1 Shake your bucket
If your fair is free to enter, a donation bucket at the entrance is a great visual reminder for people that your event is for a good cause. Otherwise, shake your bucket as you go round the fair – most people say they would give more to charity if asked. If you’ve been registered for Gift Aid for the past two years, get set up with the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme and claim an extra 25p on every pound you get in your bucket!
2 Make paying easy
These days, most of us expect to be able to pay contactlessly wherever we go. But how can you take card payments for every stall at the fair if the PTA only has one machine? The answer is to use a token system. Set up a table near the entrance and sell tokens in fives and tens taking payment by card. Charge a quantity of tokens for each game or activity that reflects its value. It’s a win/win – if people run out, it’s easy to buy more, and everyone will be keen to spend any remaining tokens at the end.
3 Highlight opportunities
Write an article about your PTA for the fair programme, or get a testimonial from a member of staff or the head teacher that praises the work you do. Explain how people can get involved and how they might start before the term ends and other priorities take over. If you have a regular giving scheme, collect the email addresses of people who are interested in receiving more details.
4 Tell your story
Demonstrate how the school and its pupils benefit from the PTA. Set up a photo exhibition with quotes from the children or arrange tours of your school garden or wellbeing area.
5 Keep asking
Just because your event has finished doesn’t mean fundraising is over. If people have had a wonderful time, they may donate after the day. In your follow-up communications, offer participants an easy way to give. People want to support you – make sure they know how.
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