Cover story
Possible directions
THE PRIVATE SCHOOL ROUTE Private schools have a long history of income generation, though these days they are increasingly looking towards state school fundraising for inspiration. What they do excel at is securing private donations from alumni (collectively around £130m annually, according to the charity Future First). The key here is to develop an ‘emotive buy-in’ to convert former pupils into active donors. Private schools often delve deep into donor psychology and segmentation, adapting communications for different target audiences (sending personalised thank-you notes to major donors, for instance). This may not be possible, or indeed suitable, for
state schools, but it is worth at least developing an awareness of your donor profile. Future First (which sets up alumni networks for
the state sector) says state schools have much to gain from viewing their alumni as a valuable network. Around 30% of former pupils surveyed said they would donate to their old school if asked, yet only one per cent had been asked. Alumni can be motivated by many things: a sense of duty or nostalgia, an emotional connection with a personal story, a need for recognition or a genuinely altruistic desire to ‘give back’. And, of course, ‘giving’ does not simply mean hard cash – alumni can support your school and your students in many transformative ways. So approach former pupils with the intention of building long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships.
THE CHARITY ROUTE Although charities suffered dramatic falls in
income during the pandemic, it’s worth bearing in mind that around 60% of the population gave to charitable causes last year. So what can schools and PTAs take from this? Just as with alumni, the ability to engage with
people on an emotional level is crucial. Identifying the triggers that motivate others to give their time or hard-earned money sits at the heart of all successful campaigns. Good fundraisers are, first and foremost, good storytellers, and the ability to communicate a story to target audiences is very effective at eliciting a positive response. According to Gilly Green, head of grants at Comic Relief, ‘Funders want a cohesive story, including evidence of demand… and the outcomes it will create.’ The approach below is followed by successful
charities and could form the cornerstone of your school fundraising plan: ■Communicate the need for funds through emotive storytelling with powerful evidence, including images or video ■Demonstrate how donors can help and highlight the impact of this help ■ Facilitate donations by providing simple mechanisms to help people give ■Acknowledge donor involvement through recognition and thanks ■Celebrate and share success by recognising the efforts of all involved in order to encourage ongoing support
THE ONLINE ROUTE A website that is easy to navigate and allows
quick and easy updating of content is an important platform for promoting and managing your fundraising campaigns. You can create links from your main school website to dedicated fundraising pages, or even to a parallel website. Here is your opportunity to broadcast the story
of what you are doing and why you are doing it. Remember, your aim is to encourage supporter engagement and buy-in by building a sense of shared purpose and community around your campaigns. Post regular blogs and updates so that supporters
can follow your fundraising progress, and coordinate these with any newsletters, Twitter and email communication. Not only could your website act as a focal point for fundraising communications, it could
also double up as a platform for processing online donations to your school fund or PTA charity. The John Madejski Academy in Berkshire (part of
the White Horse Federation MAT) has an ‘Our School Community’ tab on its website, which effectively functions as a fundraising platform targeted towards volunteers and donors. It provides details of current campaigns, as well as direct appeals to supporters, including businesses, to come on board. The section profiles a ‘volunteer of the month’
and provides ideas for independent fundraising. Online giving is extremely straightforward, with sign-up tabs enabling donors to make one-off or regular contributions. Supporters simply choose which project appeals to them and the technology does all the hard work for you.
FundEd AUTUMN 2020 17
IMAGES: SPICYTRUFFEL;MICROVONE;DENISKRIVOY; TEDDYANDMIA/
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