Social Media Fundraising Guide for Teachers

Many of AdoptAClassroom.org’s top fundraising teachers have used social media to raise donations. Follow these five steps to make a successful fundraising post. We explain each in more detail below.

1.

Polish Your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page

2.

Select Your Photo(s) or Video for Social Media

3.

Choose Your Social Media Platform

4.

Write & Post Your Fundraising Ask

5.

Post Again and Thank Your Donors

Step 1: Polish Your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page

Before you begin fundraising, make sure that the information on your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page is accurate. This checklist will help get you started:

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Confirm that your school, grade level and fundraising goal are accurate

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Include both a profile and a personalized banner photo

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Make sure that your classroom page talks about the supplies your classroom needs and how they’d benefit your students

Please don’t include any third-party links, such as an Amazon Wishlist.

Step 2: Select Your Photo(s) or Video for Social Media

Photos:
Including a good photo is essential for catching people’s attention while they’re scrolling. Here are a few pieces of advice:

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Choose photos that highlight your teaching area or demonstrate why your classroom needs supplies

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Read our blog for tips on how to take photos that protect student privacy

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Make sure that your photos are the right size and format

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JPG and PNG files

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Try to use rectangular images that are taller than they are wide (aka portrait style). This is the default on most smartphone cameras.

Examples From Teachers:

Having trouble taking a photo that works? Use our downloadable fundraising images instead.

Videos:
Videos can help you connect with donors on a deeper, more personal level.

Here’s some advice from a teacher who’s featured in the example video below:

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Use your phone to film a short video explaining why you need donations for school supplies.

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Your video doesn’t have to be polished or expertly edited to connect with donors. Just be authentic.

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Keep your video under two minutes.

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Don’t worry about being perfect! You can always start over if you need to.

Step 3: Choose Your Social Media Platform

Each social media platform requires a slightly different fundraising strategy. Read our tips below for Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

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Choose your favorite photo(s) or video and add a short description of what you’re fundraising for and why.

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Include your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page link in your caption. This blog and this video show you how to find and share your link.

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Ask friends and family to share your post so their followers can donate to your classroom.

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Share your Facebook post to your Facebook Story to notify your friends that you’re asking for donations.

Instagram

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Instagram is all about pictures and videos – we have guidance for taking photos that respect student privacy on our blog.

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Include a link to your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page in your Instagram bio, and direct donors there so they can donate directly to your classroom.

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Instagram has guidance on how to add links to your bio for Android and iOS.

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Share your fundraising post to your Instagram Story to easily notify your followers that you’ve posted.

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Your followers can also share your post to their Instagram Story so that their followers can help too.

Step 4: Write & Post Your Fundraising Request

Next, write your caption and post it to your favorite social channels. 

If you need help figuring out what to write, take a look at your classroom page. You can often repurpose the details that are already there.

You’ll want to include at least:

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Some detail about your classroom/students

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A mention of the supplies you’re fundraising for

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A direct fundraising ask like “please donate” or “please give to my classroom”

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Your AdoptAClassroom.org Classroom Page link

Step 5: Post Again and Thank Your Donors

After a few donations come in, thank donors on your social media. Thanking donors reminds them that their gift is making a difference. You never know; it may even spark a repeat donation.

Michael took a screenshot of the email he received from AdoptAClassroom.org about his donation. Then he added text thanking the donor and requested more donations to keep the fundraiser going. This tactic can be especially useful on donation match days.

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