Professional Organizations for Teachers: Fundraising

posted on June 19, 2019

Professional organizations for teachers are always in need of fundraising dollars. And, one of our favorite partners is the New Bremen Teachers Association (NBTA) because they got everyone involved in a creative fundraiser! NBTA needed to raise critical funds for scholarships for seniors in need. So, by doing a shoe drive fundraiser, they were able to get their entire district involved and more than 750 students.

Every year, NBTA fundraises for deserving seniors in need of scholarships. Recently, they were seeking something new and different for additional funds. And, as they tell their story, they were fortunate enough to also be in the midst of a fundraising campaign for a new building. So, teachers were looking for ways to support the building fundraiser to add funds for a new playground. Professional organizations for teachers like NBTA always know they have to think creatively.

Google Fundraising Ideas

Like other organizations for teachers, it was in the process of doing a Google search for fundraising ideas that they fell upon a shoe drive fundraiser. The New Bremen community is small, with only about 3,000 people. Their entire student body consists of approximately 750 students. And, after considering it, they thought it was something that they could do with success.

Organizations for Teachers Leverage Other Fundraisers

The New Bremen Teachers Association decided to schedule their shoe drive fundraiser with a local garage sale weekend. But, they knew that by leveraging other community events, they would be more successful. Guess what? It worked for this group as it does for other professional organizations for teachers! As a result, they were able to collect over 500 pairs of gently worn, used and new shoes. And, they also got another nearby community to give them 200 pairs more. As Jenny Perryman explained, “Every day there were shoes dropped off at school. It was exciting to walk in each morning to see how many shoes were here!”

Promoting the Creative Fundraiser

This organization for teachers promoted their shoe drive fundraiser in three ways. So, first, they sent flyers home with students at the very start of the fundraiser. Second, before their Open House Night, they followed it up by sending reminder flyers with the students. And, finally, during the entire shoe drive fundraiser, they actively used social media. For instance, Facebook posts were regularly done and shared by teachers.  They found Facebook posts and word-of-mouth to work best for them.

Collection Boxes and the Media

Something that the NBTA did that worked well for them was to have collection boxes placed at the entry to the elementary and high school. As a result, anyone who walked into the buildings asked about the shoe drive fundraiser. Also, the local paper picked up the story of the fundraiser for the professional organization for teachers. Jenny, who coordinated the fundraiser said, “It was great for the kids and community to see our success when we were only about half-way through our collection.  The same reporter came and took pictures of the k-8 student body celebrating our whole collection of 3,731 pairs of shoes.”

Biggest Success for the Professional Organization for Teachers

What was the most significant part of their success for a shoe drive fundraiser? So, as Jenny has told us, it was their Cross Categorical Unit. And, it was this group that gave “lots of their time to match, rubber band, count and bag all of our shoes.” For instance, the teacher, three aides, and five boys in the classroom gave lots of their time. And, each morning, they assigned students tasks for the day. For example, they needed to get all of the shoes counted and matched. And, it was this group that offered so much of their time.

As Jenny said, “We are so grateful to these adults and students for the time they were willing to give.  And, the teachers in the special ed classroom used the shoe drive fundraiser to teach matching and counting skills.  These young men also transported the shoes to their room each morning, and then moved all of the bags into our storage are each day.  They were awesome helpers!”

What a great team effort! We congratulate NBTA and all organizations for teachers who do so much for the students they serve.

Are you looking for more inspirational stories, tips, and ideas? Find much more on our blog.

 

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