Fundraising
Dr Challoner’s Grammar School The Astra Fund at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Amersham is the school’s annual fund, set up in September 2008 to support the past, this fund has been used to support projects which continue the development of between £160,000 and £200,000 a year,
crisis, the school decided to take a different headteacher’s letter to parents at the start of school, and explained that this year the school To date, the response has been a positive
£40 a month, with around 65% of the school
How to set up a regular giving fund
BRING YOUR COMMUNITY WITH YOU Test out your case for support with constituents who are warm to your school – their feedback will ensure you have the messaging right before sharing with your wider community. At Pate’s the case for support was
initially tested with the PTA and, following feedback, refined and rolled out to the entire parent body through a series of meetings with all parents.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK While not everyone will be able to donate, if you don’t ask, then no one will give. Do show sensitivity to the different financial circumstances of your community. For example: ‘We are extremely grateful to all of our parents who were able to support us last year. While the average donation is in the region of £30 per month, the range of donations received is wide – from £5 a month to over £100 a month. Every penny given is spent on projects which have a direct benefit to students throughout their time at the school.’
SAY THANK YOU If someone has given you a donation of any value, it is important to say thank you. However, fundraising is not transactional, it’s about building relationships – a donor has the potential to give again and again, particularly within the context of schools, where there is a life-long connection. At Pate’s, every donation is thanked with
a letter from the head and bursar. For donations over £500, there is a personal phone call, and donors receive an annual update on how the appeal is doing, to make them feel valued and to show how their gift is making a real difference.
BE REALISTIC Not all schools will have access to immediate sources of wealth, so they will have to go more slowly and be more incremental, building a community of committed donors over several years. In fact, the IDPE’s most recent benchmarking report shows that the return on investment in fundraising grows over time.
The IDPE has developed a free fundraising toolkit for state schools which can help you get started. Visit IDPE
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