Guest Post by School Fundraisers
Fundraising trends come and go quite often in the world of fundraising, but the successful trends eventually meld into to industry staples. A trend that has developed and has staying power is that of Eco Friendly / Green Fundraising programs. With Earth Day right around the corner, we figured this would be an appropriate time to further explore this fundraising trend.
What is considered a “green fundraiser”?
A green fundraiser is most easily defined by organizations offering a product or service that benefits the environment and these product / services are sold with the proceeds benefits the fundraising organization. This is a broad definition and many types of fundraisers can fall into this category. Some define this as the ingredients or materials that go into creating the product. Others define it as a product / service that has a tangible benefit to the environment. So with the term “green fundraiser” being up for interpretation, it comes down to the fundraising organization on what fits their criteria and if this is a fundraiser that they want to support.
Fundraisers often mirror society’s trends.
With environmental issues such as pollution and global warmer dominating the news, it’s no surprise that eco-friendly programs have popped up in the fundraising world. Societal trends have always made their way to fundraising. Groups want to offer fundraising program that their community will support. A healthy and clean environment is an easy sell. Especially with school fundraisers where there are young families in the community. The number of eco friendly fundraisers available has exploded in the marketplace.
School organizations tend to be more eco-conscious.
From colleges down to elementary schools, groups are more environmentally aware than in the past. And this is a good thing. Part of these groups’ mission is to better their community. This attitude has driven the rise in popularity of the green fundraising trend. Also, due to school wellness policies and legislation, schools are implementing fundraising guidelines that limits unhealthy fundraisers. A byproduct of these changes is that groups are coupling eco friend fundraisers in the same category as healthy fundraisers. Plus, there has been little resistance from school administrators and parents with the green fundraising trend.
It’s not the same old junk.
The bottom line with product fundraisers is that ones that are of high quality and useful are the ones that will sell. Consumers are buying green products on a daily basis and it makes sense that these products are now being offered as fundraisers. There are hundreds of different fundraising ideas available, but the ones that sell are the ones groups will gravitate towards. It was just a matter of time for eco friendly fundraisers to take off.
Photo credit: Mercata World
