Raise More, Stress Less
As a PTO leader, your goal is to make a meaningful impact in your school and give back in ways that matter. But let’s be honest—achieving those goals isn’t always easy. Between managing your family, work, and other commitments, you’re also tasked with coordinating fundraisers that require time, teamwork, and resources. The good news? Fundraising doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or stressful. With the right tools, strategies, and shortcuts, you can simplify the process, save time, and still raise more money than ever before.
Here are 7 fundraising shortcuts designed to help you hit your goals while freeing up time for what matters most—your school, your team, and your family.
1. Save Time: Promote Before You Begin
Raising funds starts with raising awareness. The more buzz you create before your kickoff, the more likely parents, students, and the community will engage from day one.
Here’s how to get a head start:
- For Students & Teachers: Use morning announcements, bulletin boards, and assemblies to explain the “why” behind the fundraiser. Share what their hard work will accomplish—like new playground equipment, field trips, or classroom supplies.
- For Parents: Host a Parent Night or send out a quick survey to let families vote on how funds will be used. When parents feel involved in setting the goals, they’re more likely to contribute and encourage others to do the same.
- Shortcut Tip: Save time on promotion with FundHub’s event-specific social media templates. These pre-designed templates are easy to customize and you can even schedule posts throughout the fundraiser.
Early and consistent promotion helps keep parents engaged without adding extra stress for your team!
2. Save Funds: Secure Sponsorships From Local Businesses
Don’t forget the power of your local community when it comes to fundraising! Engaging local businesses as sponsors can provide a big boost to your event’s success – and even save you time and funds in the process.
How to Get Sponsors:
- Be Clear About the Benefits: Highlight how their sponsorship will positively impact both your school and their business. For example, offering perks like their logo on event banners, T-shirts, or your school’s fundraiser webpage provides them with exposure while showing their support for the community.
- Leverage Personal Connections: Have your parent volunteers reach out to local businesses they frequent or have relationships with—this personal touch often makes a big difference.
- Send a Sponsorship Request Letter: Include details like how their contribution will be used, sponsorship levels, and benefits for participating.
Shortcut Tip: Plan ahead by creating sponsorship packages before your event begins. Start early to allow businesses time to budget and prepare their contributions.
3. Lessen the Stress: Simplify Volunteer Coordination With FundHub
Coordinating volunteers for your fundraiser can be a challenge – in fact over 50% of parent group leaders claim it is the hardest part of fundraising! But FundHub makes it easier than ever to organize your team and assign tasks seamlessly. With the Volunteer Organizer Tool, you can save time and ensure every aspect of your event is covered.
Here’s how to use FundHub to streamline volunteer management:
- Centralize Volunteer Signups: The Volunteer Organizer allows you to create a detailed list of roles and shifts for your event. Parents, teachers, and community members can sign up directly through the platform, giving you a clear view of who’s helping and where.
- Assign Tasks Efficiently: Easily divide responsibilities, such as setup, incentive distribution, or cleanup, and track who’s handling each role. FundHub’s simple interface ensures no one is left wondering what they need to do.
- Send Automated Reminders: FundHub keeps everyone on track by sending automatic reminders to volunteers about their roles and shifts. This reduces last-minute confusion and ensures everyone is prepared.
Shortcut Tip: Encourage parents to sign up as volunteers when they register their students for the fundraiser.
With FundHub’s Volunteer Organizer, you’ll spend less time coordinating schedules and more time focusing on making your event a success!
4. Get Your Funds Faster With ACH Transfers
ACH transfers are a game changer for school fundraisers! Instead of dealing with the hassle of managing cash and checks, ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfers allow schools to receive their funds quickly, securely, and with minimal effort.
Here’s why ACH transfers are a must-have option for your fundraiser:
- Improved Accuracy: ACH minimizes errors that can occur when processing checks, ensuring that every donation is accounted for and transferred directly to your school.
- Fast and Secure Payments: ACH ensures donations are transferred directly into your school’s account, saving you from the delays and risks of lost or misplaced checks. No more waiting for checks to clear or chasing down missing payments!
- Reduced Administrative Tasks: Say goodbye to the time-consuming process of manually reconciling checks or handling large amounts of cash. ACH transfers simplify the process so your PTO or parent group can focus on making your event a success.
