Teachers need school supplies year-round, which means fundraising during holiday giving events like Giving Tuesday.
Donors are less aware of the problems facing teachers during the holidays than they are during Back to School, so it’s important to change your strategy to talk about why you need funding this time of year. To help you take advantage of giving opportunities during the holiday season, AdoptAClassroom.org wanted to share some of our best classroom crowdfunding tips ahead of our donation match on Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022.
Ways to raise funds during holiday events like Giving Tuesday
Post on Facebook and Twitter
Twitter and Facebook are great ways to share your classroom page with your community. While your friends and family understand why you need to raise funds during back to school, they might be surprised to learn about the challenges teachers face in December. This is a great opportunity to tell them how quickly you run out of supplies, or share your ideas to engage students that are struggling at this time of year.
Facebook and Twitter posts are great for posting about timely events, like our upcoming donation match on Giving Tuesday. Use urgent language to remind donors that their opportunity to double their impact only lasts one day! Using trending hashtags like #teacher and #adoptateacher on Twitter to get more eyes on your post.
Photos are a great way to help donors understand your classroom, so consider including photos on your post. While donors love to see students engaging with materials that you purchased for your classroom, it’s important to protect student privacy.
One of AdoptAClassroom.org’s Teacher Leaders, Karen, suggests sharing your classroom page on Facebook neighborhood and alumni pages. “You’d be surprised by how much alumni love to help their former schools,” Karen said.
Before you post, check to make sure you’re sharing your classroom link correctly!
Make Videos for Instagram Reels or TikTok
Social media platforms like Instagram are taking a note from the huge popularity of TikTok and prioritizing video content. In short, that means that videos are more likely to be seen than other posts. New potential donors are more likely to stumble across your ask, rather than being restricted to friends and family on static posts. Just make sure that your video is public on Instagram or TikTok so more folks can see it.
The best fundraising ask videos are simple and authentic. Videos are a great way to invite donors into your classroom and make them feel like part of your community. You can show them supplies that are broken or worn out and share your ideas for the upcoming semester and let them hear your enthusiasm.
Need an example? Watch our video example here:
Find more tips on creating a fantastic video here.
Post a video about your AdoptAClassroom.org classroom page by the morning of Giving Tuesday (November 29) and we will reshare it on our channels. Be sure to tag us @adoptaclassroom so we can see it!
Add your classroom page to your email signature!
Joanna, one of AdoptAClassroom.org’s crowdfunding Teacher Leaders, told us that email was one of the easiest ways to reach new audiences. To make email fundraising the most effective, you have to keep an updated classroom page.
Make sure your email signature is clearly asking for funds today! Use language like “help me stock up on supplies for the spring 2023 semester.”
Here are Joanna’s best tips for classroom crowdfunding:
Looking for more classroom crowdfunding tips?
Whether it’s Giving Tuesday or the middle of summer, AdoptAClassroom.org’s Classroom Fundraising Guide has everything you need to know about fundraising for your classroom.
Have questions about raising classroom funds on AdoptAClassroom.org? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us at [email protected].