June, 2026
Who, What, Where, When, How and Why - Part 3: The Who
You know why you're fundraising. You've chosen what you're selling. Now comes the question that determines whether any of it actually gets done: who is involved, and what is everyone's role?
This is where many well-intentioned fundraisers quietly fall apart. Not because the product was wrong or the goal was too high — but because the right people weren't in the right seats from the start.
Start with a leader, not a committee.
Every successful fundraiser has a point person. One person who owns the campaign makes the calls and knows where things stand at any given moment. This doesn't mean that person does everything — in fact, the best fundraising leaders delegate aggressively. But someone must hold the whole picture.
If your organization relies on a committee to lead the fundraiser, be honest about whether that committee has a clear decision-maker or whether it's a group of equally well-meaning people who will wait for someone else to move first. Committees are excellent for sharing the workload. They are poor substitutes for individual accountability.
When you identify your lead, make sure they have the time, the authority, and the enthusiasm to run the campaign. Enthusiasm matters more than experience. A motivated first-timer with a clear plan will outperform a reluctant veteran every single time.
Define roles before you recruit.
Before you start asking for volunteers, know what you're asking them to do. Vague requests “we need help with the fundraiser" — attract vague commitment. Specific requests attract real ones.
Think through what your fundraiser requires, then build roles around those needs. A few that tend to be essential:
The Communicator handles all outreach — emails to families, posts to social media, reminders to students, updates to administration. This person needs to be reliable and consistent. A fundraiser with great products and poor communication will always underperform.
The Logistics Coordinator manages the operational side — tracking orders, coordinating delivery day, organizing volunteers for distribution, solving problems when shipments are short or timelines shift. This person needs to be detail-oriented and calm under pressure.
The Student Motivator keeps the kids engaged throughout the campaign. This might be a teacher, a coach, or a parent who simply has a gift for rallying young people. Fundraisers run on student energy — and that energy needs tending.
The Treasurer tracks income, reconciles funds, and ensures money is handled properly. Even in small campaigns, having a designated person for this role protects everyone and keeps the books clean.
You don't need a different person for each role. In smaller organizations, one person might wear two or three hats. The point isn't the org chart — it's the clarity. Everyone should know what they're responsible for, and no task should belong to everyone, because tasks that belong to everyone get done by no one.
Involve students in a real way.
It's easy to treat students as the beneficiaries of a fundraiser without treating them as participants in it. That's a missed opportunity on every level.
When students understand what they're raising money for and feel ownership over the outcome, their engagement is genuine rather than obligatory. They talk to family members with real excitement. They check the progress tracker. They encourage each other. That kind of participation can't be manufactured — it comes from being genuinely included.
Give students age-appropriate responsibility. Let them set a stretch goal as a group. Let them vote on what the money will go toward if there are options. Let them help design the communication to their families. The more invested they are, the more they'll invest.
Don't forget the adults who aren't in the room.
Your fundraiser will almost certainly reach beyond the families who are already engaged with your school or organization. Think about the extended community your supporters can access — grandparents, neighbors, coworkers, local business owners — and make it easy for them to participate.
This is especially important if you're running a digital component alongside your product fundraiser. A student's aunt in another state can't easily pick up a box of frozen cookie dough, but she can donate online in sixty seconds. Design your fundraiser with that person in mind. Make sure the online link is easy to share. Make the message clear enough that a supporter who has never attended your school understands exactly what they're supporting and why it matters.
A word about burnout.
Fundraising burnout is real, and it is usually the result of the same people doing everything, year after year, with little recognition and no clear path to handing things off. If your organization has been running on the same two or three volunteers for years, you are one resignation away from a crisis.
Build your fundraiser team with succession in mind. Keep simple notes about what worked, what didn't, and what the next person needs to know. When you bring in a new volunteer, give them real responsibility — not just the tasks no one else wanted. People stay engaged when they feel useful and valued.
Thank your people publicly and specifically. Not just the lead, but the person who showed up early for delivery day, the parent who sent reminders at 10pm, the teacher who kept students motivated during the slow middle week. Specific recognition sticks. Generic appreciation fades.
The right who makes everything else easier.
A fundraiser with the right people in the right roles runs better than one with the best product and the wrong team. Get the who right, and the rest of the series — the where, the when, and the how — becomes a lot more straightforward to execute.
