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Playing the fundraising game – fundraising for outdoor play
RECENT media interest in the health and fitness of children has bought the issue of playground activity and resources into sharper focus for many schools and parents across the country. The amount of outside space varies from school to school and this has an obvious influence on what type of equipment and resources are suitable.
Whilst purchasing new play equipment and renovating existing playgrounds may be high on many school’s wish list the reality of funding often makes it an ambitious aspiration. It is at this stage that the fundraising skills of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) are frequently called upon.
PTA People
Many thousands of parents are volunteer members of PTAs at their child’s school; giving their time and energy to fundraising and working in partnership with the school.
Recent figures show that PTAs raised over £65 million last year providing funds to improve the school experience for millions of children in both the primary and secondary sectors.
This amazing achievement makes a real difference to schools and their pupils; providing extra resources such as playground equipment and in some cases, making it possible for activities like school trips to happen.
A successful PTA will bring together parents and teachers who are interested in supporting the school. It provides an opportunity for everyone to work together and with a common purpose.
PTA activity will vary from school to school; almost all PTAs are involved in fundraising and most will organise social events for parents and children. Many provide helpers for outings and special events and a large number run clubs for sport, music or drama. Some PTAs will organise meetings to inform parents about education issues; particularly when changes are taking place.
Over 13,000 Associations are members of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA), an independent charity and membership organisation for PTAs across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The NCPTA know that although PTAs work hard all year round raising much needed school funds, sometimes there comes a project such as improving the school playground, which is so specific or needs such a large amount of cash that the fundraising efforts will benefit greatly if some of the cash can be raised through grants, sponsorship and trusts.
Even though it can seem like a maze to start with, there are charities and bodies willing to award cash to PTAs. For instance, charitable trusts award around £400 million each year to educational projects and education has been identified as one of the top priorities for the allocation of lottery funds.
However, finding the source of these funds and then making the application takes time and effort. Unless employed specifically as a school fundraiser by the school, school employees are legally not allowed to work on fundraising during school hours so it often falls to PTA members.
A good place to start is the UK Schools Directory (available from the reference section of your local library) which gives information on grants to support core activities, for primary, secondary and special schools in both the state and independent sectors. Make sure you are looking at an up to date copy.
Others you might also try are www.grants4schools.info or the Directory of Social Change web-site www.trustfunding.org.uk (NCPTA member associations have free access to this site). These websites have been set up as a one stop resource to save time. They deal with funding from a variety of grant making organisations and have an easy to use search facility to help you find relevant grants for your project, at a glance.
Playtime
Sandgate School PTA in Cheshire is an example of the fantastic results that can be achieved; turning a crumbling grey tarmac playground into an exciting and stimulating place full of play equipment including a specially designed climbing frame for wheelchair users along with a wheelchair accessible roundabout, swings and boat.
The school caters for 56 pupils aged 3 – 16 years old with severe, profound multiple learning and physical difficulties. Pupils travel many miles to attend the school and the playground project provided an excellent opportunity for the families to get together and do their bit.
Fundraising activities were varied; from parachute jumps to sponsored head shaves and Land’s End to John O’Groat’s bike rides. Valuable support from the local newspaper, The Westmoreland Gazette ensured that their antics got weekly publicity too and the paper even agreed to sponsor the largest piece of play equipment.
Some well targeted applications to charitable trusts gave a real boost to the PTA fundraising efforts resulting in an impressive £160,000 being raised in just two years. The old and unattractive play area was transformed into an exciting and stimulating place full of fantastic play equipment.
Transforming a dull expanse of grey tarmac was also the challenge for Wolsingham Primary School PTA in County Durham. The playground had not been developed for over 100 years and raising the £50,000 need to make a difference felt very daunting. However, a very determined group of PTA volunteers pulled together a range of inventive ways of raising the cash including a holistic therapies day and a Thai meal for 100 people which raised over £6,000. But again the bulk of the money came form charitable trusts and foundations. A year later £48,000 was in the fund ready to be spent on the playground.
Now the children have a vibrant and stimulating space for work and play, full of shrubs and perennials, scented and tactile plants. There are different zones for football and active play as well as quiet area for talking and reading. A brightly painted bicycle store encourages children to cycle to school and a living willow sculpture made by the children and parents provides plenty of fun and games.
Playing for time
Updating playgrounds and developing outside areas for playing and learning will remain a focus for many schools. With finding innovative and imaginative ways of raising the necessary funds remaining a key challenge for their PTA.
Whatever the future may hold for each of us, the role of PTAs remains an important and significant one for parents, schools and our children.
Prepared by:
Laura Warren
communications manager
NCPTA
November 2007
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