Primary schools are always looking for innovative new ways to teach kids using technology, from letting them work on things like eBook readers and tablets through to even investing in 3D printers. The benefits of having the latest equipment in a school and allowing children to learn how to use it are obvious, however, these things are often well outside of a school’s normal budget. The same can be said for sports, music and science equipment. Schools in the UK therefore have a long tradition of holding their own fundraising events, encouraging parents and members of the community to support the school.
Traditional School Fundraising
School fundraising used to generally involve things like fetes and sales held on the school grounds, or days where the kids got to do something a bit different like dress up and their parents would donate money. While some schools got a little more creative, on the whole these were the staples of school fundraising. They made for a good way to get the kids and parents involved, and in the case of things like summer or Christmas fetes, could also encourage other members of the community to stop by.
School Fundraising in the Internet Age
Nowadays, it is of course possible with social media and other platforms on the web to reach out far beyond the local community. Schools with a good message and a real need for funds have had success using crowdfunding as a means of reaching out beyond parents and other local people with an interest in the school, to members of pupils’ wider families and their networks, and sometimes, just unconnected people who want to help.
As well as crowdfunding, the internet has made it much easier for schools to spread the word when they are doing something to raise funds. Rather than relying on kids to take home messages to their parents, schools can update them on what is going on and what they are trying to raise money for via things like Facebook groups, or school blogs.
Fundraising With School ‘Merchandise’
The concept of raising money by selling things designed by the kids, such as calendars or Christmas cards, is not a new one, however the digital age has made doing this and actually selling the school merchandise far easier. Thanks to companies like iqcards.co.uk who actually specialise in producing cards for school fundraising projects at very low prices, schools don’t have to print things themselves (using expensive resources and ending up with low quality products) or pay the normal prices for commercial printing. They can then easily advertise the products their kids have designed via social media and their blog, making it really easy to get family, friends and relatives as well as parents to buy them.
As the demand in schools for technology has grown, so have the means with which schools can raise money in order to buy it. Using the internet, innovative and creative schools have been able to drive towards meeting their fundraising targets and buying the things that really improve their pupils’ learning experiences.