SaveAround's Community Conversation

In last week’s article, we covered budgets, goals, and plans for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. In order to hit your financial goals and budgets, there is a specific number of groups that you have to sign and run. What markets make sense to call on? Do you have a target audience or specific group that you like to work with instead of others? Well, it is time to get out of the box and get out of your comfort zone.

Below are some specific markets that you can target and why they need to fundraise. We would like to challenge you to call on at least one group in a new market this fall and next spring. That would add 2 new groups to your target list and perhaps open up a whole new market and list of clients that you’ve never worked with before.

SPORTS
Middle Schools and High Schools will almost always have sports teams of some kind. Sports run in all seasons (fall, winter, and spring) and have specific schedules for games, practices, workouts, and the off-season (good time to fundraise).

Sometimes sports comprise the majority of revenue generation for a school and a lot of expenditures are budgeted for sports for that very reason - stadium, courts, equipment, transportation, uniforms, gear, umpires/referees, lighting, travel, fees, competitions, tournaments, etc.

Start with the Athletic Director or the Head Coach for the sports you are going after. Check out the website to see what the various sports programs do. Do they travel out of county to events? Do they qualify for district, regional, or state tournaments/competitions? If so, that requires transportation and funds to attend. Don’t forget about the cheerleading squads. The same applies to them just like the football team. Talk to your Fall Sport Coaches NOW!!!!! Summer workouts are underway and could be a perfect opportunity to set up a quick Sprint Fundraiser!!!

MUSIC / BAND / ORCHESTRA / CHORUS
Hopefully, most of your schools have a music department or program at both the middle school and high school levels. Sometimes there is a department chairperson (similar to college) or head of each group - band director, orchestra leader, choral director, etc.

Check out the website - does the marching band attend area competitions? Do they host any competitions? Does the choral department conduct various shows and programs throughout the year? Does the music department support other groups like theatre or a drama club? Wouldn’t it make sense to partner music with theater when it comes to fundraising if they already work together on productions (school play, theatrical productions, invitation to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade)?

Most music groups will have a Booster / Parent Organization that heads up the fundraising efforts. Reach out to them and try to set up a meeting. Some bands do a fundraiser each month and you need to get on the list (maybe) as an approved vendor and/or an approved fundraiser. They generally are a well-organized structured group of parent volunteers who strive to keep the music programs top level while running smoothly and efficiently. There are a lot of expenses with music groups, especially those who participate in a lot of contests and competitions that require travel.

CLUBS (Departments or Subject)
Various clubs throughout the school will have fundraising needs. Generally, these are led by the department chair or someone who is very active in the school. This includes everything from the AgriScience department and Aviation/Aeronautics to Home Economics and DECA. FFA and other national organizations have annual meetings to attend for their officers and some school representatives. Some students enter competitions and contests and if chosen they have to make the trip to appear in the final competitions.

One local high school hosted Ag Day recently and brought in farming equipment and implements along with various farm animals - cows, pigs, horses, rabbits, goats, chickens, and ducks to make the other non-Ag students aware of their program and the importance of agriculture and how it relates to everyone. Great event and it did generate interest within the student body.

This is also a great way to partner with local businesses in the community (i.e. John Deere, Tractor Supply, etc) to make a partnership with the school, the students, the families, and shows support. This could be a target audience to contact for prizes - John Deere to donate a gift certificate for the Ag Department fundraiser. That makes a lot of sense to a partner like businesses with the school department they are directly involved with and eventually supporting and one day to be in business with as the students graduate and go into their Ag field of study or work.

SPECIFIC SCHOOLS (elementary, middle, and high school)
Do you call on specific schools in a category? Only high schools? Only elementary? We’d like to challenge you to step out and try to contact all three. They have their positive and negative traits, but definitely things that can be overcome.

Elementary schools generally have a PTA or PTO organization that handles their fundraising. Ultimately those things have to be approved by the principal but are executed by the booster group. If you have some dedicated hard-working parents those sales can go really well and raise a lot of money for the school. Younger students are easier to motivate as well (prizes, incentives, lunch with their favorite teacher, extra recess time). However, communication with the parents through a 2nd grader can be a challenge.

