Let’s talk about buy-in.
Merriam-Webster defines it as acceptance of and willingness to actively support and participate in something. In other words, it’s creating excitement behind an idea while simultaneously inspiring people to take action.
Excitement is contagious.
So, the question is, how do you create buy-in for school fundraising?
Here are a few ideas!
Cast Vision: Start by casting a clear and simple vision. Tell where you are as a school and where you dream to be. Build up the idea of a new fundraiser and create hype around that idea. Throw an in-person or virtual event or pep rally. This is a great place to start.
Have a tangible goal: Let kids and parents know exactly where their donations are going. Whether it’s towards a new playground, new computers, or new sports equipment. Have a visual for where they are in the process and set goals to meet throughout the semester. Vision is like a bucket with a hole in it. Vision leaks... So, keep filling the metaphorical bucket.
Incentives: For some of you, you already had a list of 20 people you were going to enlist before the fundraiser even started, but for the rest of us, we need an external motivating factor to get the job done. There is no shame in that game. It’s no secret that there is a lot of power in a pizza party.
Involve the entire school: It is amazing what can happen when teachers, coaches, janitors, PTA and AP’s come together to accomplish something.
At Hello Donor, we see amazing results with our school partners when they are able to create buy-in behind the Changemaker Initiative.
One of our school partners, Carmel Elementary, sent out a video to their entire school body talking about the Changemaker Initiative. They did an amazing job creating buy-in by sharing the vision of what they are working to accomplish: a new and safe playground!