Leadership Lessons from Running a Student Fundraiser

It does not take a leader to be the boss. As a matter of fact there are far too many bosses who do not know how to lead. True leadership manifests itself in the manner in which you lead others, the decisions you make and how you tackle challenges.

And being a surgeon, social worker or a software engineer, it will be how you handle people of different personalities and push them toward a common purpose that will make or break you. Knowledge is one thing, knowing how to apply it among other people is another thing.

The good news? Not every person is a born leader (notwithstanding what your grandmother might think). Leadership is acquired, exercised, and perfected with time.

And that is where student fundraisers come in. They are real-life practice fields masquerading as school functions. You are not only raising money when you organize one. You are learning how to strategize, coordinate, problem solve, and witness first hand how you can create an impact with your actions.

In this article, we are going to take a detailed look at the reasons why running fundraisers as a high school student is worthwhile. Quick preview: It is an awesome inclusion in your college applications and can make your college life much more interesting.

Your level of responsibility changes as you move through school. In elementary and middle school, all you do is sell cookies and help the teachers organize stuff, but as you get closer to 12th grade, you’re more in charge. 

Being involved is still a big deal when you’re younger because it teaches you about time management, communication, and persuasion. But in high school, the dynamic changes, and the student-led aspect becomes important.

As the leader, you are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the project. If there are multiple leaders, you learn to share responsibility and positions. For instance, someone can be the Chief Financial Officer  (CFO) while someone else can be the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Every fundraiser starts with a simple question: What problem are we trying to solve?

Let’s say your local soup kitchen needs to upgrade its kitchen equipment, but doesn’t have the budget to do it. That’s where you can step in.

Still, raising funds for commercial-grade kitchen equipment is a major project that goes beyond bake-sale territory. The cost of commercial-grade kitchen equipment often goes over $1,000 per piece, and you need to know what you’re buying and why. 

It’s not impossible for high school students, but you need to break the project into several phases. Here’s how a project manager would go about it:

This is the phase where you analyze the market and understand the technical requirements. Start by meeting with the soup kitchen director. Don't just assume their needs. Ask for a wish list with specific models and prices.

For the sake of this example, the soup kitchen needs two commercial deep fryers from Restaurant Supply because they’ll help them cook faster meals, serve more people, and reduce long-term costs. This aspect is important because you can use it as the selling point of your campaign.

Now that you have concrete data, you can calculate your target and the feasibility of this project. If a fryer and accessories cost $2,000, can you realistically raise that in your community? If the answer is “Yes,” it’s time to move on to the next phase.

To get things started, you need two approvals: from the School Administration and the Soup Kitchen Board. Draft a brief written proposal that includes the goal, the timeline, and the specific equipment being purchased.

Present your plan of action (what you’ll do to raise the money) and the number of volunteers (other high school students) you want to attract for your campaign. Also, specify the money path. Handling thousands of dollars is a huge responsibility, so it’s best for donors to give directly to the soup kitchen’s bank account. 

Once your proposal and plan of action are approved, start recruiting the team. Since this is a student-led fundraiser, your teammates will be other high school students, but the school may appoint a teacher as a supervisor.

You will need people who can communicate with the local press and local businesses, as well as manage your campaign’s social media account(s). There should also be someone in charge of tracking donations and making sure every cent reaches the target.

Focus your efforts on crafting a soul-touching marketing campaign centered on the soup kitchen's history and its role in the community. Highlight what they do now and how much more they could do with better, higher-performing equipment. 

Approach local businesses that are more likely to donate to or promote the campaign, such as restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores.

Your campaign was a success. The soup kitchen now has two new commercial-grade deep fryers, plus extra funds for accessories and ingredients. But leadership doesn’t end when the fundraiser does.

Strong leaders follow through. That means tying up loose ends and making sure everyone who contributed feels the impact of their support.

In this case, send a thank-you email to every donor, including a photo of the new equipment in action. It shows appreciation, builds trust, and makes people far more likely to support you again.

Running a major fundraiser as the main organizer will teach you more about real life and working with people than an entire semester in the classroom. To give you a clearer idea, here’s a list of some of the most essential leadership skills you’ll acquire:

If you follow the step-by-step plan we outlined above, you can see that the planning phase is just as important as the execution. This is where you learn to do proper research and use the data to define your target, identify a donor base, and calculate overhead costs. 

You’ll learn how to apply a concrete SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal framework to a real-life project. This alone is enough to make your college application noticeable.

The biggest part of the work to a leader of a fundraiser is having to work closely with a team and this is where the real learning takes place. It takes you a short time to know that being successful is not only about having a good idea. It is a long process that requires patience, effective communication, listening and comprehension of various viewpoints.

In the process of working together, you will gain such practical skills as delegation of duties and management of scarce resources. You will also know how to identify the strengths of your teammates and delegate them to apply their best in the role, which will make the whole team more productive.

Little do things ever work out. This is among the critical lessons that every high school student must acquire irrespective of his/her future goals.

Being the head of a large fundraising campaign you will find yourself in awkward situations. Perhaps a volunteer simply forgets to turn up when he or she promised he or she would, or a local business simply reverses that they would turn up. You should not let frustration and anger overwhelm you but seek other ways out.

Powerful leaders never use emotions and are always ready with plan B, C or D in case plan A fails. In this manner, they will be able to maintain the morale of the team and keep on.

To get things rolling, you have to convince several completely different audiences:

• School and soup kitchen administration (for permission)
• Local businesses and regular community members (for sponsorships)
• Student body (for participation)

You also need to speak different “languages” to engage each of these audiences. First, it’s the school and the soup kitchen; here, you need to present your idea from their perspectives and convince both parties that your campaign serves their interests. 

Then, there are the commercial donors, who need to understand why a commercial?grade fryer is a better investment than a residential one (durability, recovery time, and output). Finally, you have regular people who respond better to emotional language (e.g., how the soup kitchen helps the community). 

You have already worked and developed your leadership skills through various high school fundraising campaigns. What will this do to help you be accepted into the college of your choice?

When you want to join a reputable university, these capabilities and your work experience in the area might give you an edge over others. College admissions officers and professors seek signs of interest, and the ability to solve a problem, and the boldness to act, and you possess all of these and more.

Even by virtue of being the first to start these campaigns and even the first to think of the ideas, you demonstrate a can-do attitude that is not particularly typical of high schoolers. You are also fiscally responsible by demonstrating this when fundraisers that you have been in charge of get them in the thousands of dollars.

Last but not the least, the marketing campaigns you have spearheaded and assisted in establishing also show good communication skills and the capacity to communicate with the personnel in business who wield authority. These abilities will also be useful in group assignments and presentations.

All in all, the time and effort to engage with the local community and collaborate with them to make it better is, in itself, a significant green flag to college admissions officers. It is also a time to find yourself and the direction that you want in life.