How to Create an Effective School Fundraiser Video [Checklist]

Now that parents check their children’s assignments on teachers’ homepages and look to Twitter and Facebook for school news, sending home a flyer to advertise school fundraisers may not be enough to catch their attention. Instead, try creating a fundraising video to reach your school community. To get you started, we created a simple checklist with everything you need to make an effective fundraiser video. Take a look:

• Event details: Outline when and where your event is taking place, and over what period of time. Let parents know if this is a one-night event or if they have two weeks to place orders.
  
• Fundraiser goals: Tell your viewers what you hope to do with the money you’re raising, whether you’re adding books to the library or funding a prom. For example, take a look at South East Junior High’s fundraiser for their school library, which tells viewers what they need to know quickly and with lots of energy to keep the audience interested:
  
  
  
• What donors should do: Let potential donors know what’s expected of them. Should they buy wrapping paper? Or are you encouraging them to attend a carnival? Make it clear to your viewer what they can do to help.
  
• Include visuals: Photos of what you’re selling or what the event will look like will help donors understand your fundraiser and get excited about it. If you can, include short video clips to add even more visual interest.
  
• Tell a story: A visual story, like the one Seshu Photography tells in its video for the Pine Grove Parent-Teacher Organization’s Rockin’ Auction, can show how much fun the event you’re hosting will be or how the money you raise will benefit your school.
  
  
  

Once you have all of your information and visuals, you can put a video together in minutes using Animoto. After you do, try posting it on your school or PTO homepage or social media accounts to reach all the families in your school community. And of course, share your video with us in the comments below, or on Twitter or Facebook.