Fundraising Meeting — annual calendar and community-centered events

Which fundraising events do we want to focus on this year?

We want to keep in mind future planning for non-pandemic years, as well

Determine timing for fundraising events

Michelle can make a fundraising calendar that can hopefully be used annually, w/ tabs to track what’s been done in past years, so there’s no reinventing the wheel; to be presented at next Working Meeting (WM) on 10/13/21

Michelle has met w/ some folks to discuss fundraising

1) Focus is shifting towards equitable fundraising (e.g. D7 move-a-thon w/ 12 other schools in Spring 2021) & community building (e.g. Kimball Kitchen) where fundraising isn’t main priority, but building community is & on advocacy over fundraising

2) Early May 2022 move-a-thon; all 15 D7 schools will participate

3) Too much to do both walk-a-thon and move-a-thon?

· To merge them together, we’d take a day in May during the move-a-thon to do walk-a-thon-type event: classes would go to stations from move-a-thon board; volunteers would be needed similar to walk-a-thon

· Recognize that some families may have a hard time letting go of walk-a-thon

4) Walk-a-thon has been a great way to get families involved early in the year (Melanie)

5) Michelle & Kristen talked about holding “Opening Day” or “Tasting Day” for Kimball Kitchen in fall; chefs can prepare samples of dishes to give out at booths; families volunteer at booths as way to get families involved early in the school year; Kimball Kitchen would run for a couple months following Tasting Day. This would be a fall fundraiser. Since can’t do Tasting Day this year, we may do KK Nov-Jan w/ emphasis on families sharing favorite holiday dish

6) How to incorporate PTSA back-to-school BBQ w/ Tasting Day? (See below)

7) Consideration: difference between walk-a-thon ($25k/year) and move-a-thon ($12k). How to make up the difference? Perhaps through direct email campaign so we’re not holding another event and not adding to our work, and because it’s a simple approach and was successful last year

Kimball Fundraising Calendar presentation (Michelle)

Thoughts from group

Kelly: Excited about how we can honor traditions of the past but evolve them too. Timeline seems good; email campaign can happen before end of year to capture year-end giving?; loves connection between fundraising and community building: can advocacy be incorporated into it all, as well

Carrie G: likes Field Day incorporated w/ move-a-thon and future fall in-person pay-what-you-can KK Opening Day; frustrated and big feelings to see equitable fundraising happening in SE SPS in comparison to North Seattle schools (e.g. $350k); hopefully $ raised from last year’s email campaign wasn’t just because of Covid

Kelly put in chat a link to SCPTSA’s resolution on advocacy vs. fundraising; heartened to hear north end schools interested in equitable fundraising following D7 move-a-thon success

Why can’t it be more than D7 schools working together and splitting funds?

Michelle: what happens for Spring Fling?

-auction

-pizza dinner

-games like cake walk, balloon grab

-events in gym

Michelle proposes not doing auction because work > than payoff

($1-2k from spring fling & $2 from auction)

How to advocate for equitable fundraising? Answering this question is bigger picture work

Find someone to partner w/?

Talking points for CC fundraising editions: The WHY behind fundraising and how we shouldn’t have to be doing this: education should be fully funded by the gov’t. Educate folks on fundraising inequities, which would hopefully lead to conversations on advocacy

Combine back-school-bbq w/ KK tasting day? Yes!

Success of direct email campaigns was in part due to having specific, targeted asks, such as headphones

How to nurture relationship w/ Blaine

Charissa: 3 people came to Open House via Zeinab

Can we loop them into KK? Can they host the pick-ups? Help donate coats for coat drive?

Kelly:

How does grant writing fit into our fundraising? Yes, it CAN be part of it, but has to be discussed

How does our fundraising this year fit with Kimball Cares? Nothing budgeted for now in our 21-22 fundraising

Coat drive will also be separate from general fundraising

But we do have $ in reserves that could be allocated to Kimball Cares if there’s a need, needs to be discussed

Spring Fling in late March/early April instead of mid-May?

2nd, smaller direct email campaign could be a “floating” event, with no set calendar date

Carrie G:

Could KK have a greater fundraising emphasis and therefore make up for funds of 2nd direct email campaign? Yes, hopefully!

Ask

Thank (immediately)

Report (through CC)

Repeat

Everything we’re setting up, we want to be sustainable for future years and generations of PTSAs

KK marketing:

Share Padlet from last year

“Buy your teacher a meal”

Have pick-up windows be a time when people can see each other

Thoughts on prices of meals last year? General thought from this group was they were reasonably priced

Additional opportunity to donate was good

Being specific in what an additional donation would go towards was powerful & took the guesswork out of it for folks when completing the transaction

Charissa: Not much of a precedent for direct email campaigns prior to pandemic asks, but feels they are good way to raise funds

ACTION ITEMS

Michelle: put together fundraising calendar to share at next Wed’s working meeting; give fundraising update at working meeting, as well; update Kristen on KK discussions from tonight

Overall goal is to simplify fundraising!