BoosterHub

Are Online Fundraisers a Good Idea for Our Booster Club?

Fundraising is a critical part of booster clubs, and it can be a challenge for many organizations. It can be hard to get parents and students involved, and not every fundraiser may be as successful as you want it to be.

An easy way to change up your normal fundraiser routine is to switch to an online format. Generally, online fundraisers are less work for volunteers and are a quick way to raise funds.

How Do Online Fundraisers Work?

Online fundraising is a way to raise money using internet platforms that facilitate donations. In the simplest terms, supporters are able to donate directly to the booster club online. The most common form of online fundraising is an online donation page.

The page is permanent, and is there 24/7, so supporters can donate whenever they’d like. Many platforms offer a simple process for supporters to make their donations, and they can complete them in just a couple of steps.

Some booster clubs simply create the page to exist as an easy donation point, while others organize fundraising campaigns to drive traffic to the site.

Benefits of Online Fundraisers

Online booster club fundraising is becoming more popular because of its convenience and the expectations of supporters. Supporters may not have time to attend an in-person fundraiser, but they are still able to support through online fundraising.

One of the primary benefits of online fundraising is unlimited reach. In-person fundraisers can only reach a certain number of people, but online fundraising opens up donations from people worldwide.

Online fundraising is also a great way to make a connection with your supporters, as you have the opportunity to tell them about your booster club on the donation site.

Finally, online fundraisers make tracking cash flow simple. If you are trying to improve your club’s accounting practices by going cashless, online fundraisers are a great place to start.

Online Booster Club Fundraising Ideas

With online fundraising, you always have the option of putting up a permanent donation page for your supporters to access at their convenience. However, there are other ways to drive more traffic and get people involved.

Pledge drives are an effective way of getting supporter engagement, particularly if you are a new booster club. Supporters can promise a donation in just a few clicks that will be paid down the line. Just make sure to have an organized way to follow up.

Another popular online fundraising option is peer-to-peer fundraising. In this format, you have a primary campaign page, but supporters also create their own mini-campaigns to help raise funds. When supporters have some skin in the game, they tend to come through with results.

An online giving platform can be a perfect companion to virtual fundraisers. Try a virtual cooking class, wine tasting, trivia, or a guest speaker. You can either sell tickets to the event or simply direct attendees to your online fundraiser.

Leveraging online platforms is quickly becoming a core part of booster club fundraisers. If you are considering pivoting to the online platform, just beware of some of the fees charged by online programs. Some fees can be as high as 20% to 40%. BoosterHub is currently working on a fundraising feature which will be released soon!

You may also like this

No items found.

Our Club Has Been Using Charms and Has Student Accounts — Why Is This a Bad Idea?

There’s a lot to like about Charms Office Assistant. This program has been a music program stalwart and can help schools and boosters communicate with students, manage assessment data, and collect payments. We get the appeal of using Charms to support your band’s billing activities — the system is already in place, and you can collect payments from students and parents all in one platform. However, Charms wasn’t really designed for booster clubs. It was really designed to be used by the school or music director. Most booster clubs are non-profits. The activities and best practices are different. For instance, non-profits can not fundraise for the benefit of one person. They must fundraise for the group as a whole. Also, fees can not be mandatory in a non-profit. You can certainly say “100% participation is highly encouraged,” but you can not require anyone to pay to participate. By replacing Charms with a purpose-built booster solution, your club can:

No items found.

Round Rock Volleyball Is Ahead of the Game by Using BoosterHub MVP

After each sports season, the coaching staff gets together to review what went well and what they can do better next year. Often, coaches will turn to league winners for inspiration. During this process, they analyze film, look at stats, and explore ways to incorporate these insights into their own coaching strategies. Your athletic booster club can apply these same principles to get better at fundraising during the off-season. On that note, let’s turn our attention to the Round Rock Volleyball booster club and how they’re delivering for student athletes with BoosterHub.

No items found.

Is SMS a Good Way to Communicate with Donors and Booster Club Members?

Finding effective ways to communicate with donors and members is a problem as old as your school’s rivalry with the neighboring high school football team. And just like that generation-spanning rivalry, you never seem to be able to maintain the upper hand for long. During your time as an athletic booster club member, you’ve probably tried a variety of communication techniques, from phone calls to flyers and even email. If that’s the case, you know that none of these strategies are especially effective for relaying information to your membership. While you’ve probably considered using SMS messaging to talk to donors and booster club members, you may be hesitant to make yet another change to your communication strategy. But trust us — SMS messaging is the way to go. With the right SMS messaging tools in place, you can effortlessly share information, keep parents in the loop about upcoming events, and make 2023 your most productive fundraising year ever.