How schools benefit from better incentive plans
Only students appear enthusiastic about the prizes at the fundraiser kickoff rally. But in the end, they’re the ones who seem to get the short end of the stick. When the sale is over, most only win junky prizes while only a limited number get the more worthwhile ones.
Participants have to make too many sales to get better prizes. But they don’t realize it until they get home. It’s here that they finally have a chance to review the prize flyer. Then it hits and they become discouraged. Do they attempt to sell anyway? Most don’t. A few will make an attempt and if they’re lucky end up selling a little. This is a major reason most school fundraisers are only able to get 10-15% to sell. And those who do participate, sell very little.
What’s Happening to Your Sales?
How much money are you leaving on the table? The problem is schools don’t take the time to examine how much money they could be making.
Consider a school with 500 students. If each participant sold a doable 5 items, they could bring in almost $40,000! The truth is most schools fall well short of what they could be making.
How Do School Fundraisers Find a Solution?
Your greatest money-making resource is your students. So the logical remedy is to improve student participation. This is the key to experiencing a successful fundraiser. But if solving this problem were easy, more schools would be successful right?
Fortunately, it’s easier than you think. To get more students to sell you simply have to convince them that you have something better.
One idea is to add extra school fundraising incentives to the main prize program. This has proven to work well for many schools. And the great thing about these prizes is they don’t have to bust the budget.
Another way is to offer a different type of incentive. Give students something bigger for selling fewer items. Why not make it easy for every student to win a big prize after selling a few items? This concept has turned fundraising on its head.
Conventional plans offer the more desirable prizes at the end. But to get more students to sell, you have to offer something good at the lower level. This way, more will be enticed and will
want to experience it. This will get all your students excited about your fundraiser.
What are Big Event Prize Programs?
Many schools continue to express discontent with traditional prizes offered by fundraising companies. They’re growing tired of the complaints from parents about the poor quality. And many older students are no longer interested in them. This has been a major contributor to the lower student participation problem.
This is where Big Event prize programs come in. Big Events are experiential incentives. Instead of winning toys and trinkets for selling items, students attend a show or party.
The event takes place at the school and students who qualify gain free admission. So what events are there? Schools can choose between any of the following events:
Super Party
Students who sell at least 8 items get to attend the super party. Lots of inflatable games are set up at the school. For example, a 72-foot-long obstacle course, a 2-story slide, and a sports area.
Magic Show
This is where learning becomes magical. Students have to sell 5 items from their brochure to gain admission to the magic show. This event is both fun and educational.
Schools pick between 8 curriculum-based assemblies. For example, ‘Yes I Can’ teaches students about the importance of goal setting. Magicians perform amazing illusions that tell a story based on the theme that you choose.
Reptile Show
A most unusual event is the reptile show. Selling 5 items allows students to see, learn about, and touch live reptiles. How would you like to see a huge snake that can grow to be longer than a school bus? What about a giant tortoise that can live almost 200 years?
Super Splash Party
Schools like this as an end-of-the-year incentive. Students must sell 8 items to go. This is where several wet inflatable games await them. For example, a wild rapids ride and a giant water slide, slip-n-slide, and a water tag arena. Many schools end up making more money in the spring than they did in the fall using this incentive.
The key to successful school fundraisers is getting students motivated to sell. Unlike traditional prizes, students don’t have to sell a lot of items to win an exciting award. This is what gets students excited. And this is what improves participation, and thus sales.
