California Schools Use Shopping Campaign to Attract Gifts and Business Support

The Berkeley (Cal.) Public Education Foundation used to have problems persuading businesses to give. Then the organization found a way to appeal to businesses by sending them customers.

The foundation, which raises money for 15 schools in the Berkeley school district, started a campaign in which local retailers donate a percentage of sales during one weekend. It raised $20,000 last year.

The money is added to a fund that teachers can apply to for small grants for books, equipment, and other classroom needs that are not covered in the school budget. Now heading into its third year, the drive is held on a September weekend, coinciding with the back-to-school season.

To recruit as many businesses as possible, fund raisers allow companies to choose what percentage of sales they will donate. Last year, 62 businesses gave from 0.5 per cent to 10 per cent of their weekend sales to the campaign.

To show its appreciation to the companies, the foundation does everything it can to publicize the campaign and encourage residents to shop at participating stores to support local schools.

Organizers last year printed posters, banners, and bookmarks that were placed in city banks and other locations. And bookmarks that were placed in city banks and other locations tell people how to make individual donations to the drive. Many of the materials featured an apple design and the slogan “Give Our Kids a Hand.”

Fund raisers found another free way to publicize the drive: by getting Andronico’s Market, a local grocery chain, to print the same message on 40,000 grocery bags.

“Each one is a little mini-billboard,” says Trina Ostrander, the foundation’s development director. “You’d have to spend thousands of dollars on billboard ads to reach people in the city. But this is even better, because it’s right in people’s kitchens.”

The campaign has worked so well that some non-retail businesses are now getting involved. For example, a real-estate company has pledged to give $100 for each home among its listings that is bought or sold over the campaign weekend.

For more information, contact Trina Ostrander, Development Director, Berkeley Public Education Foundation, 1835 Allston Way, Berkeley, Cal. 94703; (510) 644-6244.