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How to Propose a School Fundraiser

Does your school have an upcoming event, and you’re struggling to raise funds for it? Well, there are limitless school fundraising ideas to try out! However, choosing a fundraising idea is just the initial phase of the journey. Getting your fundraising proposal accepted is one of the most critical yet trickiest parts of all. If you want to generate the funds for your school projects, events, or programs, you need to master the art of creating a good school fundraiser proposal. We have gathered a few tips and tricks that you can consider while planning your fundraiser proposal. These tips and tricks can give you the maximum chance of getting approved. So without further ado, let’s get going!

Create an attractive title

To grab the sponsor’s attention, your fundraiser proposal should be very attractive at first glance. After all, the initial seconds are all you have to make the critical first impression. After which, the proposal may be overlooked or even rejected.

Hence, your proposal title should have the essence of your proposal and a general idea of the main motto of the fundraiser campaign.

Explain the fundraiser project

For starters, you need to have your entire fundraiser plan ready before creating the fundraiser proposal. Your fundraiser plan builds the foundation of your fundraiser proposal. You need to be very detailed about your initial investments, expected profits, timeline, and how you intend to use them for your school projects or events.

When you have your plan established, start your proposal with a thorough description of the entire fundraising plan, and explain how the contributions are made in each sector.

For example:

“This year, our school did not allocate any funds for the Annual Science Fair due to the coronavirus pandemic. This eliminates the basic knowledge and hampers the overall course curriculum of the students. Our fundraising campaign has a target of raising $10,000 (or any price) to cover this shortcoming and make our event as successful as in years past.”

Convey the real importance of the fundraiser

There may be other proposals to compete with. In order to stand out from the rest, you need to explain how their collaboration with your fundraising campaign can make a significant change.

Here, you need to add all the facts and figures stating the importance of this fundraiser. 

For example:

“Knowledge is a basic necessity for every child. Even though the pandemic has shaken everybody to the core, we cannot let that hamper our educational opportunities. This fundraiser can significantly help our students to have hands-on learning and to learn from one another. Our campaign will focus on giving ample efforts to make the entire science fair informative. The money we collect in this campaign will fully go into purchasing and setting up the exhibition in the best way possible.”

Be persuasive

Believe it or not, your persuasion skills will go a long way both during the fundraising proposal and during the fundraiser. Your argument in the proposal should be research and fact-based! Try elaborating on the core importance of the entire campaign and how this can also benefit the contributors, partnering organizations, and other collaborators.

This is another way to outshine the rest while proposing a fundraising campaign. Also, the additional confidence attached to your persuasion skills here will be a win-win situation for you.

For example:

While we create this fundraiser campaign, we will also ensure that you make a profit too. Since we are collaborating with your restaurant to give vouchers to our participants, your restaurant will have increased growth in sales with our promotion. Needless to say, this collaboration can be a great hit if you consider approving it from your end too.”

Bring in the innovative ideas of the fundraiser campaign

Most donors support innovative ideas for fundraisers. Since you already have the fundamental fundraiser idea sorted, try adding a twist to it and incorporate some creative and exciting elements into the campaign to grab their attention.

Add proofs

Just stating the facts won’t be enough to get your school’s fundraising proposal accepted. Not everybody is going to believe in your words. There are higher chances that your campaign might get rejected by just stating words with no evidence. If possible, attaching all the relevant financial documents, images, and other information that relate to your fundraising campaign can strengthen your proposal.

Since we used an example of a school not conducting their Annual Science Fair, you can attach any notifications provided by the school stating the same as proof. Along with that, you can also attach any financial projections or data from previous science fairs as proof.

Talk about your previous ventures

If you have already conducted fundraisers or contributed to any fundraiser before, you will already know the difference it made to any organization or individual. Be sure to mention your experiences as a testimonial of how you have helped people achieve their goals through your fundraisers.

List out some fundraiser names that were a huge hit. Also, attach testimonials and proofs regarding the same to prevent confusion or doubt. This will help them understand your knowledge, expertise, and abilities to host a fundraising campaign for your school.

Final Thoughts

Even though creating school fundraisers gets slightly tricky, you can ace the process with the right guidance. These tips and tricks are well proven in getting fundraising proposals accepted in no time! You just need to be very particular, truthful, persuasive, and comprehensive about every detail you add to your fundraiser proposal. There are high probabilities that you will get a positive response. So, now that you know the entire process of creating proposals for school fundraisers, what’s stopping you? Create your fundraiser proposal today and kickstart your fundraiser campaign!

In case you are still doubtful or struggling with your fundraising campaign, LeanStream is your one-stop destination to get the right assistance to get the most out of your school fundraising campaigns!