Good to Know: School Fundraising Goes Viral

By Desiree Parker Sunday, August 22, 2010

Schools need money desperately.

So Kohl’s, a department store that wants to share some of their hard-earned cash with schools across the country, is ready to shell out $10 million to 20 different schools, including any in the Triangle that can get enough votes in their current national contest.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Kohl’s Cares, the company’s community giving and volunteering program, the company started a Facebook contest. People anywhere in the country can vote for any school, public or private, that made it on their list (many, if not most, of the schools in the Triangle look like they’re on this list).

This is yet more proof that social media sites are at the forefront of the battle for attention from groups that range from businesses to nonprofits to social groups.

Folks need to “like” Kohl’s on Facebook before they can vote for a school. Each person can use up to five votes per school, with a total of 20 votes. The winning schools each get $500,000 to spend on non-profit youth-serving programs focused on children’s health and education ( a pretty broad umbrella), but folks voting for a specific school can make suggestions on what to do with the money.

Schools can use money for anything from construction or renovation of a school to curriculum needs, supplies or salaries to create, reinstitute or expand programs.

Schools are pretty desperate for funding, and now that the competition is down to its last few weeks (it ends September 3), competition is getting pretty fierce.

One school in the Triangle, Summit Christian Academy in Yorktown, has secured five iPads to get people to spend their five votes on SCA, and the tactic seems to be working.

The school has only 240 students, but has made it to number 26 on the list with 16,990 votes, and they’ve announced two iPad winners already on their website created for the Kohl’s contest, one person from Colorado and one from Washington State.

They’ve also partnered with two other schools in the country who are also giving away iPads to get votes, Lucas Christian Academy in Lucas, Texas, and Life Center Academy in Burlington, New Jersey. Life Center Academy is at number 35 with 12,894 votes and Lucas Christian Academy is in line for a win at number 8 with 34,519 votes.

Summit is doing all it can to snag the cash, encouraging families to send emails and reach out to people they know to spread the word. The school’s headmaster, Tim Moon, has been posting video updates on the Summit website http://www.summitchristianacademy.org/.

“We are a small, classical Christian school representing 50 different churches, with no state funding. The money would allow us to reach more families, update and enhance our curriculum as well as our science equipment and technology. To receive this money would literally be an answer to years of prayers. We can’t win this contest by ourselves. We need help from the others in the communities we serve," said Russell Peden, Facebook campaign head.

Many local schools are also vying for votes, but aren’t as far ahead as Summit. Greenwood Christian Academy just sent out a mass email as part of their efforts to get votes.

Williamsburg Christian Academy is also in the running, with one voter posting on the WCA vote page that the school should use the money to “try to fix the air conditioning/heating system that we haven't been able to afford. The students everyday have to wear layers of clothing due to the inability to fix the issue. The mortgage is so high right now, that they cannot fix the AC. It would help so much with concentration and health if the air would not be so freezing. Help our school please!”

To highlight just how hard some folks are trying to win money for their school, read what another voter on the WCA vote page posted: “Hey Williamsburg Christian, I am a mom at Summit Christian Academy Lower Yorktown. Right now we are at #29 on the list! We need help to get to #20. Could you spread the word and ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to support us? Some of our parents have donated iPads to encourage voting… PLEASE spread the word! We need the Christian community to band together to get more Christian schools in the top 20.”

Triangle public schools are also on the list, but with not nearly as many votes. Lafayette High School has 75 votes, DJ Montague Elementary has 32, Warhill High has 47, to name a few. The public schools haven’t done quite as good a job mustering the troops on this contest.

Kohl’s has a great idea here to get themselves publicity and a target audience on social media (which they can use in the future). Some schools have done a great job pulling their families together to vote, with the aim of getting much-needed funding.

Imagine what Triangle residents could have done – or still could do – if the families of the thousands of public and private school students would spend a few extra minutes voting! It’s a lot less work than baking cookies and running a bake sale, that’s for sure.

I’m not sure how I feel about schools using iPads to buy votes, but it does show that these students and families really want to see their school succeed.

Visit the contest Facebook page to get more information and to vote for the schools of your choice. Here is the list of school rankings, is you’d like to keep track.