Sue Birchall, long-standing school business leader, explores the different ways you can generate income for your school
Many of us who work in schools will have been actively seeking additional funding for various areas of school life prior to the pandemic; however, the circumstances we found ourselves in meant that many projects – including raising funds – were put on a back burner due to the additional workload, which was extreme, as well as the difficulties arising from lockdowns etc. Now that life is getting back to normal we can, once again, look outside of our settings and start to consider our options and what support is available.
As with any business activity, this should begin with a plan – in this case, a fundraising strategy. Introducing the reader to the context of your school and its fundraising aims including what, why, how and the proposed outcome(s), gives context to your plan. This can then be used in various guises to support any direction that you take. Consider time constraints and capacity in how you will carry out your fundraising; there is nothing worse than supporting something that doesn’t come to fruition and this could damage future efforts. There are many options that you may consider – here are a few to think about.
Traditional fundraising
This is always a favourite, especially in primary schools, and one that I have had great success with. This tends to be quite a time-consuming way to raise funds but does have the added benefit of engagement with your school community. It is the most immediate – but also can be restrictive in the amount you raise. It consists of fairs, book sales and sponsored activities, amongst others.
Affiliations
This type of fundraising tends to involve minimal effort and can reap big rewards. Passive funding tends to involve setting up affiliate schemes with retailers who will donate a percentage of sales to your school. As well as advertising these to parents and friends to buy from, you can also direct school spend to them – just be aware that they might not always offer best value in this respect.
Direct fundraising
This works by adding a percentage profit to sales of anything through your school – from uniforms, photographs and equipment to advertising space in the school magazine. You can also offer a recycling scheme involving anything from clothes to plastic – just make sure you are aware of the VAT requirements if this is not carried undertaken as registered charity.
Crowdfunding
This is where a large number of people give money to a project, sometimes collected through a website such as Just Giving, to achieve the financial requirement. There are often fees charged to use the websites but it is still a cost-effective way to raise money requiring few staff hours. Beware of the restrictions imposed by some of these sites.
Funding bids
There are many organisations out there willing to offer funding for schools as a non-profit making business; this is where the time and thought that you put into your fundraising strategy at the beginning comes into its own. These often require a fair bit of time and effort invested in the bid writing and there are companies and organisations that can support with this. Joining something like Fund-Ed which can provide you with access and information to a variety of funding opportunities, as well as advice on how to bid, may be money well spent.
Local grant funding
Looking at your local area, often county councillors will have a fund that you can bid for as long as it matches their chosen criteria.
Don’t forget your school stakeholders; sending out a plea to your parents can uncover funding opportunities. Many large companies have monies set aside for charity that your parents may know about, or have access to, and there may be some who would like to support the school directly.
We tend to look outside our school’s funding for additional monies, but there are some things you can do within your existing budgets to help with external bids. If you have a reserve, consider whether some of it would be better invested as match funding; funders are often keener to support a project if they are not sole contributors, and providing match funding may open up your search to further options.
Whichever method you use or explore remember that time spent in preparation, and an eye to the detail – for instance checking that you match the criteria – is well spent.
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