The Fundraising Playbook (Strategic School Fundraising)

The Fundraising Playbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Smarter School Fundraising
Part of the Strategic School Fundraising series by Peggy Downs
If you're a school leader tasked with raising funds—but don't know where to start—The Fundraising Playbook is your new go-to guide. Designed specifically for K–12 school administrators, this book offers a clear, practical roadmap for building a strategic, sustainable fundraising program that supports your mission and engages your community.
In this easy-to-follow playbook, you'll learn how to:
· Set goals that align with your school's needs and strategic plan
· Choose the right fundraising strategies (and avoid burnout)
· Plan smarter with calendars, roles, and metrics that matter
· Build strong business and community partnerships
· Monitor progress and adapt without losing focus
With real-life examples, ready-to-use tools, and Peggy Downs' signature encouragement and clarity, you'll feel empowered to lead your school's fundraising efforts with confidence—even if fundraising isn't in your job title.
Whether you're launching your first campaign or refining your current approach, The Fundraising Playbook will help you cut through the noise and get results.

Peggy Downs is a leading grant writer for charter schools. She supports schools across the country with high quality grants, training, and program development.
Peggy has served as a Peer Reviewer for federal grants. Peggy has been involved in five school start-ups in two states, starting as a founding parent of a charter school in Colorado. She became a founding teacher of another school, earned her administrative license, and opened a new school in Utah as the director. She supported another school as they wrote the initial charter and served on the board of directors, and then later wrote the charter renewal application. She has served on the board of directors for a state charter school association and supported the development of a national charter school association.
Peggy is passionate about supporting school leaders and founders with the information they need to build strong school programs. She is the author of the Grant Writing for School Leaders series, based on her experience and the questions she hears as she works with schools. She is the owner of Granting Your Vision, providing grant writing, online training and workshop presentations for school leaders. She has given presentations at state and national conferences, and was rated a Top 20 Presenter at #NCSC19.
Peggy also supports student teachers in local district and charter schools for an online university. She loves being able to visit all types of classrooms and stays current on trends in curriculum and instruction. Peggy loves to travel and taught at a boarding school in Switzerland for one year. Her favorite quote is, "Fall in love with as many places as you can."