Edgar Road Elementary School
“Giving Studio gave us a way to shop locally for fantastic holiday gifts for friends and family. It could not have been easier!” said Amber Sidwell, Edgar Road PTO President. “It’s better school fundraising that people feel good about.”
In recent years, typical fundraising methods delivered declining results, but Edgar Road School’s PTO still needed a way to provide much-needed technology upgrades and playground equipment for students. Coupon books and wrapping paper sales took a great deal of effort but, with declining sales from both of those fundraisers the PTO Board decided to try something new – local fundraising with Giving Studio.
Giving Studio is an innovative approach to school fundraising that supports both the school AND the local community. The twenty percent returned on sales from Giving Studio purchases is higher than most programs, and fundraising purchases from local artisans support the community so it’s giving forward and giving back. Edgar Road PTO volunteer Jane Miles said, “As a parent who assisted with our school’s fundraiser last year I can assure you this one was a breeze – and the items were of exceptional quality. No waxy chocolates or buckets of sugar cookie dough here! Just unique, hand crafted gifts made by local artisans your loved ones will be touched to receive.” A Win for Parents-A Win for Schools-A Win for the Community!
A beautiful online marketplace capturing sales of high quality goods as well as strong marketing support appealed to the Edgar Road PTO Board, making the decision to try Giving Studio an easy one. Now, after two years of sales, the PTO has been extremely pleased with the profits earned from Giving Studio fundraising. In their second year, Edgar Road increased sales by capitalizing on the Giving Studio Corporate Gifts opportunity to raise additional funds. Corporate Gifts increased Edgar Road School’s fundraising total by 35% year-to-year to earn $2,000!
