Cover story
our messaging with ‘peer-to-peer’ asks to parents. It was staggering to see the donations come in. The networking success of our PA led to it granting £30,000 to the school.
ALUMNI We scheduled Teams calls to invite alumni to the ‘inner circle’ of fundraising. This resulted in our largest ever alumni gift (of £50,000), alongside legacy promises and interest in future philanthropy.
BUSINESS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Together with the third party operator that runs our sports facilities out of school hours, we negotiated with the county council to leverage support from its leisure budget. The council provided £140,000 to support the school in becoming a key community asset providing sport facilities in East Devon. We also launched a corporate sponsorship scheme, resulting in £2,000 in donations plus interest in advertising boards around the new pitch for future revenue.
TECHNOLOGY We used QR codes at school events (including our 475th anniversary celebration) and ToucanTech to capture donations.
EXTERNAL EXPERTISE With limited budget, time and resources, the Development Office required additional support during the appeal. School fundraising consultants (Juliet Corbett Consulting) helped to provide strategy, planning and guidance.
TEAM EFFORT – FINAL PUSH As we approached the last quarter of the appeal, we realised we would need to close the funding gap by asking parents for their support again. We decided a whole school activity would be a good way to encourage more giving and gain student engagement. The PE department organised an inter- house Neon Walk fundraiser, with
a route around the fields of East Devon. Students and staff were encouraged to wear something neon in colour and walk 10km. The online fundraising platform InvestMyCommunity assisted us in building the event pages, with real-time graphics comparing the level of house donations. Students in the winning house each received a ‘prize’ muffin from the canteen. It was a wonderful summer event for the whole school, raising £7,800 and enabling parents and carers to ‘give again’ and assist us in reaching our appeal total.
OUTCOMES The new state-of-the-art sports facility is now installed and well used by delighted students and staff. The students use the new pitch at every opportunity and the popularity of our sports clubs has grown, building better opportunities for students to participate in team sports across the region. Fundraising has created a real
sense of ownership across the whole school community and beyond. We’ve created opportunities for local sports clubs to hire the facility by working with a third party to manage out-of-hours hire. We’re also establishing a maintenance fund over the next 15 years to ensure the next replacement is already part funded.
FundEd SUMMER 2023 11
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