Faith in Fundraising: 4 Tips for Christian Schools - The Effective Church Group

If your Christian school’s fundraising strategy isn’t creating the results you hoped for, there’s no need to panic. Take a moment to stop, assess, and reconsider what fundraisers your community will likely respond well to. 

When it comes to Christian school fundraisers, there are several dimensions to consider: your fundraising goal, your audience, and your incorporation of faith. Whether you’re raising funds to support religious education for elementary school students or want to teach high schoolers how to spread their faith, these tips will help earn more and create a positive fundraising experience for your entire school. 

1. Host engaging fundraisers.

School fundraisers succeed when students are motivated to participate. First, consider what types of activities your students would find interesting. Then, think about how you can incorporate those activities into a fundraiser. Additionally, consider how your fundraiser helps promote your school’s values and core teachings. 

For instance, if your school wants to boost student literacy rates, you may decide to organize a Read-A-Thon. Read-A-Thon’s guide to these events walks through the basic steps of hosting one:

1. Outline your goal. Determine how much you aim to raise, how long your Read-A-Thon will last, and where it will take place. For example, some schools advise teachers to set aside designated reading time in class for the Read-A-Thon, whereas others don’t want to disrupt children’s church and school lessons and encourage students to do their reading outside of class.
2. Set prizes. Motivate kids to participate by attaching awards to reading and donation milestones. For example, you might give out trophies to the students who fundraise the most and log the most time reading. 
3. Promote your Read-A-Thon. School fundraisers are most successful when families are on board. Send flyers, emails, and texts to let them know about your Read-A-Thon and how they can support their student’s participation by setting aside reading time, acquiring age-appropriate books, and donating. 

From there, measure your fundraiser’s progress and share frequent updates to encourage continued participation. 

While this example walked through a Read-A-Thon, these steps (setting a goal, providing motivation for participation, and promoting the fundraiser) generally apply to almost any fundraiser your school might run. 

2. Leverage new technology.

Today, Christian schools have many tools available to make their fundraisers more efficient, organized, and accessible. To assemble your school’s technology stack, first assess your needs to determine what tools you need.

Specifically, be on the lookout for:

• Fundraising software. For every type of fundraiser you can think of, there’s likely specialized software to facilitate it. For example, Read-A-Thons, auctions, peer-to-peer fundraisers, and product fundraisers all benefit from leveraging specialized software.
• AI. AI is transforming how religious organizations operate. However, you should be thoughtful about how you implement these tools. For instance, you might use AI to speed up administrative work or create message templates but shy away from having AI write your communications outright to ensure they still have a human touch. 
• Communication tools. Fundraisers are all about reaching as many people as possible at the right time with the right message. Thanks to email and texting tools, you can manage your community’s contact information and stay in touch from the beginning to the end of your fundraiser. 

When exploring software solutions, look for those designed specifically for schools and religious organizations. These vendors will understand your unique needs, and some may even provide discounts to help you stick to your budget. 

3. Keep careful fundraising records. 

Many donations are given informally, and many churches and other religious organizations might not keep as careful records of their fundraisers as they probably should. When your Christian school tracks its fundraising revenue, it can assess where its revenue is coming from and make better decisions about how to allocate its resources. 

Jitasa’s guide to church bookkeeping provides several tips religious organizations can use to keep their finances straight:

• Recognize revenue properly. Donations often have various classifications attached to them, and your school should keep careful track of these designations. For example, you should always note whether your school gave anything in exchange for a donation or if there are restrictions on how you can use a specific gift. 
• Record non-cash gifts. Expand your fundraising potential by accepting a range of gifts, including in-kind donations of supplies like food and clothes, as well as gifts of stock and real estate. For these gifts, make note of their estimated value in your financial records. 
• Categorize expenses consistently. In addition to gifts coming in, categorize what your school is spending money on. There are two most common approaches to recording expenses. The first is natural expense categorization, which organizes costs based on what funds were spent on, like staff salaries or marketing expenses. The second is functional expense categorization, which divides expenses based on how they further your mission, such as administrative or school program costs. 

Follow the generally accepted accounting principles to the best of your ability, but also consider how your financial records can best serve your school. For instance, you may prefer drilling down into your expense reports by keeping a record of exactly what you spent funding on. 

4. Get kids involved. 

As mentioned, school fundraisers succeed when your students feel excited to participate. When planning your fundraisers, consider all the ways students can take an active role in your fundraiser. 

This approach is best suited for high and middle schools where kids are old enough to be more independent and responsible—though some fundraisers, like Read-A-Thons, are easy to organize with students of almost any age. Older students can manage their donation collections, contribute to your fundraising team, and help out at events. 

By getting students involved, you not only get more hands to help out but also instill leadership and communication lessons in your students and increase their personal investment in your fundraising success. After all, when students feel like their contributions matter, they’re more likely to take your fundraiser seriously and do their best to help. 

For religious schools, making young students feel like an active part of your community can increase their commitment to your organization and faith. This increases retention rates and the chances they will stick with your faith throughout their lives.

Fundraisers are essential for your Christian school to earn the revenue it needs to host meaningful, educational, and spiritual programming. Improve your fundraising success by investing in the right tools and making your students an active part of your fundraiser.