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School Fundraising in a Pandemic: Online School Fundraising Ideas That Work

Fundraising

online fundraising | school

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March 8, 2021

School fundraising in a pandemic may seem a Herculean task. Not only are you schooling from home, but traditional fundraisers such as bake sales, pizza lunches, and carnivals are out.

Enter online school fundraising. It’s incredibly effective and relatively easy. Plus, as things slowly transition back to normal, virtural fundraising in tandem with in-person efforts will reap amazing results.

Thanks to our customers who’ve shared details about their own online school fundraisers, we’ve got some great ideas!

Our favorite online school fundraising ideas

Read-a-thon

This virtual fundraiser’s education focus emotionally connects with donors. Base pledges on how much your child reads, and organize everything for your A-thon online including gathering supporters (and pledges) through Facebook posts!

Auction

Our customers tell us they’ve raised exponentially more by bringing their school auctions online.  This is because virtual auctions enable you to cast a wider net. It’s easy to email the auction link to alumni and share it on social media. Another tip from our customers? Brand your auction with your school logo and include item pictures and helpful descriptions. It may be the first time someone is exposed to your school is through the auction. It’s a great chance to impress and make them a part of your donor base.

Virtual fundraising ideas: Image of a child reading for a read-a-thon  

 

Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash

Student artwork t-shirt sale

This one is great because, like the read-a-thon, it gets the kids involved. Students can submit artwork to be made into a t-shirt to the PTA, who will then choose the winning art. From there, you can add the artwork to a t-shirt and use the preview of your design to display on your school’s fundraising site. Send a link to everyone on your email list and share on social media. Supporters can pre-order with a click, enabling you to avoid pre-purchasing stock!  Here’s an example of how an online school sale fundraiser works.

Online raffle

Right now, the prospect of winning a prize is something everyone can get behind. Eventgroove customers report that running an online raffle fundraiser is as effective as selling tickets in person, and sometimes more so! Prizes can be dinner deliveries from DoorDash, home office gear, online baking classes, or whatever else teachers and PTA can drum up. Bringing your raffle online means you’ll expand your fundraising reach—just by posting it on Facebook, you’ll enable your online community to participate with a click.

Tips for successful PTA fundraising:

Be specific

When you host your next fundraiser, don’t just state that you are raising money for the PTA. Give details on exactly what the donations will go to support—a new computer lab, a new playground, or an upcoming school field trip. This will help supporters connect with your cause and the impact their donation will have.

Use online tools

Online fundraising makes it even easier for anyone who cares (and is able) to make a quick and easy donation benefiting the student. Encourage parents to use their social media and email contacts to ask their network to support upcoming efforts. Hosting an online school fundraiser with Eventgroove also simplifies collecting donations and managing donors, leaving you to focus on other things.

Make it personal

Use Eventgroove’s team fundraising feature to enable students to create their own unique fundraising profile on their school’s fundraising site.  Students can add photos and their personal stories to inspire their friends and family to make their gift.

Create friendly competition

Raising the stakes always makes things a litte more fun. Use incentives to create a friendly competition between parents to see who can bring in the most funds for the school or between classes to see who can raise the most dollars. The winning class can get a socially-distanced pizza party or online movie night, and the winning parent could receive a break from the next needed volunteer opportunity.

Connect online fundraisers with in-person events

When things slowly settle back to the new normal, online fundraising only enhances your ability to raise money for your child’s school. By using online fundraisers alongside in-person efforts, you’ll reach a wider audience, simplify donations, and more easily manage funds. When it comes to getting students and parents excited and engaged, live events are unmatched. Put the two together and you have a major win!

About Eventgroove: We make it easy to start your online fundraising campaign, share it with parents and community members through social media and email outreach, and accept funds. Eventgroove handles the tax-receipting for donations and deposits the funds directly into your account so that you can focus on your school’s fundraising initiatives. To learn more, visit Eventgroove Fundraising.

How Selling Prom Tickets Online Works

Creating a ticket sales page takes no time, and you can customize it so it matches your prom theme and school branding. Here’s the shape of it:
  1. Create the event. Name (Enchanted Forest Prom, 2026), date, venue, capacity, dress code, anything else students should know.
  2. Set ticket types and prices. Most committees do one student ticket plus one guest or date. Some add an early bird ticket tier at a $10 discount for the first two weeks.
  3. Grab a shareable link. Drop it in the school newsletter, add it to a QR code on your prom posters, then drop it into the school’s socials and the committee group chat so everyone can share within their networks, and the principal’s morning announcements.
  4. Collect the money. Card and digital wallet payments flow straight into your account, whether someone pays in person at school or at the door on prom night.
  5. Scan tickets at the door. Each student arrives with their printed prom tickets or a digital version. A volunteer scams them using their phone.

6 Things to Look For in a Prom Ticketing Service

Not every ticketing platform is set up for school events. Three things that matter:
  1. Real-Time Data: Student planners and faculty advisors need to monitor sales and revenue, and access updated attendee reports.
  2. Clear Fees: Every platform makes its money through fees. These fees can be passed on to buyers or absorbed by the school. In addition, when credit cards are involved, processing fees always apply but may not be included in your free ticketing platform’s service. When these are not included in the platform price, you’ll need to organize online payments separately, which can result in a much higher per-ticket cost on your end.
  3. Online and physical tickets: Printing prom tickets is something many schools do – they’re a great memento of the night, and make the experience more special. Make sure your platform’s capabilities include tracking and scanning both printed and digital tickets.
  4. Easy attendee check-in: Look for a platform that lets you scan without an app or special equipment. When faculty can scan tickets using their mobile phone‘s browser, getting up to speed takes less time.
  5. Attendee management: You’ll want to track students as they enter, leave, and return. Ensure your service can support this.
  6. Ticketing adaptability: Creating ticket bundles, reserved seating, and comp codes for VIPS means your chosen platform needs to be flexible.

What to Charge For Tickets To Prom and When to Sell

On average, a prom ticket costs between $55–$125. The exact number depends on the venue, what the night includes (DJ, photos, dinner, flowers, and the like).

Pre-prom ticket sales strategies

  • Early Bird discount. Knock $10–$15 off the standard price for the first 2–3 weeks of sales. An early bird ticket strategy rewards students who buy first, builds momentum, and gives your committee how the night is tracking weeks before prom.
  • Group bundles. Offer a small discount for friend groups buying 4 or 6 tickets together. Ticket bundling speeds up sales and they nudge friend groups to commit early.
  • Reserved tables. If you want groups to sit together, set up your ticketing with reserved seating and sell whole tables as a single package.
  • Day-of door pricing. Charge $10–$15 more at the door than online to  encourages families to pre-buy.

When to sell tickets

Open sales 6–8 weeks before prom, switch from early bird to standard pricing 2–3 weeks in, and close online sales 24–48 hours before the dance so you can finalize the catering count.

A note on the platform side: Eventgroove’s setup is free, and the service fee on paid tickets is small (2% + $0.75 per ticket). You can pass that fee on to ticket buyers, and for free events, there are no fees at all.

If you’re looking for an efficent and easy way to sell school dance tickets and manage your attendees, we’d love it if you gave Eventgroove a try. Our ticketing platform is free for organizers, with low ticket-buyer fees, no hidden charges, and no contracts. Plus, we’re also online printers, so you order custom prom tickets, VIP  badges, and flyers all in one place.

Want to see Eventgroove in action?

We’d love to show you! Schedule a one-on-one demo with our expert sales team.

Request a Demo

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