You don’t have to organize a fundraiser to fundraise – Just ask MCHS Lacrosse

One of our favorite sayings here at GroupRaise is this – you don’t have to organize a fundraiser to fundraise!

The Mt Carmel High School Boy’s Lacrosse team and their fundraising coordinator Kymberli Clement are a perfect example of this. The team recently raised over $700 to spend on equipment and uniforms and they did it without even breaking a sweat. In fact, all it took was a few deliciously fun meals shared with friends, families and fans at their local Wings N Things.

What’s Kymberli’s secret to success? Here are her top 5 learnings.

1. Identify your supporters

Kymberli said she knew that as a high school program “a lot of kids are dependent on a parent to come with them to dining out events.” If the parent can’t make it perhaps neither can the lacrosse player, however, if just one parent comes to support their child you’ve already doubled your numbers. If two parents, and siblings come, you can easily quadruple your supporters.

Don’t forget about other groups in your community! Kymberli reached out to the entire Mt. Carmel athletics program and it paid off- the baseball team also participated in the event, an awesome example of organizations supporting one another.

2. Take advantage of already scheduled events

How do you get parents to come? Kymberli recognized that she could turn a routine existing event into an opportunity. There was already a pre-season parent meeting on the calendar that’s usually filled with paperwork, so she “wanted to take advantage of this and turn it into a fundraiser event.”

A regular parent meeting turned into a meal filled with tasty eats and laughter that raises money for your organization – now that’s a real success!

3. Know your group

Knowing the likes and capabilities of your group is important.

For a high school fundraiser the restaurant needed to appeal to the kids and be convenient for the parents. Kymberli stated that “the kids love Wings N Things” so much that when she announced the fundraiser would be there, the support gathered “was automatic.”

In fact, the lacrosse team has established such a great relationship with Wings N Things through these events that the manager even made a personal donation to help them reach their fundraising goals!

4. Use promotional strategies

With the ultimate goal to reach as many parents, players and members of the Mt. Carmel community as possible, Kymberli found these methods the most successful:

• Email invitations to parents
• Posts on social media, Facebook in particular
• Word of mouth around the school community, often the kids would relay information back to their parents and friends

A massive bonus for Kymberli was that supporters are not required to bring a flyer. This made it “very easy to communicate, you can simply send out the date and time to spread the word.”

Looking for more information on how to promote your next meal? We put together our best tips in this blog post.

5. Add social pressure

While this may not work for every group, adding extra social pressure or obligation can go a long way to increasing fundraiser attendance.

In the two meals that MCHS Lacrosse recently hosted, one was more successful than the other. Why? Kymberli explained that for the second fundraiser, she took a mandatory parent meeting and turned it into another meal at Wings N Things to benefit the team. This almost tripled the donation amount from the first fundraiser, which is an impressive feat.

Ready to get started?

It takes just one minute to turn a regular event into a deliciously easy way to raise money through GroupRaise for school clubs, sports teams, and more. If you’re ready to get started, check out local restaurants giving back near you.

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