, make sure that you make complete use of your online platforms. For example, Instagram has different options on story updates where you can hold contests and quizzes, charge a small amount as an entry fee which can be paid through methods such as text-to-give.
The questions can be drafted about the school or even the classroom such as the number of tables in the classroom, go for simple yet interesting questions. You can host a “back to school checklist” competition where students can submit their ideal checklist and the best one wins! The whole point of these exercises would be to create interactive sessions and keep the connection with your students.
It is very important to remember that students all around can be experiencing FOMO i.e. Fear Of Missing Out. Your organization or institute should be ready to tackle that issue and get everybody on the same page, meet your audience wherever they are, meet them online if you must. Here’s how a parish run school did a fabulous job in communicating and raising funds.
GiveCentral’s school fundraising program, offers you assistance in improving your fundraising and planning your online giving campaign. Connect with a community of donors eager to fund your classroom initiatives and support your school mission. Learn more.
Add your first comment to this post