9 Quick Fundraisers for School Counselors: Bridging the Gap
Want ideas for fundraisers for school counselors?
The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 1 school counselor for every 250 students. Yet as per its latest report, for the year 2021-22, the ratio was a disappointing 1:408. In fact, 50 out of the 52 states had a ratio worse than 250, and states like California, Utah, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, and Indiana had an average of 1 counselor for over 500 students.
These statistics clearly depict the lack of funds for school counselors. Given the critical role school counselors play in providing necessary emotional support, career guidance, and academic advice, raising funds for school counselors is the need of the hour. Not only is it vital for enhancing the mental and emotional well-being of individual students but also for preventing irreversible damage to society at large.
In this post, we recommend 9 quick ways to raise funds for school counselors. We are focusing on ways that require minimal planning and organization and deliver excellent fundraising profitability.
9 Quick and Effective Fundraisers for School Counselors
1. Online Crowdfunding
For online crowdfunding, you can outline the current needs of the counseling services, and set a clear, achievable financial goal.
Plus, it is easy to organize as it involves creating an online campaign on a platform that guides you through the process, requiring minimal physical resources. Online crowdfunding also comes with the flexibility of year-round access while letting you tap into donors all over.
For maximum success be transparent about how the funds will be used and update donors on the progress regularly.
Make sure to engage your audience with pictures, videos, and stories that show the importance of counseling services. Remember to promote your campaign on social media, newsletters, and any school communication platforms.
2. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Fundraising for counselors can work beautifully with peer-to-peer fundraising as it leverages the networks of individual supporters, spreading the effort across many participants. Rope in parents and teachers, who have larger networks for fundraising for maximum fundraising.
Equip your fundraisers with all the necessary information about the cause, including how the money will be used.
Also, provide them with easily shareable digital assets like images, infographics, and text snippets that they can share on their own platforms. Acknowledge their contributions and maintain a leaderboard to encourage friendly competition.
The best time to initiate a peer-to-peer fundraiser for school counselors is at the start of a new academic year or at the end as people are reflecting on the school year.
3. Virtual Run/Walkathon
A virtual run or a walkathon can be a fun event for fundraising for counselors and since it’s virtual it would be easy to organize, and would increase profitability as venue-related costs would not be incurred. Make sure you use a clear name for your school fundraiser that conveys that the event is virtual. The overall logistical management of the event would also be minimal.
The only aspect you need to work on is the participation guide. Provide detailed instructions for participants and include easy-to-follow information on how to record and submit their progress.
Additionally, offer different tiers of participation to accommodate all fitness levels, and consider involving local businesses as sponsors. They could, for example, match the registration fees or offer prizes for the top participants. Adding tiers to a virtual event would also make the event suitable for all age groups and it would be easier for you to make parents, teachers, caretakers, local business owners, alumni, etc participate.
For maximum participation, organize a walkathon in the spring or fall season when weather conditions are generally more conducive.
4. Online Webinars or Workshops By Counselors
An online series of webinars conducted by the counselors themselves are an excellent way to raise awareness about the need for counselors and the lack of funding for counselors.
Counselors could talk about common mental or emotional health issues affecting the kids of the school and could teach navigational tactics to parents. The webinars could be turned into more engaging and interactive workshops as well by providing takeaways, worksheets, or support kits that help parents apply expert advice to support children.
The best time to conduct such online webinars or workshops would be around parent-teacher conference periods or back-to-school nights when parents are most engaged with school matters.
The school would also need minimal organizational effort for such an event. The only work the school would have to put in is in the promotion of the webinar and workshop.
5. Online Art Auction
School art clubs usually double up well as school charity clubs because of the wide range of events they can host as part of their club activities. One such event that they can organize is an Art Auction that not only spotlights student talent but also generates funds. You only need to collate student artwork eliminating the need for any external art supplier.
Organize the art by category or grade level to generate participation from students studying in lower classes as well. Hold a virtual gallery walk-through before the bidding begins.
Promote the auction across all school platforms and provide a secure digital payment option.
6. Craft Fair
A School Craft Fair could be an excellent opportunity for community building. It also makes for a fun event in itself or could even be hosted as a separate booth in a school fundraising fete. Handmade items made by school students should be sold at the fair.
Allocate tables to display each participant’s craft. Children across all age groups can participate in this event and the diversity in offerings would attract wider audiences.
The event can also be held online. You could create virtual shopfronts, send virtual catalogs, use platforms like eBay for charity, or simply list the items on your school’s fundraiser page. Make sure the platform used can handle digital transactions.
7. Storytelling Evening
A Storytelling Fundraiser event could involve both students and teachers as storytellers, and encourage a wide range of story genres. A storytelling event makes for a fun evening and seems less like a fundraiser and more like a typical class assignment. It allows the school to leverage talent within the school community, requiring minimal external resources.
For more participation, even a storytelling event can be conducted virtually using a reliable streaming platform and offering digital tickets for purchase. It could also be combined with music or dance performances to break the monotony and make the event more engaging and fun.
A classic storytelling evening is best organized indoors or virtually in winter around the holiday season.
8. Digital Cookbook Sale
Launching a Cookbook for a Cause project is one of the easiest ways to raise funds for a much-needed cause. Call out for recipes from student communities, parents, and teachers. Specify a format to make a compilation of the cookbook easy.
Ensure you have a diverse array of recipes, complete with clear instructions and photographs.
Sell your digital cookbook on a platform that supports easy downloading and secure payments and for maximum fund generation, plan the sales prior to a major holiday when people are usually looking for new, innovative and easy-to-follow recipes.
9. Esports Tournament
Hosting an event like an esports Fundraiser capitalizes on the popularity of esports particularly among middle school and high school students.
Ensure you select a game that’s appropriate for all participants and provide clear rules and technical guidelines. An esports tournament could be organized on any weekend when students have more free time on hand.
Other Ways in Which You Could Seek Support for School Counselors
If frequent school fundraisers could come across as scammy, you could invite support for school counselors in other ways.
Seek volunteering time to help school counselors with administrative tasks and help them focus on their core responsibilities.
Additionally, the PTA could use its reach to spread awareness about the critical role counselors play in students’ lives and demand better allocation of school funds towards counselor needs.
You could also ask for donations in kind, such as books, stationery, art supplies, or even software, which can contribute greatly to the resources available for counseling services. You could also ask parents, local businessmen, or alumni to help with professional development opportunities, such as sponsoring school counselors to attend workshops or seminars.
