Learn how your school can fundraise successfully over the summer by launching engaging campaigns, securing matching gifts, and prioritizing donor appreciation.

By Vinay Anne 

When students leave the classroom for vacation, regular communication between your school and its supporters often pauses, leading to a dip in fundraising revenue. However, summer doesn’t have to be a quiet period for your organization. 

By launching remote-friendly campaigns and maintaining donor relationships over the break, your school can build momentum and create a strong financial foundation for the fall semester. Here are a few engaging school fundraising strategies that your school can use to keep your community connected and invested:

Launch a summer reading challenge

Many parents want to find meaningful ways to keep their children academically engaged during summer break. A remote-friendly Read-a-thon campaign blends parents’ educational goals with your school’s financial needs, and students can participate from anywhere.

To set your summer Read-a-thon up for success, try:

• Utilizing pledge fundraising. A pledge-based model can help you motivate young learners. Students can collect pledges from family and friends based on how much time they spend reading over the summer. This turns a solitary activity into a fun, community-supported challenge where every minute read raises more money for their classrooms.
• Empowering students online. Provide each participant with a custom online donation page that they can personalize. When students have their own digital hub, families can share a link to their child’s donation page via email or social media, making it easier for loved ones to track the student’s progress and donate to their specific campaign.
• Following up consistently. To maintain excitement during a long summer campaign, keep donors in the loop. The 99Pledges Read-a-thon guide recommends periodically sharing your school’s progress throughout the fundraising campaign and continuously thanking supporters for encouraging students to reach their academic goals.

Combining education with philanthropy allows your school to continue its fundraising efforts while helping students stay sharp when class is out of session.

Strengthen campaigns with matching gifts

One of the greatest challenges of school fundraising is maximizing donations without pressuring your community to dig deeper into their own pockets. Tapping into corporate philanthropy multiplies your revenue while keeping the financial burden on parents low.

To seek additional corporate revenue:

• Educate your donors. Many parents work for companies with generous corporate philanthropy programs, but they might not be aware of these benefits. Use your summer newsletters to proactively share information about how these programs operate, explaining that their employer might be willing to match their contributions dollar-for-dollar.
• Automate the process. Manually following up on match eligibility is a massive administrative headache. Using a donor database to quickly identify match-eligible donors saves your PTA/PTO volunteers valuable vacation time and secures funds that would otherwise go unclaimed during summer break.
• Remind donors of your purpose. When asking supporters to submit a match request to their employer, it’s important to articulate why your campaign matters. Explain how their extra effort will directly benefit the students, whether it is funding new playground equipment or upgrading technology.

Corporate philanthropy programs give your school the opportunity to double the impact of your summer campaigns and build relationships that open the doors for future corporate sponsorships.

Prioritize donor appreciation

When the school year slows down, you finally have the time to move away from generic, transaction-focused communication. Take time to personally recognize your donors for their summer contributions and secure their long-term loyalty.

You can deepen relationships with your supporters in the following ways:

• Personalize your outreach. Avoid sending standard, automated tax receipts whenever possible. Address parents and community members by their names and explicitly acknowledge their history of past support. Recognizing that a family has contributed for three consecutive years demonstrates that you truly value their support.
• Send memorable messages. Going beyond the standard email makes a difference when thanking donors. Instead of a generic automated donation receipt, eCardWidget recommends a personalized digital greeting card or a customized donation thank-you letter to make a lasting impression on your supporters.
• Express gratitude before making another ask. Letting your donors know how much you appreciate them helps build a loyal donor base that sticks with your school year after year. After you receive a donation toward your summer campaign, focus on saying “thank you,” rather than using the message to ask for another contribution.

Prioritizing heartfelt communication over the summer will ensure your donors feel like valued members of your school’s mission.

Host an engaging back-to-school kickoff

Transition your summer fundraising momentum into the fall semester by hosting an exciting, community-wide celebration when classes resume. A back-to-school event creates a natural conclusion to your summer efforts and builds excitement for the year ahead.

To cap off the summer successfully, you should:

• Recruit enthusiastic volunteers. Secure support for the school year early on by seeking help from parents before they’re overwhelmed with back-to-school responsibilities. Reach out to parents during the final weeks of summer to ask them to assist with running registration tables, passing out snacks and water, and managing event logistics.
• Plan an active event. Organizing an outdoor event brings parents, students, and teachers together in a high-energy environment. A Fun Run fundraiser or a field day reunites students with their friends while generating a final wave of donations for your school.
• Celebrate your summer success. This kickoff event is a great time to celebrate the milestones your community achieved over the break. Announcing the final total of your summer campaign from the stage allows you to recognize all of your donors for their collective effort.

A celebratory kickoff event brings everyone back together with high morale to start the school year.

Share a concise impact report

Early on in the fall semester, demonstrate how the funds raised over the summer will be put to use. This transparency shows your community that their hard-earned dollars are making a difference.

 Share your summer campaign’s success by:

• Opening with a student-focused story. Rather than only sharing numbers, focus on the tangible impact that your summer fundraising will have on students. For instance, you might write a brief narrative about how the funds used to purchase new library books for your school’s reading buddy mentor program will foster friendships across grade levels.
• Creating visual interest. Busy parents will likely skim right past a dense, text-heavy document. Make your data more digestible by using bright, engaging infographics that highlight key metrics such as volunteer participation, hours volunteered, and total dollars raised.
• Sending a dedicated update. Draft a specific email that highlights these successes rather than burying the great news at the bottom of a general back-to-school newsletter. A dedicated impact report guarantees your achievements get the spotlight they deserve.

By effectively communicating your summer fundraising achievements to parents and donors, you build confidence in your school administration and create excitement for future initiatives.

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While students are away enjoying their break, your school’s administration can maintain donor relationships and launch remote-friendly campaigns to keep your mission top of mind. Combining engaging activities with thoughtful stewardship will ensure your school starts the academic year on a solid financial footing.

Vinay Anne is the Founder and CEO of 99Pledges, a peer-to-peer fundraising platform trusted by hundreds of schools, booster clubs, and youth teams to launch engaging, effective fundraisers with ease.

Vinay leads 99Pledges in combining intuitive technology with online fundraising strategy to empower engaging community campaigns like Walk-a-thons and Read-a-thons. With extensive experience in fundraising technology, Vinay is committed to helping community organizations maximize fundraising impact while minimizing administrative effort.