One of the many things I love about us South Africans is our ability to thrive in adversity. We have this innate ability to come up with creative solutions under pressure. In harsh economic times, we always find a way to make it work, no matter what. To applaud these efforts and spread some inspiration we’ve collated the best ideas our schools have come up with to increase their fundraising and connect to their supporting communities. We hope these fill you with the same sense of pride and excitement that we as Sticitt experience every day. If you are inspired and would like more information on how to implement these or any other ideas, please reach out to your School Success Agent. Whatever creative plan you come up with, if you ask us if Sticitt can help, our answer will always be: Yes we can!
It starts with school fees
The core of any school’s financial efforts is ensuring school fees are paid on time. In a tough economic climate many schools are reporting slower flows of school fee payments. A number of our schools have stepped up to solve this challenge by making it easier for parents to find and pay their school fees with Sticitt in d6. Some have also offered a chance for parents to win a portion of their monthly payments back if they are up to date with school fee payments on the first day of every month. The prize money gets deposited back into the parent’s wallet, ready for another one-click completion of their next school payment.
Showcase your learner’s talent
Several Sticitt schools have shown a true appreciation of the positive potential that can be unlocked by leaning into our social network-obsessed society. With a fresh outlook, they are turning a potential threat into an advantage for the school and learners alike. Using social media several schools have started running virtual talent shows as fundraisers. Learners can post a video of their talent whole the community can vote for their favourite by making a small contribution to the school. Finalists are selected based on the votes received and the school can then appoint judges to choose the final winner.
Teach them to create value
Using Sticitt, schools have realised that hosting an entrepreneur day without the risk of cash is easier than ever. Encourage your learners to think like entrepreneurs and create value with a stand at the entrepreneur day. By charging a percentage of revenue for the stand, the learning experience is enhanced with a taste of practical business challenges and the school unlocks some income as a bonus. Innovative schools have also worked with Sticitt to advertise their learners’ goods online, allowing the entrepreneurs to also sell their products into the rest of the community, raising their profits and unlocking further value for the school.
Engage your alumni
Old learners think back with nostalgia to the place where their story took off. The passageways of their school where they formed into the successful people they would become later in life. Schools that know how to harness this and encourage their alumni to stay involved tend to find themselves in a much stronger financial position. The good news is that it doesn’t have to take lots of work. Our most successful schools have shown, that you can invite departing learners to stay connected to your school on d6 and wherever they find themselves in the world they can still contribute easier than ever thanks to payments by Sticitt. So many alumni indicate their willingness to contribute, you just need to make it possible for them.
Embrace being silly
Put the Fun back in Fundraiser with some silly, but easy-to-organise events. Have a fun hat day and let learners and teachers express themselves with an extravagant hat, tie or shoes. Hand out prizes for the most creative hat or the class who raised the most. Our Sticitt marketing team would like to get involved too, if parents consent of course. Ask your school success agent how we can help to turn it into an online competition with prizes all around.
Charity starts at home
It’s not just schools that are feeling the pinch at the moment, but tough times provide us an opportunity to teach our children to reach out and support each other. By creating a project on d6 where meal vouchers (a pie, burger, sandwich or whatever your tuckshop offers) can be bought. The person buying can either nominate a fellow learner specifically, or leave it to the teacher to hand out, spreading some love and compassion in the class.
A touching farewell
Leaving the school you’ve learned to call home is always tinged with some sadness. So why not give your outgoing grade a chance to give something back to the place they’ve received so much from. Let the learners decide what their year would like to contribute to the school as a departing gift and harness their creativity to raise funds during their final year. Give them an opportunity to leave a legacy that they will remember fondly and benefit their beloved school in the process.
And so much more…
We hope this list will only be the beginning and it sparks some new thinking and ideas. So much can be achieved if we work together, believe in ourselves and get a little bit creative.
Please do reach out to us if you have any better ideas you would like us to share and please do get in touch with your Success Agent to find out how Sticitt can unlock success for your school’s fundraising efforts as well.
Yes, we can build better schools and a brighter future.