Fundraising


the next generation of scientists. However, securing the necessary


funds and bringing people on board with the campaign proved to be an immense challenge. Even though it was clear that better equipped labs were more likely to motivate students to continue to study science, I found that grant funders in this field were far more geared towards specific projects than facilities and buildings. The Friends of Priory managed


to raise £15,000 and we did receive enough parental donations to match-fund a few small grants,


a huge response. The phone started to ring and emails came rolling in. Indeed, the very first call I had


was from someone who wanted to take the whole lot, though we felt it would be fairer and bring in more income if we gave more people in the community the opportunity to make a contribution to the school. There was, it turned out, a


thriving market for old school stools, chairs and tables – and a lot of money to be made! The furniture was solid wood and of good quality, underneath all the years of


‘Pretty soon I became a “wheeler dealer”, selling off old stools and tables and billing them as “original wooden stools, gum and graffiti still intact, in need of TLC”.’


including £3,000 from the Fonthill Foundation, £889 from the Armorers and Brasiers’ Company, and £390 from Waitrose. But I was struggling. Then, quite unexpectedly, I hit


gold. The school had accumulated a stockpile of old classroom furniture that needed to be disposed of and I decided to see if I could make a few pounds for the science labs campaign by selling it. Within a few hours of sending out a mailshot to parents and posting a notice on the school website, I had received


accumulated grime. Our local community is quite arty and people seemed to love the distressed look. They were also ready to pay a bit more when they knew the money was going to the school. Pretty soon I became a ‘wheeler


dealer’, selling off old furniture and billing it as ‘original wooden stools, gum and graffiti still intact, in need of TLC’. We asked for minimum donations of £10 for stools and £20 for tables to be paid to the Friends of Priory charity. To my surprise,


selling old stock became a major source of funding for the science project. It also tapped into the environmental ethos of reduce, reuse and recycle. I was horrified to hear that another school had taken their unwanted furniture to the dump! We raised approximately £2,800


by selling 48 tables and 96 stools, and with a further contribution from the school, we were able to put funding in place for the science lab improvement work. The finished labs (above left) look fantastic. Students have been very excited to use them and have really appreciated the quality of their new facilities (including the food lab, above right). Recently, we replaced our five


remaining lab stools, so again put the old ones up for sale. They were just as popular, although collection had to be carefully arranged to allow for social distancing!


n Amanda Burgess is community liaison and income generating manager at Priory School in Lewes, East Sussex (1,136 pupils)


FundEd AUTUMN 2020 39


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