Crowdfunding success


‘WE CROWDFUNDED FOR ONE OF 22 NEW


SMARTBOARDS’ ‘Our school’s 22 smartboards are in desperate need of replacement, so we’re currently in the process of tackling the £48,000 task of buying new boards for every classroom, which will greatly improve the children’s everyday learning. As it’s such a big project, we’ve been approaching it in steps. We decided to crowdfund for just one board, with a target of £1,872. We’d crowdfunded before, so


knew it was something that worked for us. RocketFund was recommended to us and the set-up was very quick and easy. We included a video of pupils to demonstrate the need and the good the money would do. We didn’t have a big network


how it worked and I was soon convinced. Up until then, we had usually managed to raise around £500-£600 at a time, but we decided to set a target of £3,000, which was ambitious but still manageable in terms of crowdfunding. It’s definitely important to set realistic targets, and, if you are fundraising for a bigger project, to break it down into manageable chunks. The lab was due to open in


January. We began crowdfunding before Christmas so that we could use the imminent grand opening to generate a sense of urgency. Announcing it before the holidays meant people could pass on the message to their friends and family over the festive break. The campaign was promoted via


our school website, newsletters and parent texting service with daily bulletins. We also created fliers, which we downloaded from our DonateMySchool page, and these were distributed by our supporters. The campaign worked really well


and was easy to run. The page was simple to set up, and we included a video of the pupils, which really helped to encourage donations. We were able to call DonateMySchool at any point if we had questions,


which was fantastic. We didn’t have a big network of supporters in place already – just parents, governors, volunteers and some businesses. We try to limit how often we ask parents for money so that when we do it’s likely to be more successful. Partway through the month-long


campaign we held the lab’s grand opening. As well as enabling us to celebrate the lab and raise awareness, it meant parents could come in to see for themselves how important this space was, which made them want to give more. We beat our target, raising a total


of £3,120, which has now been spent on a variety of equipment for the lab, including cookers and science equipment. The children are very excited by


the lab and the teachers now want to make use of the space and see what they can do to make the lesson worthy of the room! Crowdfunding was much easier


than I thought it would be, and I would do it again. Our STEAM lab is a really valuable space for our school and will inspire children and teachers for years to come.’ Jemima Wade, headteacher, Argyle Primary School, King’s Cross, London (380 pupils)


of supporters to begin with, but we used our Facebook page, which has a following of about 670 people, to promote the campaign. We also used the school newsletter and Classlist. Rocket Fund offers a ‘rocket


boost’ to certain projects, which is where they match-fund the first £250 a project raises, and we were lucky enough to be one of the schools to receive this. The response to the project


was slow to begin with, but we built momentum with regular updates on social media, including how much had been pledged so far and how much time was left. Our school uniform supplier pledged £200, which was a big boost. We offered messages of thanks to donors from teachers and pupils, or via the school newsletter. In the end, we raised £1,225,


which wasn’t our full target but equates to two-thirds of a smartboard. This will enable us to buy one much sooner and will benefit current and future pupils.’ Lisa Philogene-Jones, PTFA chair, Hill View Primary Academy, Bournemouth, Dorset (654 pupils)


FundEd SUMMER 2019 45


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