Ideas for School Fundraising Events during COVID
My kiddo's K-8 school typically hosts a big fundraising gala in the spring, but is considering other options this year since we likely can't gather in person. We are thinking about doing a walk-a-thon and/or possibly a virtual fundraising event. I wanted to find out what other schools have done successfully to raise money during pandemic times. If you have participated in a successful virtual (or covid-safe) fundraiser for your child's school, can you share more about what the event was, what made it work so well, and if you'd be willing to talk to me about it? Thanks in advance for ideas and advice!
Jan 25, 2021
Parent Replies
Even before the pandemic, schools I volunteer with had good luck with online auctions through companies like biddingforgood.com (there are others out there, that's just the one I've worked with). It turns out that online school auctions, in addition to being super convenient for school families that want to bid, also bring in bids from grandparents and others not local, and often attract buyers from around the country who aren't even affiliated with your school but just want a good deal. The years we did an online auction in conjunction with a live auction, the online one usually brought in more money than the live one, and with less overhead.
We are in the planning stages of a virtual gala right now. Last year, we had to switch from in person to virtual on the day of - well the virtual was more of a silent auction. We used schoolauction.net and have been for the past years for silent auction items so parents were familiar with the platform. Feel free to contact me directly for details.