Make Your School Fundraiser Informative

One of the most important items that come home in your student fundraising packets is the parent letter. The parent letter informs your parents about the following:

• It lets them know that there is a school fundraiser and that it is starting today (hopefully they’ve already heard about it!)
• Since your parents will be both overseeing their child’s fundraising efforts as well as selling themselves the parent letter provides them with instructions for processing and handling the steps involved
• It saves you from having to answer a lot of questions because most questions that parents may have should be already answered in the letter

If your school fundraising company does not already provide you with your own customized parent letter here are some things that you will want to include in your letter:

• What are you selling? Include a brief description of the fundraising brochure you are selling along with a pricing summary
• Why are you fundraising? State the purpose for your school fundraiser in one sentence
• Do people understand how to fill out the order form? Include instructions for filling out and completing the order form
• Will you be accepting checks? Make sure that people know how checks will be handled and what fundraising organization name they should be made payable to
• How long will your school fundraiser last? Make sure you include a turn in date for your orders and money
• What do people do if they have a problem with their order after it arrives? Include information for reporting any missing or damaged merchandise
• What can the students win for participating in your fundraiser? Include information about your prize program so that parents will know what’s being offered
• Is there a way that out of town friends and family can help? Include information about your company’s online store so that your parents can pass along this information
• It is also a good idea to include the website address of your fundraising company so that people can obtain additional information if needed
• Will your letter need to be translated into Spanish? Make sure to involve someone who can translate your letter into Spanish and incorporate it into the letter