5. Streamline Your Incentive Tracking + Distribution
Managing incentives can be one of the trickiest parts of a fundraiser. Constant interruptions to learning time and keeping up with daily distribution can leave your team feeling overwhelmed. That’s where FundHub’s Incentive Tracker comes in, making it easier than ever to stay organized and efficient.
- Batch Deliveries: Instead of distributing prizes daily, schedule deliveries once or twice a week. This reduces disruptions to learning time and gives your team a chance to focus on other important tasks.
- Automated Tracking: The Incentive Tracker helps you log which students and classrooms have earned prizes, so there’s no confusion or missed incentives. Everything is organized in one place, saving you from the hassle of manual spreadsheets or paperwork.
- Engage Students Without Overwhelming Your Team: Use incentive milestones to keep students motivated—like classroom pizza parties or extra recess for reaching group goals. Then use batch delivery to distribute smaller individual prizes efficiently.
Shortcut Tip: Set a consistent schedule for distributing prizes (e.g., every Wednesday and Friday), and communicate this to students, parents, and teachers ahead of time. This way, everyone knows when to expect rewards, and your team has time to prepare.
Using the Incentive Tracker not only makes your fundraiser run more smoothly but also keeps your team and classrooms on track without unnecessary interruptions. It’s all about making the process simpler for everyone involved!
6. Simplify Fundraiser Communication With Automated Emails
Keeping parents and participants updated about your fundraiser is crucial for driving engagement—but it can also feel like a full-time job. With FundHub’s Easy Email Builder and Automated Parent Reminders, you can save time while ensuring your communication is seamless, engaging, and effective.
Here’s how FundHub makes email promotion effortless:
- Pre-Populated Event Info: FundHub’s Email Builder automatically populates your emails with your event details, so you can quickly send out professional, customized messages without starting from scratch.
- Automated Parent Reminders: Keep your fundraiser top of mind with pre-scheduled emails. FundHub offers three powerful options to keep momentum going:
- Take the Next Step Reminder: Encourage parents to register or share their child’s fundraiser link.
- Superstar Status Alert: Celebrate top-performing participants and encourage others to join the fun.
- Final Donation Push: Drive those last-minute contributions with a strong call to action as the fundraiser ends.
- Dynamic Flyers: Easily send emails with dynamic flyers attached, complete with your fundraiser’s details, goals, and a donation link.
- Time-Saving Features: Save templates for future use, automate delivery times, and keep recipient information private with built-in blind-copy.
With FundHub’s Email Builder, you can skip the hassle of complicated email tools and focus on connecting with parents in a meaningful way. Whether you’re sharing updates, sending thank-you notes, or giving that final donation push, FundHub ensures your communication is easy, effective, and stress-free!
7. Family Donation Webpages
Managing fundraising for multiple kids can be overwhelming for families, but FundHub’s Family Donation Webpages make it easy and stress-free. This exclusive feature simplifies the process, saving families time while helping your fundraiser raise more.
Here’s how Family Webpages work:
- One Central Hub: Parents can manage fundraising for all their children in one place. No need to juggle multiple links or accounts—everything is consolidated on a single page.
- Track Progress Effortlessly: Families can view each child’s progress toward their individual and classroom goals, helping them stay motivated and engaged throughout the event.
- Share With Ease: FundHub’s Family Webpages make it simple to share donation links via email, text, or social media—all from one location. Parents can even use the built-in Online Share Tools to quickly reach friends, family, and coworkers.
- Save Time and Increase Participation: By streamlining the process for families, you remove barriers to participation and make it easier for them to contribute to your fundraiser.
Shortcut Tip: Encourage parents to set up their Family Webpage during registration to take full advantage of this feature from the start. Highlight how it saves time and keeps everything organized, especially for families with multiple students.
With FundHub’s Family Donation Webpages, you’re not just making the process easier—you’re creating a better experience for families that ultimately drives more donations and boosts participation. Fundraising has never been simpler or more family-friendly!
By saving time, simplifying processes, and making participation effortless for families, you can focus on what really matters: creating meaningful experiences for your students.
Every dollar raised is an investment in your school’s future—and with the shortcuts we’ve shared, you’ll not only hit your goals but do so in a way that’s efficient, enjoyable, and stress-free for everyone involved. Because when fundraising works for everyone—parents, teachers, and the entire school community—the possibilities are endless.
Ready to see how these tools can transform your fundraiser? Schedule a free tour of FundHub and take the first step toward simplifying your success!