Shoe Drive Fundraising: A Mini Guide for Schools and Clubs
Most people hoard things, ranging from clothes, household items, shoes and so on. When it comes to footwear, people own way more than what they can actually wear. For this reason, unused footwear is made useful through shoe drives. Shoe drive fundraising is one of the most efficient fundraising avenues for groups and communities from all walks of life. The concept of collecting funds through shoe fundraiser events is gaining popularity globally, with many groups, schools and clubs adopting it.
It is a good way of engaging the community to make some good money to fund charity programs. Being an engaging activity, a shoe fundraiser is ideal for Community based organizations working with schools or clubs. The beautiful thing about it is the magnitude of its impact on people’s lives funded by unwanted shoes. If you are part of a club or school shoe fundraiser, consider the following mini guide for a successful implementation:
Team Up With Partners
In unity there is strength. What better way to start your shoe fundraiser than partnering with like-minded people, groups or organizations. Reach out to as many volunteers as possible to help you cover more ground. There are organizations such as Angel Bins and others that help in the coordination of shoe drives. Shoe drive fundraising is a more acceptable way of engaging communities other than asking for monetary support.
The timing of the shoe fundraiser should be appropriate to maximize participation from volunteers and supporters. The best time would be over the holidays when everyone is less busy with time in their hands to participate. In addition, check with other charities to confirm their shoe drive calendar. If you schedule yours too close or overlapping with similar drives, then your outcome will be poor.
Get Actively Engaged In the Shoe Fundraiser
The level of support you will receive for your shoe fundraiser will depend on how actively you promote it. You should actively participate in the dissemination of the message to your schoolmates or other members of your club. The message should be clear enough to draw others to your cause. The best way you can do this is by sharing stories of the club or school to explain the need for the shoe drive. To cover all angles, use all available communication media to promote the message to as many people as possible. You can use your social media channels, do flier distribution, contact radio stations for free infomercials on the drive and so on.
Donate Shoes and Assist In Collecting More
There is no better way to demonstrate your commitment to your fundraiser than to lead by example. Start with shoe donations yourselves, as a club or school by placing donation bins around you then fill them up. Once you set this up, you can move further outside to mobilize donations from other supportive individuals or groups. Make the donation process for other people as easy as possible. The pick-up points should be clear and easy to access. Otherwise, you will realize lower numbers of donations.
Assemble and Sell the Shoes
Once you are satisfied with your collections, start assembling the shoes from the donation points into one big consignment. Reach out to your partners or companies which can repurpose and sell them cheaply to charities or developing countries. Most of these organizations will write you a check upon receiving the shoes. Depending on their terms, some organizations will schedule a pick-up immediately or have you deliver shoes to designated centers. Whatever the case, if you can get funding for your programs, consider your shoe fundraiser a success.
Execute a Plan for the Funds
Once you have cashed your check, ensure that whatever you had planned to do with the funds is properly executed. There are many ways of improving livelihoods with money collected from a fundraiser. You could launch income generating activities in poor neighborhoods or buy appropriate footwear for your team’s sporting activities. Alternatively, you can use the funds to improve conditions in school facilities, buy provisions or build developmental projects. There is so much you can do with funds from a shoe drive that you cannot exhaust. All you have to do is proper research on the club or school’s needs and see how you can fulfill them.
Final Thoughts
Shoe drive fundraising is a cheap, yet effective means of raising money for schools and clubs that have programs requiring funding. A shoe fundraiser can come in many forms: a mixed shoe drive for general purposes or an athletic shoe drive for your team. It could be in the form of a small event or a large one, depending on how you have prepared and your scope of reach.
A small one can take a day or two or you can make it big by running it for several days. To make it convenient for participants, you should ensure that donation bins are easy to access and in an open location. You don’t want your potential donors’ morale dimmed by making the process difficult. The area of coverage for the donation bins should be wide to make you reach more people. Happy fundraising!
