CIS Ready for School Drive

Thank you so much for your commitment and leadership as a Ready for School Drive Team Captain! This page offers helpful resources to help your team raise funds, reach goals, and ultimately help provide supplies our students will need in the fall to succeed in school. If you need help or additional information feel free to reach out to Jenny Jensen at jjensen@ciscentraltexas.org. 

To have a successful fundraising campaign, it's highly recommended you have regular communication with your team/network. Many of your colleagues and people in your network will be happy to participate by donating or spreading the word — but you have to ask! In every form of communication, make sure that your call-to-action is clear, and remember, to communicate the "why"... our kids need our support! 

1. Create a Team or Individual Page: Select a name that tells us who you are (i.e.. company or organization name)

2. Set a fundraising goal that’s a stretch. You can even embed your fundraising thermometer on your page! Simply hover over the top right corner of the thermometer and click Embed This Widget then copy the code to your own website. 

3. Personalize everything. When you tell people why a cause matters to you, they listen. Use your personal fundraising page and emails to relay a personal experience with CIS. Tell your friends and family how a our mission aligns with your beliefs/values. When something matters to you, it matters to the people who know & love you!

4. Spread the word. Email your friends, family and colleagues and invite them to join your team or simply make a donation to benefit your team. Share your page on social media. Follow CIS Central Texas on social media & share your favorite posts. Pick a day of the week (i.e.. Tuesdays) to send out messages to your email & social media networks. You can even create a schedule that includes customized content that is most meaningful to you and that will connect most with your team/network. 

5. Ask more than once. It happens- people get busy and forget you asked them for help. Send out reminders by scheduling an email campaign! Not every email needs to contain a direct ask – but be sure you include a link to your personal fundraising page somewhere, like in your signature!

6. Thank your donors. Send a note, post a video, and/or tag them on social media! Being appreciated is a BIG deal! 

Sample Email Messages

Social Media Tips

Matching Gifts

Guide to Team Registration

Guide to Navigating Qgiv

Qgiv Fundraising Tips

Here are some ideas to help raise team donations:

• Suggest a friendly competition among your team members. Set weekly goals to beat and recognize team members who reach it first. Some ideas include:

  • First team member to raise $xxx gets…

  • Top fundraiser gets to pick the color of your team shirts.

  • Whoever recruits the most members gets a gift card

  • Schedule a virtual team lunch or social hour when they reach a milestone toward their overall goal.

  • Give them frequent shout-outs on your social media and in your weekly team emails when they reach their goals.

• Host a virtual or in person fundraising party or event to put the FUN in fundraising!

• Add a comment to your email signatures. Example: "Please consider making a donation to the CIS Ready for School Drive" with a link to your fundraising page.

• If you have a summer birthday, ask your friends to contribute to your team instead of purchasing a gift for your birthday. 

• Promote matching gifts! If your company matches gifts, share the information with your team in order to maximize your impact and incentivize participation.