raisecommunication.com Blog

In the spirit of back-to-school week, I thought my first post should be about how I spent my summer vacation.  More specifically, how I oversaw a Facebook page for a schools’ fundraising campaign that attracted 905 fans in eight weeks and helped the campaign raise $463,000 during the summer months with no access to school newsletters or flyers and with no budget. In fairness, I have to point out that the Facebook page was just one element of the all-electronic campaign that also included two websites, a weekly e-newsletter, an online auction and regular emails.

For background, our school district in Pleasanton, Calif., like most in the state, has been hard hit by the statewide budget crisis. The district attempted to pass a parcel tax in early June that won 61 percent of the vote, but fell short of the two-thirds requirement. In response, two local education foundations, in coordination with the district, launched an ambitious two-month fund-raising campaign to raise $2.8 million, or the amount needed to restore four key programs the school board was forced to cut. In all honesty, it was a daunting goal, but it sure gave us focus. The campaign began on June 12, the last day of school. The timing was terrible, but unavoidable. No school newsletters, emails or flyers to help spread the word about the campaign.

I volunteered to set-up a Facebook page for the campaign for the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education foundation (PPIE).  I was the first fan on the PPIE page and suggested the site to every local friend on my Facebook page, which was a very modest 40 people. At the same time, the volunteer webmaster set up links to the Facebook page on the campaign’s two websites and the link was also sent out via email and in the electronic newsletter.  Within days, we had a solid fan base. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was exciting to see the fan numbers just take off in those first few days.

We used the Facebook page to promote donations as well as to publicize a number of fund-raising activities all around town, from lemonade stands and bake sales to the online auction to give-back campaigns by local restaurants. I also posted pictures of some of the kids at their lemonade stands. We knew people in town were following the campaign when  a local pizza take-out joint offered to donate 35 percent of every sale that came in with a promotional flyer for two days in July. On the second day, they literally ran out of pizza! The owners felt so bad they offered another fund-raiser day in August.

When the campaign closed on Aug. 15, more than $463,000 had been raised for the local schools. Although we fell far short of the original goal, I think the campaign was a tremendous success. While the Facebook page was just one part of the electronic communications campaign, it was an exciting new way to participate in fund-raising. As Debi Covello, executive director of PPIE, said, “Facebook creates a different energy than a website. People opt in so there is a different energy and participation level.”