Which is Best?

When you are fundraising for a school, a fete or fair is a popular fundraising idea. They are very fun for your school community, give lots of people the opportunity to be involved, and creates lifelong memories for children. But fetes are not without their downsides. Time-consuming in organisation, expensive and prone to risk, you may be unsure if a fete is right for you.

For generations, Fun Runs have been front and centre in the school fundraising domain. With similar draw cards as fetes, fun runs are memorable, exciting fundraisers for students. So which is best?

Discover five things you need to consider when deciding whether or fete or fun run is best for your school!

1. Organisation

A big part of any fundraiser is organisation. Therefore, it makes sense that this should be your first consideration when deciding between a fete or a Fun Run.

Typically, a large event like a fete comes with lots of organisation, both before your event and on the day. A non-exhaustive list of organisational tasks for a fete include:

• food vendors,
• rides and activities,
• school displays, shows and tours,
• tickets and banking,
• advertising,
• volunteers,
• set up and pack down and more!

As such, fetes and fairs can take up huge amounts of a P&C or Fundraising Committee’s time. In some cases, over a year!

Fetes require lots of organisation.

On the other hand, Fun Runs are typically involve much less organisation, especially if you choose to partner with a fundraising provider. Often, Fun Runs are organised and completed in the same term. If you choose to partner with a fundraising provider for your fun run, they can take care of most of the organisation for you.

Other aspects of organisation you might like to consider are:

• How much time do we have before our event?
• Is organisation and management a strength of our Fundraising Committee?
• Do we want to organise a fete or a Fun Run?

The answers to each of these questions may help you decide whether you should host a organisation-heavy event like a fete, or opt for something more straightforward, like a Colour Explosion Fun Run.

2. Volunteers

Team work makes the dream work! This saying is true in fundraising – you need lots of people to support your fundraising event.
Similar to organisation, fete’s require lots more volunteers than a fun run. This is because they are much bigger, and there are many more activities happening on the day.

Fun Runs require much fewer volunteers. Because they often occur during the school day, you have the added benefit of guaranteed staff involvement.

When deciding between a fete and fun run, consider:

• How will we recruit volunteers for each of our necessary tasks?
• Will volunteers need training or supervision?
• What happens if we can’t find enough volunteers? Who will help instead?

Finding enough volunteers can be a challenge!

3. Budget

If you are fundraising for your school, it’s likely that budget might be a contributing factor when it comes to what you can and cannot do. Fetes come with big overhead costs, especially if you need to secure deposits for vendors, rides and activities and equipment hire (such as speakers or additional seating).

Make sure you think about:

• Do we have the budget to make this a worthwhile event?
• Who is in charge of ensuring we don’t overspend?
• What happens if we run out of budget?
• Based on the amount we are likely to spend, how much profit will we need to make? Is this reasonable?

With significantly fewer external costs required to host a fun run, it is likely that Fun Runs are much more budget friendly for your school. If you choose a fundraiser provider, you may even have NO upfront costs.

But beware – make sure your fun run provider isn’t going to charge you a set fee at the end. Instead, ensure they are charging a percentage of your fundraised amount so that you are guaranteed to make a profit!

To learn more about Fun Runs offered by Australian Fundraising, visit our Colour Explosion Fun Run or Slime Spectacular Fun Run programs.

When choosing your fundraiser, budget can play a big role.

4. Net profit

At the end of the day, fundraising is about making a profit! It stands to reason then that overall net profit should be a major factor in your decision making!

Remember, net profit is overall profit minus expenses. Net profit is the amount of money you bring in when everything is finished. Depending on your community and the cost of your event, either a fete OR fun run could bring in a bigger net profit.

However, with a fete, it’s almost impossible to know! Your net profit will depend on lots of things, including how many people attend on the day, how hungry they are, how adventurous they’re feeling and the weather.

Alternatively, if you choose to host a Fun Run with a fundraising provider (like we mentioned before), you can be guaranteed to make a net profit because the cost is a percentage of your overall fundraised amount.

Making a net profit may come down to how much fairy floss you sell!

5. Risk

When contemplating the previous four points, you’ve likely realised that fetes come with a lot of risk! But one aspect you may not have thought about is the risk of bad weather or COVID lockdowns. With deposits paid and volunteers rostered, rescheduling a fete is nearly impossible. Together with the risk of running at a loss, struggling to find volunteers and burning out your fundraising committee, risk is high for fetes and fairs!

In comparison, Fun Runs can be easily rescheduled, especially if you choose to partner with a fundraising provider. Your Fun Run materials don’t expire, and there are no upfront deposits. Simply hold off until the perfect day comes your way.

Looking for fete alternatives?

If a fete isn’t quite right for your school, you may be looking for more ideas. Fun Runs are great fundraisers, especially if you suspersize the fun with colour or slime! Discover how Australian Fundraising can help you raise HUGE profits easily with our Colour Explosion and Slime Spectacular Fun Runs.

Request a free information kit today!