The Holiday season is one of the best times to fundraise. People are nearing the end of the year and clear on where they stand financially. Also, the holidays can bring a sense of generosity and desire to give to one’s neighbors and community. However, this year everything has been a little different. While the typical fun runs and bake sales may not be safe during Covid-19, there are other ideas for a socially distanced holiday fundraiser. Here’s how your booster club can stay financially afloat despite the difficult circumstances.
Create and Sell School Spirit Calendars
The Holidays are filled with anticipation for the upcoming year. That’s why a calendar is such a great gift to give and receive; It’s a reminder of exciting things to come and also very practical to have. You only need twelve relevant, high quality images to create a calendar, so why not give it a try?
There are many websites that make it easy to design calendars online and affordable to print them in bulk.
- Deluxe printers offer excellent pricing options, especially for bulk purchases. Likewise, they frequently sponsor promotional deals.
- Print Safari also offers competitive pricing options, while allowing some creative liberties.
- Smart Press is another great website for customizable calendars. It’s more expensive than the two options above, but the product has a clean, aesthetic appearance.
For choosing a theme and the images for each month, we’d recommend choosing colorful, lively photos of students in action. Make sure to highlight whatever school entity your booster club supports by adding photos of band concerts, football rallies, or soccer games. Selling calendars to the family and friends of booster club members would be a great socially distanced way to fundraise this holiday season!
Set up a Venmo Account and Leverage Social Media
One of the most common ways students give and receive money is through a digital money transferring app called Venmo. This app makes it easy for individuals to find one another and send or request funds from each other while remaining socially distanced.
If your booster club doesn’t already have one, it may greatly benefit from setting up a Venmo account and linking it to your club’s bank account. This will add another avenue to bring in funds (you want it to be logistically as easy as possible for people to donate, especially during Covid-19.) This Boooster article lists even more ways to ease the donation process.
How can we leverage social media to increase our Venmo donations?
- Use the Booster Club’s instagram, snapchat, and Twitter pages to advertise a raffle where anyone who donates $1 to the venmo account is entered to win a prize (such as a free T-shirt)
- Offer to give birthday and specific Holiday shout-outs on the Booster Club’s social media page for a $5 Venmo charge
- Create a flash-fundraising event with various brackets and prizes and advertise across all social media platforms. (For example: “The Football Booster Club is fundraising for the next 24 hours! Donate to our Venmo account @Account_Name. If we receive $50 total the quarterback will post a video singing Jingle Bells, for $75 total the whole team will join him, for $100 total the whole team will sing and the coach will have a solo, and for $200 total they’ll all dress like elves as they sing!”)
Using a simple money transferring platform can get more students involved in donating. If there is another more popular money transferring app at your school, use it. The point is to make it as easy as possible for others to donate to your socially distanced holiday fundraisers.
Socially Distanced Holiday Fundraiser Ideas for Performing Arts Booster Clubs
If your club supports a dance troupe, theater club, jazz band, or student orchestra, you’ve got a great opportunity for a socially distanced holiday fundraiser. Consider asking the group you support if they would be willing to put on a virtual Holiday themed performance at a certain time.
To draw inspiration, you might watch this video where the original Broadway cast of Hamilton performed one of their most popular songs on Zoom, to support a political campaign. Make sure to advertise the online only concert, show, or performance repeatedly across all of your booster clubs social media platforms. You could charge to gain access to the virtual event, or make it free and attach a link to donate at the end.
Socially Distanced Holiday Fundraiser Ideas for Fine Arts Booster Clubs
Artists have a unique advantage for fundraising during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing has thwarted athletic events and all large social gatherings, however paintings, prints, and sculptures can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime. Think about asking the artists your booster club is supporting to create holiday centered art. Then plan a virtual art gallery where proceeds are split between the artists and the booster club.
Socially Distanced Holiday Fundraiser Ideas for Athletic Booster Clubs
People are more willing to donate when they know the specific need they’ll be fulfilling and they see the people who they’re donating to. That being said, perhaps your booster club can identify what specific needs the team has and can create an engaging video describing why others should donate.
One possibility would be to reach out to the players themselves and ask them to state their team’s needs. The video doesn’t have to be somber, it can be entertaining, lighthearted, and cheerful (tapping into that Holiday spirit). Make sure that if you post the video on YouTube, Instagram, or FaceBook, you also attach a link where people can donate!
In Conclusion
While the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing may have thrown off your original booster club holiday fundraising plans, there are still other methods. One option is to design and sell school spirit calendars. Another is to create a Venmo account that allows students to easily transfer money digitally (and socially distanced). Adding incentives via social media will also boost the Venmo donations. And then, there are different ways to fundraise for the holidays depending on the group of students you’re supporting.
For performers, consider hosting virtual performances where talent shines (even through a video screen). For artists, consider hosting an online art gallery with the option for viewers to purchase the art pieces. And for athletes, consider making a video montage getting to know the players and their needs. Covid-19 can’t get in the way of these socially distanced booster club fundraising ideas!
