Partnerships


Others said they simply didn’t have the spare funds to give. The campaign gave us four regular donors and 25 one-off donations. This did indeed start our donor database but it was very small, as was the income from it. We realised the database had to


be about more than cash – it needed to feel inclusive, something that everyone could become part of. This led to a series of drives to encourage parents to collect things we could swap for cash. The items required changed monthly and included foreign coins, old phones, clothes and even Sainsbury’s vouchers. Lots of families got involved, but


many weren’t keen to sign up for further information. However, the funds raised were enough to give us ‘matched’ funding for trust and grant applications. The knock-on effect was that money started coming through the door and the school community began to see the benefi ts.


Hurdle two: GDPR Up to this point, we had been relying on blanket school communications to get parents involved. Then came


GDPR: blanket communications were not allowed if they involved ‘marketing’. Even our PTA database had to be restarted from scratch. Like many schools, we have been nervous about breaching GDPR rules. As a result, we noticed a major reduction in uptake of our fundraising efforts. This especially impacted PTA events and activities. Together with the PTA, we


decided to focus on building and sharing a single donor database. We worked on ways to increase the size and reach of this database, including a signature box at parents evenings so that parents could sign up to receive communications from the PTA, as well as a much bigger PTA presence at meetings and parent events. To date, these efforts have increased the database fourfold. The new Year 7 start-up forms


also include a tick box for receiving communications from the PTA, and this has recruited more interested parents. Indeed, we had to change venue to increase capacity for our Fish & Chips Supper last autumn as there was so much interest. The


‘We realised the database had


to be about more than cash – it needed to feel inclusive’


donor database continued to grow, encompassing both ‘cash’ donors and those offering to help in any way.


Hurdle three: Covid-19 Then came the pandemic. All the fundraising events we had planned for spring were cancelled and we lost projected funding to help fi nance a major new build to accommodate our growing sixth form and to match-fund grant applications. Yet this was also when the giving


culture we had tried to cement in recent years really came into its own. Appeals by the school and PTA resulted in donations of laptops, and we had an incredible response to crowdfunding campaigns for laptops and emergency grants for families in need. We’ve seen unprecedented levels of giving, with people donating whatever they can for the sake of the others in the community. Families on the breadline have


been able to keep their heads above water, children suffering from mental health issues have received


counselling, and


families in emergency situations have received fi nancial support to buy desperately needed items.


Hurdle four: not losing momentum As we continue to navigate Covid-19, we have an opportunity to properly thank our donors, old and new, for what has been achieved so far, and to invite them to work with us in the future. This is a critical time for the


school: our database of supporter names and companies has increased dramatically and we are also on the eve of a major new build. Now, we have to keep moving forward, retain and build the interest of our supporters, and, of course, prepare for more hurdles along the way…


■ Sharon Noble is development manager at Chestnut Grove Academy, part of the Wandle Learning Trust in south London.


FundEd AUTUMN 2020 31


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