When the new school year is fast approaching, you know it’s time to revitalize your PTO or PTA goals.
Whether you already have ideas or are working with a clean slate, get ready to brainstorm how to assess your needs and envision your success. What better way to do that than by finding new ways to approach your PTO goals and objectives?
Below, learn top tips for refreshing your fundraising, communication, and participation targets.
Before refreshing your PTO objectives, you need to set them—and that’s where SMART goals come into play. SMART targets help you and everyone involved in the PTA understand what you want to achieve and when. In other words, a SMART goal is:
When you combine these, your SMART goal is this: The PTO will run two fundraising events to raise $5,000 by January to update the playground.
Plus, you can set school fundraising targets for anything, from raising money for classroom supplies to improving student safety with new playground equipment.
Fundraisers should be compelling and accessible. While traditional options like bake sales or family game nights work well, you can also switch it up with ideas like:
By hosting diverse fundraising opportunities throughout the year, you can accomplish two things. First, you can meet your earning potential to help your causes. Second, you encourage engagement from as many families as possible, which helps boost membership and support.
Besides engaging parents through various fundraisers, you can help them get involved year-round in other manners.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to coordinate parent strengths and interests to match jobs. For example, talkative, outgoing parents with open schedules may prefer to be chaperones or leaders at events. Parents with less time or personality differences may prefer to help with bookkeeping or social media posts.
You can also make involvement more convenient by offering refreshments or child care at after-school meetings. These ideas can help make it easier for parents to take part by alleviating some other responsibilities.
One of the major roadblocks many PTOs face is reaching the right people, from members to community leaders. Improving communication methods helps spread your message efficiently. Here are some tips for specific communication channels:
Better communication makes it easier to discuss your targets with parents, teachers, and the community. Encouraging participation can also simplify setting goals for anything from fundraising to membership.
Read more: PTO and PTA Ideas for Back-to-School Events
When refreshing your goals for the upcoming year, keep these other target-related tips in mind:
These suggestions can help you effectively set goals and reach as many parents and students as possible.
When you’re ready to tackle your PTA goals and objectives for raising money, trust RaiseRight to make the task simple. Here’s a breakdown of our process:
Even the busiest parents can fundraise through RaiseRight and support your PTO or PTA; no matter their lifestyle, preferences, or shopping habits, there’s something for everyone on the RaiseRight platform.
Here are some next steps to get the ball rolling:
If your organization is already earning with RaiseRight, you just need your enrollment code to create an account and begin fundraising right away.