Nothing happens in a fundraiser without some spark of excitement—some flashing lights and perhaps even sprinkling glitter. Add boom-boom music and a few high-kicks if you have to. Anything to get attention and indicate something important is about to happen. 

While it would be great if people did their part to support worthwhile causes without the extra effort, most people find themselves too busy and with too many distractions these days. Sometimes you just have to create a little pizzazz to motivate people in your school fundraising kickoff to get them to notice you’re presenting something that they’ll want to be part of. If your fundraiser doesn’t start with enthusiasm and excitement, your members will think it’s not a priority and will focus on something else instead. 

No way around it. Fundraising is work. It’s not a lot of work, but you may need to dangle some carrots and get out your pom-poms to motivate them to action. 

Here are some easy tips for starting your school fundraising kickoff with a bang and taking your fundraising efforts to the next level. Let’s go beyond passing out packets and flyers and hoping for the best. Instead, go for the gusto with these 6 tried-and-true school fundraising kickoff ideas to motivate your members to help: 

1. Hold a Kickoff Pep Rally

Actually do a kickoff pep rally of some sort. Even if you don’t have the energy or flexibility for somersaults and pumping music, get their focused attention on the topic and repeat the selling points over and over. Simply having the rally or presenting the details in a video will accomplish more than sending home brochures with no further instructions. 

Need help holding your audience’s attention? Create a fundraiser hand gesture like “Give me five” (holding your palm high in the air and getting them to mirror you) or call-and-response like saying “Who likes chocolate chip cookies” (pause for response) to play with the students and have fun with them while focusing their scatter-brain attention spans. Repeat the movement several times during the presentation and build excitement around it.

2. Dance at Your School Fundraising Kickoff

If you can muster a little more enthusiasm, add some fun dance/hip-hop music with a driving beat as they come into the general assembly or when starting the video introduction. Recruit the cheer team or dance line members. 

If you have a few teachers willing to perform a dance or show off their attempt at a cartwheel, encourage them to do so. Mentally, you want to help your fundraisers switch gears from their classwork to focusing on something fun and interesting about the fundraiser. 

3. Storytelling

“The best story wins” is an old saying in sales. While you may not consider yourself a salesperson, at this moment, you are selling your members on the key talking points of all sales jobs:

• value (what’s in it for them),
• quality (will the experience meet an expectation),
• ease (how simple is it).

The best way to do this is through storytelling. To make it more interesting for elementary schools, weave in a character like Mr. Foxy the Fundraiser. He can help explain the details of the sale. For smaller groups with older members, pick a volunteer to demonstrate the fundraising process. Start with getting the fundraising materials. Then demonstrate how to sell the products. Finally, show them closing the sales and getting their rewards at the end. 

The more fun you have explaining the process in a story form, the more engaged they’ll be. Something as simple as “Foxy the Fundraiser wants to go on the field trip but needs to raise the money to pay travel costs. He knows these delicious chocolate bars will help pay his way. All he has to do is ask his friends and family what their favorite chocolate bar is and how many they want. It’s that easy!”

4. Incorporate Multiple Learning Styles

As teachers and parents, you know not everyone learns the same way. Most people process new information best when the information is presented using a mix of learning styles. 

For example, you can combine telling them about the fundraiser and showing them the different parts of the fundraiser. 

Visual aids like slideshows and videos explaining the fundraising process get the points across more effectively than just talking. They will also retain all the information better. 

If you’re not adept at using these tools, ask your fundraising specialist for suggestions. For larger groups, King Fundraising will actually create a PowerPoint or even a video for you, depending on the size of the group.

5. Hand Out Samples

Everyone loves a free sample. It’s an instant way to boost dopamine levels and excite people to do more. For small groups or parent meeting nights, providing samples of the products you plan to sell can make a big difference. This is especially true if it’s a new product or brand the community hasn’t tried before. 

Let your fundraising specialist know several weeks in advance if you want to purchase samples. They can coordinate delivery in time for you to bake a batch of Classic Cookies, make small Dixie cup sample sizes of Poppin Popcorn, or come up with fun displays for your World’s Finest Chocolate chocolate bars. 

6. Keep School Fundraising Kickoff Pep Rally Audiences Small

If you are fundraising for an elementary school and want to do a school fundraising kickoff pep rally to get students excited, break them up into groups of about 250 students at a time. Much larger than that and it’s too noisy to contain student enthusiasm. 

More than once a King Fundraising specialist presented to the entire school, despite requesting smaller audiences. The good news is that the children were over the top excited. The bad news is that the roar of laughter and chit-chat chatter drowned out the presenter so that even a loudspeaker system couldn’t communicate effectively.

Unlock the Power of Your School Fundraising Kickoff

Your school fundraising kickoff is more important than you may imagine. It unifies students, faculty, and the entire community to show support for your fundraiser while also igniting enthusiasm. They are designed to keep your fundraiser top-of-mind. Keep reminding them what the money raised will go towards and what they will get out of the experience, whether it’s a prize incentive, better equipment, or covering travel expenses. Use the fundraiser hand movements and call-and-response techniques to keep them engaged. 

If you need assistance putting together a dynamic kickoff presentation, contact your King Fundraising consultant. They can help you design something visually appealing and easy to use.