The Wording to Send Families: A Ready-to-Use Newsletter Note for Schools

Once your school or PTA decides to run the Reverse Fundraiser, the only work left is one short note to families. The note matters, because it sets the tone: families should come away knowing what the fundraiser is, how to learn more, and that taking part is entirely up to them.

Below are three versions you can paste as they are. Replace the bracketed text with your organization’s name. If you are still deciding whether to run it, start with The Reverse Fundraiser.

Version 1: Newsletter Paragraph

An optional way to support [Organization name]

[Organization name] is taking part in the Reverse Fundraiser with Solar Advantage. If your family owns your home and has been curious about solar or a home battery, you can contact Solar Advantage directly at 866-800-8971 or www.solaradvantage.us/fundraisers-referrals. Please mention [Organization name] when you reach out. When a family’s solar and battery installation is complete, Solar Advantage donates $1,000 to [Organization name]. This is completely optional. We do not share any family information with Solar Advantage, and no one will follow up with you.

Version 2: Short Email

Subject: An optional fundraiser for [Organization name]

Hello families,

[Organization name] is taking part in a fundraiser that asks nothing of you or your students. If you own your home and have been thinking about solar or a home battery, you can contact Solar Advantage directly at 866-800-8971 or www.solaradvantage.us/fundraisers-referrals and mention [Organization name]. Each completed installation earns a donation for our [school, team, or program].

If this is not a fit for your family, there is nothing you need to do. We do not share family information, and we will not follow up.

Thank you, [Name, title]

Version 3: Social Post or Parent App

[Organization name] earns a donation from Solar Advantage each time a local family completes a solar and battery installation. Homeowners who are curious can call 866-800-8971 or visit www.solaradvantage.us/fundraisers-referrals and mention [Organization name]. Optional and no pressure.

Post this where families already choose to follow your organization, such as your page or your parent app. Do not send it as an automated text or to a purchased list.

Why the Wording Stays Neutral

Each version does three things. It says plainly what the fundraiser is. It tells families to contact Solar Advantage directly, so the school never handles names or phone numbers. And it tells families that saying nothing is a perfectly good answer.

You will notice what the notes leave out: savings figures, prices, incentives, tax credits, and financing. Those depend on each home, and our team explains them directly to each homeowner who asks. Keeping them out of your note keeps your organization out of the sales conversation entirely.

What Not to Do

• Do not share family contact lists or rosters. Not with Solar Advantage, and not with anyone else. Families reach out on their own.
• Do not ask anything of students. No forms sent home in backpacks, no classroom contests, no pledges. Nothing is asked of students.
• Do not follow up with individual families. Share the note once. Families who are interested will call.
• Do not promise savings, prices, or incentives. Our team explains those directly to each homeowner.
• Do not say you work for or represent Solar Advantage. You are sharing information about a fundraiser.
• Do not create ads with our name or logo. Sharing our flyer and website link is fine. Ads, domain names, or social accounts using the Solar Advantage name need our written permission first.

A Few Small Tips

• Use your organization’s own name in the headline. Families respond to the school or club they know.
• Place the note alongside your other announcements. It does not need its own mailing.
• Keep a copy of the flyer at the front office or the booster table for families who ask.
• If families have questions, point them to Solar Advantage at 866-800-8971. You do not need to answer questions about systems or pricing.

How to Get Started

1. Confirm your organization is taking part by starting a fundraiser with us.
2. Pick the version that fits the channel you already use, and replace the bracketed text.
3. Send it once, alongside your regular announcements.
4. Before the first donation, we email a secure link so your organization can complete and sign its IRS Form W-9 online. Never send a W-9 by email or text.

Your organization earns $1,000 for each completed solar and battery installation and $500 for each battery added to a home that already has solar, paid by Solar Advantage about 3 to 6 months after a family’s first conversation.

Start a fundraiser on the Fundraisers & Referrals page and we will send the flyer along with this wording. The full rules are in the Program Terms.

Sources

• Solar Advantage, Fundraiser and Referral Program Terms

This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Each project is unique, and all information is subject to change based on project requirements.