Motivate Parents with Your Mission - Not a Product!

Recently a woman approached us to do a fundraiser for a pre-school that had suffered a tragic flood. The carpeting, paint, and countless toys and books had to be replaced or redone. It was a truly desperate situation for the pre-school and the families affected.

The woman asked us to look over the flyer that she'd written up to notify people about the fundraiser and the kick-off meeting to start off the sales and we noticed something. She'd given a lot of information about the coffee. She wrote about the great taste, that is was Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified, and that it and our other products like the Coffee Flower Honey were great gift ideas. But, she missed something huge. The flood.

Our client missed the most important part of her fundraiser and the element that bonded the entire pre-school community - the reason for having the fundraiser in the first place: the pre-school needed help. The parents were all affected by the flood and they felt a sense of community spirit in being part of the effort to restore it. This is the message that should be communicated to the people you are counting on to help do the work in a fundraiser. The point of connection and the feeling of shared responsibility was the school - the coffee was merely a tool to help the school back on its feet.

So, when attempting to generate support for your fundraiser, don't forget the reason why people will become participants - it's not the coffee, it's the thing that affects their lives; the common cause that you share with your community be it church, team, troop, or, of course, pre-school.