Next, we'll talk about where: the environments and channels where fundraising tends to succeed, and how to think about reaching your community where they actually are.
This is where many well-intentioned fundraisers quietly fall apart. Not because the product was wrong or the goal was too high — but because the right people weren't in the right seats from the start.
Start with a leader, not a committee.
Every successful fundraiser has a point person. One person who owns the campaign makes the calls and knows where things stand at any given moment. This doesn't mean that person does everything — in fact, the best fundraising leaders delegate aggressively. But someone must hold the whole picture.
If your organization relies on a committee to lead the fundraiser, be honest about whether that committee has a clear decision-maker or whether it's a group of equally well-meaning people who will wait for someone else to move first. Committees are excellent for sharing the workload. They are poor substitutes for individual accountability.
When you identify your lead, make sure they have the time, the authority, and the enthusiasm to run the campaign. Enthusiasm matters more than experience. A motivated first-timer with a clear plan will outperform a reluctant veteran every single time.
Define roles before you recruit.
Before you start asking for volunteers, know what you're asking them to do. Vague requests “we need help with the fundraiser" — attract vague commitment. Specific requests attract real ones.
Think through what your fundraiser requires, then build roles around those needs. A few that tend to be essential:
The Communicator handles all outreach — emails to families, posts to social media, reminders to students, updates to administration. This person needs to be reliable and consistent. A fundraiser with great products and poor communication will always underperform.
The Logistics Coordinator manages the operational side — tracking orders, coordinating delivery day, organizing volunteers for distribution, solving problems when shipments are short or timelines shift. This person needs to be detail-oriented and calm under pressure.
The Student Motivator keeps the kids engaged throughout the campaign. This might be a teacher, a coach, or a parent who simply has a gift for rallying young people. Fundraisers run on student energy — and that energy needs tending.
The Treasurer tracks income, reconciles funds, and ensures money is handled properly. Even in small campaigns, having a designated person for this role protects everyone and keeps the books clean.
You don't need a different person for each role. In smaller organizations, one person might wear two or three hats. The point isn't the org chart — it's the clarity. Everyone should know what they're responsible for, and no task should belong to everyone, because tasks that belong to everyone get done by no one.
Involve students in a real way.
It's easy to treat students as the beneficiaries of a fundraiser without treating them as participants in it. That's a missed opportunity on every level.
When students understand what they're raising money for and feel ownership over the outcome, their engagement is genuine rather than obligatory. They talk to family members with real excitement. They check the progress tracker. They encourage each other. That kind of participation can't be manufactured — it comes from being genuinely included.
Give students age-appropriate responsibility. Let them set a stretch goal as a group. Let them vote on what the money will go toward if there are options. Let them help design the communication to their families. The more invested they are, the more they'll invest.
Don't forget the adults who aren't in the room.
Your fundraiser will almost certainly reach beyond the families who are already engaged with your school or organization. Think about the extended community your supporters can access — grandparents, neighbors, coworkers, local business owners — and make it easy for them to participate.
This is especially important if you're running a digital component alongside your product fundraiser. A student's aunt in another state can't easily pick up a box of frozen cookie dough, but she can donate online in sixty seconds. Design your fundraiser with that person in mind. Make sure the online link is easy to share. Make the message clear enough that a supporter who has never attended your school understands exactly what they're supporting and why it matters.
A word about burnout.
Fundraising burnout is real, and it is usually the result of the same people doing everything, year after year, with little recognition and no clear path to handing things off. If your organization has been running on the same two or three volunteers for years, you are one resignation away from a crisis.
Build your fundraiser team with succession in mind. Keep simple notes about what worked, what didn't, and what the next person needs to know. When you bring in a new volunteer, give them real responsibility — not just the tasks no one else wanted. People stay engaged when they feel useful and valued.
Thank your people publicly and specifically. Not just the lead, but the person who showed up early for delivery day, the parent who sent reminders at 10pm, the teacher who kept students motivated during the slow middle week. Specific recognition sticks. Generic appreciation fades.
The right who makes everything else easier.
A fundraiser with the right people in the right roles runs better than one with the best product and the wrong team. Get the who right, and the rest of the series — the where, the when, and the how — becomes a lot more straightforward to execute.
Next, we'll talk about where: the environments and channels where fundraising tends to succeed, and how to think about reaching your community where they actually are.
