Maximizing Your AGM
When you are a volunteer for a school or group, one of your first commitments is attending the Annual General Meeting (AGM). For schools and groups, these meetings often occur in late February and March, signaling the start of a new school year and a set of new volunteers. If this is your first AGM, you may be wondering how you can make your meeting both efficient and productive.
You’ve come to the right place! Below are five top tips for maximising your AGM and ensuring that fundraising is the easiest item to check off your agenda!
No need to panic! These five tips will help you prepare to maximise your AGM.
Come Prepared
The best way to maximise your AGM is to come prepared! Having researched the fundraising programs on offer, you will be better be able to make decisions on the spot.
Head to your annual general meeting have looked at the Top 50 Fundraising Ideas, and decide on the ones that you think will be best for your school or group. Many groups will discuss options like the Colour Explosion School Run 4 Fun, fetes, and cookie dough fundraisers.
Make sure you request information from the companies that provide these programs so that you are going to your meeting with the best suggestions for your school or group. Australian Fundraising can send you a Free Information Kit with everything you need to make the better choice for fundraising.
Your Fundraising Information Pack will give you all the information you need to know about Australian Fundraising.
Request Your Free Information Kit!
Ask Questions
If you are new to volunteering or haven’t helped in the fundraising space before, the AGM is a great time to ask questions! You will often have an overlap with previous, current and future volunteers, so it’s the perfect time to glean as much information from others experiences as possible.
You may ask questions like:
- What fundraisers have we tried before that worked well?
- What fundraisers have we tried before that did not work well? Why?
- Is there anything that the school or community has asked us to host before?
- Are there any contacts we have with businesses that might like to help us or sponsor our fundraiser?
- How much have we previously fundraised? How much did that fundraiser cost?
Fundraising Reflection Worksheet!
Free Download!
You may like to use Australian Fundraising’s Reflections document to help you obtain all the information you need to learn from the previous year, and kickstart your new campaign! With lots of free worksheets to help you structure your reflections, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can summarise all the important features of previous fundraisers.
Download Your Free Reflections Planner!
As a volunteer, asking questions of previous helpers is the fastest way to learn!
Set Goals
The best way to achieve awesome results is to know what you’re aiming for! But, you can go above and beyond when you aim high!
Your annual general meeting, is a great time to set your goals, both financially and materially. What do you want to obtain for your school, and how much will it cost? Setting tangible goals with real outcomes is far more productive, and has shown to bring in more successful results than simply setting a goal amount. For example, you could set a goal of $30,000 for a new sensory-based Prep playground from Adventure+. This is much more specific and tangible than just “a new playground”.
You can fundraise for a new playground with Australian Fundraising. Ask us how!
There are many reasons why schools and groups fundraise. From shade sails to air conditioning, discover some of the most popular fundraising reasons on our blog!
Commit to Next Steps
It’s great to have a wonderful meeting, but the important work comes after it. Before you leave your meeting, make sure you decide on a set of action items and next steps for each member of the group. Having clear roles and responsibilities helps make everyone’s load lighter, and keeps things organised and under control. Creating a to-do list and emailing this list to each member of the group ensures accountability and clear communication for your fundraiser.
Setting a to do list with the next steps helps groups stay organised and on track.
Book Early
They say that the early bird gets the worm… and it’s the same with fundraising! Australian Fundraising rewards groups that book early, especially if you pre-register at the end of the previous year. Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough will reward your group with 8 FREE Tubs of Gourmet Cookie Dough if you host a fundraiser in Term 1!
Flexible fundraising is the name of the game with Australian Fundraising. With no upfront costs, no lock-in contracts and easily rescheduled fundraising dates if required, you can be sure that you are only securing your benefits by booking early!
Plus, some high demand event dates – such as the final days of each term – fill up extremely quickly for School Run 4 Fun fundraisers. You risk missing out on your preferred date or added extras if you leave booking to the last minute.
Finally, booking early takes the load off your shoulders, and puts it onto the people who are passionate about your success! You have nothing to worry about when you place your fundraiser in the hands of professionals. We will organise all your materials, set your reminders, and even check in when it’s time to get started. You can pop fundraising on the done list and let us do the rest!
Booking early rewards you with lots of bonus extras, your preferred event days AND lightens the load on volunteers!
Have More Questions about your AGM?
Our friendly team of Australian Fundraising Specialists are available to help you navigate your first Annual General Meeting (AGM). If you need support, don’t hesitate to contact our team anytime on 1300 133 022, or submit the contact form below.
