Fundraising!
How many of you just cringed? How many of you wonder why I just asked that? In my experience as an adviser I have met a variety of staff situations. One magazine can walk out their school’s front door and see five different companies that will donate quite a bit of money. Another has to raise almost every penny on their own. When I joined our magazine 4 years ago, the district gave us $1000 for the year. We raised $400 to $600 in addition to that so we averaged a budget of $1500.
What’s amazing to me is that the magazine has had success in the past despite the financial handicap. The year I came onto the staff we approached the school district for funds. The district had a grant that had $3000 dollars that could be used for our magazine. Instantly the print quality of the magazine matched the talent that was producing the magazines in the past. While we still had to consider money in the final decisions, the boundaries were closer to limitless.
Unfortunately the old axiom “Money makes the world go ‘round” is just as true for magazines. While it is possible to produce a good magazine on an inkjet, the archival quality leaves a lot to be desired. Finding the money to produce a publication requires a lot of work and dedication. We have a position on our publication staff that is dedicated to fundraising. That student’s job is to call, write, or e-mail local businesses to solicit funds. Unfortunately the fewer students you have working on fundraising, the less they can canvas businesses.
To be more efficient with raising money, start with anyone who has donated in the past. Chances are they will give again. Once you have exhausted that list, identify businesses in the area that have donated to other school functions. Ask you yearbook staff or adviser for a list of their patrons, but be sure that you don’t steal away patrons from them. Also try and Identify businesses that deal with publication, printing, books, etc. They may be more inclined to contribute to a school publication.
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