Attending a major drill competition, purchasing new uniforms or equipment, and providing your team with opportunities to grow can come with a significant price tag, but don't let the cost keep your team from setting big goals. With early planning, a strong fundraising strategy, and support from your school and community, even an ambitious goal can become achievable. The key is to start early, get creative, and remember that successful fundraising rarely comes from one big effort. This guide will help you explore different ways to raise funds, build community support, and turn your team's goals into reality.
First Steps
Setting a Goal
Before you jump into fundraising, step back and look at your entire school year to build a budget. Take into account every piece of equipment or clothing needed that is not covered by your school/program, every competition you wish to attend and the costs associated (registration fees, transportation, hotels, meals, etc.), even an end-of-the-year banquet! This will help you determine how much money your program will need to raise in order to achieve your goals.
Building a Plan
Now that you have a budget crafted, the next step is executing that goal. Unless your program strikes gold with a massive donation or a singularly successful fundraising event, you will likely need to raise money through several avenues throughout the year. Below, we will dive into different types of fundraisers at various levels of effort/buy-in.
Product Sales
Business Partnerships
Team Events
Individual Efforts
Partner Organizations
Take the work out of asking for support! Online Donations provides JROTC programs with a simple, secure way to turn personal outreach into a successful team fundraiser. Cadets create customized fundraising pages, share their story with family, friends and supporters through text, email and social media, and collect donations online—without selling products, handling inventory or organizing an event. With a quick team setup, personalized participant pages and donor support built into the platform, your cadets can spend less time managing a fundraiser and more time reaching the people who want to support their success.
Give your supporters something delicious in return for supporting your team! Poppin Popcorn makes traditional product fundraising easy with a huge selection of gourmet popcorn flavors and flexible options for teams of all sizes. With no upfront cost to get started, generous profit potential and options ranging from traditional brochure sales to a completely online fundraiser, Poppin Popcorn gives teams an easy way to turn their network of supporters into fundraising dollars, one bag at a time.
Build Your Support Team: Parent & Booster Clubs
Behind many successful teams is an equally dedicated group of parents and supporters working behind the scenes. A strong parent or booster organization can be one of your greatest fundraising assets, providing the time, manpower, community connections and organizational support needed to turn good fundraising ideas into successful ones.
Parents can take the lead on tasks that would otherwise fall to an already-busy instructor, from contacting local businesses and organizing fundraising events to managing volunteers, researching opportunities and coordinating donations. They also bring their own networks of friends, employers and community contacts, dramatically expanding the number of people your team can reach.
Most importantly, an established booster club can provide continuity from year to year. Cadets graduate and parents move on, but good fundraising practices, community partnerships and successful annual events don't have to disappear with them. Keeping records, contact lists, timelines and notes about what worked, and what didn't, allows each new group of parents to build on the success of those who came before them.