Read-a-thon fundraisers are a great way for your school to raise money towards important causes and goals you have. One advantage of this fundraising approach is that no active selling is required. Another is that it encourages students to read!
A read-a-thon is just one school fundraising idea that works virtually or without requiring large crowds to gather. But reading-based fundraisers are popular because they’re relatively easy to pull off and they’re fun to do. Read on for tips and ideas for running your next read-a-thon school fundraiser!
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Getting the Word Out
The first step of any successful fundraiser is getting the word out. First, you’ll need students to participate, so you’ll want to make sure teachers are on board to help make the event a success. Then your school will need to find people who are interested in donating to support the reading goals set by students. Remember that on Digital Deets, we can also help you find local corporate sponsors who are interested in partnering with your organization.
Beyond reaching out to close friends, family members, and PTA/PTO members, social media is a great way to get the word out about your upcoming read-a-thon fundraiser. To make it easy for students and parents to share word about the fundraiser, you may want to prepare graphics that can be shared via email or social media. You can also create clever hashtags to get your community to participate online together.
With Digital Deets, you can share your graphics or information about the fundraiser on our platform, and then users can access it at their convenience. You can also send out emails with information about the fundraiser, and get analytics about which users are seeing your messages and which ones aren’t.
Combine it with a Book Swap
To get more bang from your buck with your read-a-thon fundraiser, try running a book fair or book swap in conjunction with the fundraiser. This encourages community interaction while also helping people share the books they love.
The issue of access to books is one that has been highlighted by remote learning. Book fairs and book swaps are one way to ensure that every student has access to books if they desire. You could easily set up a donation box for books outside of your school or library where members of the community could come and donate books specifically for the fundraiser.
With a little bit of planning, you can maximize participation in your next reading fundraiser by ensuring that everyone who wants to participate has access to books they want to read. And with Digital Deets, you can double-check that everybody is aware of the resources you have to offer them.
Find a Sponsor to Match Your Donations
One of the great things about a read-a-thon fundraiser is it doesn’t involve selling. Instead, it’s about encouraging students to read, and finding community members who are interested in pledging money to support that goal.
One angle of this your school should consider is trying to find a sponsor in the local business community who is willing to match donations. For example, you might find a company that is willing to pledge three dollars for every dollar raised over the next week up to a certain amount.
Whatever arrangement you decide on, these types of school sponsorships can help give your fundraiser the extra momentum it needs to meet the goal you set for yourself. These sponsorships also help local businesses as an added bonus.
Choose a Theme
Read-a-thon fundraisers can be easily combined with your curriculum and books students are already reading. But one of the most fun and customizable aspects is choosing an additional theme that is timely or relevant to your community in some way. Some possible themes include popular series or authors, historically significant figures, books about the community you’re in, or mental health.
These are just a few ideas you can use to give your reading fundraiser a personal twist. The great thing about a reading fundraiser is it doesn’t matter what your students read, as long as they are reading. Depending on how you set up your fundraiser, donations can be made as a one-time pledge or a certain amount per pages read, say $5 for every 50 pages.
It Takes a Village
The more people know about your fundraiser, the more successful it has a chance at being. With Digital Deets, all of your communications are streamlined into one easy-to-use app, and you have access to complete analytics to make sure everyone is getting your message.
School looks different right now than it normally does, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to hold successful fundraisers and socialize and engage with our community in meaningful ways. With Digital Deets, you can keep your community connected even if you can’t all be in the same space for the time being, and also give yourself another channel to passively raise funds for your school. Sign up today!