Middle schoolers have similar needs to that of the elementary school but on a bigger scale. More programs and more opportunities are available on the middle school level. There may also be some crossover with the high school if the middle school is a feeder school. Sports programs tend to start at the middle school level as well as clubs and other organizations.

High School seems like an obvious choice because there are a lot of smaller groups to target, but high schoolers (a.k.a. teenagers) are some of the hardest to motivate and get excited about fundraising. They are “too cool for school” so definitely not going to fundraise either (or so they said). Sometimes in the high school setting, it’s easier to target clubs, music groups, sports groups, etc. because those members understand fundraising is a part of the deal and they will do it especially if it is “semi-mandatory” or “highly encouraged”.

PRIVATE vs PUBLIC SCHOOL
This can be tricky because a lot of times private schools just want to collect fees and not fundraise; however, some of our top groups are within private schools. There is a sense of community, family, loyalty, and wanting to be a part of whatever the group is doing. Additionally, unexpected costs can arise if a team qualifies for a tournament or has to travel to a not-so-close destination. Generally, you can start with the headmaster or the person in charge of the school, but we recommend going to the athletic director or the head coach if it's a sports team. Additionally, parental support and involvement tend to be higher at private schools because they are paying for their child’s education and have a vested interest in what they are doing and why they are there in the first place. Generally speaking, the parent and student involvement tend to be higher at these private schools than at some other schools.

NON-SCHOOL GROUPS
Preschools, church daycares, little league baseball and softball, travel volleyball through a sports complex, private hitting or pitching instructors who run camps, etc. All of these entities are viable options when it comes to fundraising and they aren’t affiliated (necessarily) with a school and all the hoops that go along with contacting schools. Generally, there is one decision-maker - the boss or the owner - and then they have a dedicated audience who chooses to attend (nursery school) or take lessons (gymnastics) and want to excel and do well within the group. A private gymnastics academy may qualify for a competition or decide to enter 3 of their teams and those teams will need uniforms or costumes for various performances not to mention travel, food, lodging, and other expenses. Preschools or daycares might want to add programs, additional classes/teachers, upgrade computers or playground equipment. There are definitely needs in all of these areas and you are the person to call on them to help them raise funds to meet those needs.

So work on adding some new groups in markets that maybe you don’t traditionally work in and see how it goes. Try to add one new one for Fall and one new one for Spring as a starting point.

The SaveAround Apparel Division (SAink) provides a great opportunity for you to find a different solution for groups looking to raise funds as well as local establishments looking for custom apparel. Summer sports teams are always looking for apparel on and off the field. With a lot of options available in the apparel industry SAink prides itself on providing a premium product at an extremely competitive cost. We have also been seeing a lot of success by reaching out to local restaurants and businesses who have been placing orders for their employees! For more information on SAink and all the great apparel solutions, we offer, please contact sales@savearound.com today!

Summertime - Re-Sign Contacts via the School Offices

If your contact person is someone who works in the school building after the students have left, summer is a great time to reach out to them. Thank them for their participation and partnership and see if you can get them re-signed for the 2021-2022 school year. As previously mentioned in an earlier newsletter, most principals, teachers, coaches, and contacts are in the building before noon even if the office isn’t answering calls or appears to be “closed”.

Fun Facts

1. A.A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh for his son, Christopher Robin.

2. Father’s Day was invented by Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd who wanted to honor her father. He was a widowed war veteran who raised 6 children.

3. The first father’s day was June 19, 1910.

4. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to support the concept of Father’s Day in 1924.

5. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation designating Father’s Day as the 3rd Sunday in June.

6. Hallmark says that Father’s Day is the 5th largest card-sending holiday.

7. Rose is the official flower of Father’s Day. The white rose denotes deceased and the red rose denotes that the father is living.

8. The most popular father’s day gift is a necktie.9. There are 72 million fathers and 29 million of those fathers are also grandfathers.

Father’s Day Joke

Why do golfers carry an extra pair of socks?

In case they get a hole in one.

Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Need to know where to shop? Here you go ~

21,000 sporting goods stores

15,000 hardware stores

6,000 home centers

7,000 men’s clothing stores