On March 18, 2009, Giftco Inc. did not receive their bank financing as was forced to close their doors at 12:00 p.m. Since 1975, Giftco Inc. has been the leading supplier and importer of goods to the fundraising industry.
As of our correspondence on March 18, there are no employees working at the company and their offices were closed abruptly. What is clear is that without the bank financing in place the company cannot remain in operation.
While Giftco was not a household name, the impact on the fundraising industry will be felt nationwide. Giftco created, manufactured and warehoused many items sold to the fundraising industry. Over 95% of fundraising companies will be affected in one way or another.
The consolidation of the fundraising industry has been happening for years and we have witnessed a dramatic consolidation in just the last few years. 10 years ago, there were approximately 1200 fundraising companies - today less than 250. With the news of Giftco closing, we will likely loose an additional 150 or more.
As I write, I realize how fortunate Believe Kids is. We have been very concerned about this consolidation and insulated ourselves approximately 2 years ago. We increased our products with US manufacturing, imported our own products and diversified our catalog to source from numerous vendors. We will not miss a beat.
Our hearts go out to the many employees, vendors and companies affected by the news. This is a difficult time as many find themselves out of work. We anticipate some strong partnerships forming soon and we hope everyone finds a way to make finding new employment as smooth a transition as possible.
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What does this mean for other fundraising companies?
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Right now, it is hard to say how exactly fundraising companies will take this news. Nearly all fundraising companies sell products from Giftco that may not be available for sale. Really, it is too early to tell what will happen but we predict that many companies will no longer be able to offer their product fundraisers this year. Unfortunately, others will close altogether. We predict that a few companies; Like Believe Kids; will favorably respond and help shape the future of fundraising.
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How does this news affect schools and parent groups?
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It will be important to check with your fundraising company to see how they will be dealing with the situation. Again, it's too early to say what the right way to look at this is but what is certain is that these times are ripe for mis-information and schools will be told half-truths in order to get business.
Regretfully, some companies will use this as a marketing tool which we feel is negative selling. Basically, selling on fear. (side note - we would be interested in knowing who is willing to do this type of sale so please report back if you notice anything). We believe that companies will work expecially hard to make the best of the situation so that schools, groups and end customers do not notice any changes.
For companies that sell a lot of items from Giftco will have a difficult time. Find out how your fundraising company plans to handle things and go from there. We will certainly introduce new information when it comes available but any pto, pta or ptsa parent group with questions can contact us anytime. We will let you know what we know without pretense.
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How does this news change the fundraising industry?
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We know that 10 years ago, anyone who wanted to could get into the fundraising world. Right now, the economy has taken it's toll on quite a few fundraising companies and offerings. To make a long story short, it looks like the industry now has a very high barrier to entry. Anyone wanting to be involved will need a lot of resources and because the industry gives so much profit away, anyone considering fund raising may choose to enter a different industry. There may be more consolidation as the economy takes it's toll.
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Summary
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Giftco has helped the fundraising industry grow over the years so this news is very sad to all of us involved. Our industry is rather close and so our thoughts are with the numerous employees we have counted on to make us look good over the years that are now without a place to call home.
We know that we can move on making the best of it and yet, it feels like the entire fundraising industry has lost a great mentor.
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What Now
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We will update this as any new information becomes available. In the meantime, if any PTO, PTA, or a fundraising company affected by this news and would like to discuss opportunities or have questions answered, we are here to help.
Label - NEW GOODY'S GIFTCO, LLC
9 comments:
What this means for you and your organization is that when you are choosing a fundraising company, it will be in your absolute best interest to ask them how effected they will be by the closing of this major company. Some fundraising companies rely heavily on GIFTCO products while others source their own items through a 3rd party manufacturer and will be minimally impacted by this terrible event. As a school, you may have already committed to using a fundraising company who gets items from GIFTCO. You and your supporters will be at risk for not receiving these products. Be careful of companies who tell you they can reproduce the giftco product!
Some companies are more effected then others...please contact your fundraising company or fundraising representative to find out more.
Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, I don't think I explained that very well at all in my post. We agree that companies claiming they can reproduce the products easily should be careful before they know what is truly involved. Good advice to check with your particular fundraising company to see what they will do about this.
I use Giftco for incentives for a few of our schools that ask for an incentive catalog. I now find myself in a bind for 3 schools that ran with the catalog that I can not get prizes for. If anyone has a supply of prizes from the Galaxy of Prizes catalog that they would be willing to sell, please contact me at mikenjules@yahoo.com. Thanks very much!
We too, used Giftco for our prize programs and are looking for someone who might be selling Locker full of Prizes and Galaxy of Prizes.
Thanks much.
We too used Giftco for our prize programs and are looking for anyone who might be offering the following: Locker full of prizes and Galaxy of prizes
Thanks!
I hope you are able to find your prizes. I know Giftco has agreed to fulfill some orders but I am not sure specifically how many or for what items. Feel free to comment back if you are not getting anywhere.
Rhode Island Novelty, out of RI bought Giftco and is in the process of reviving the brand. Fear not Giftco will live on, right now the two are being merged.
as a special ed preschool teaacher we use the prizes for our behavior modification program.. the prizes are great what happens now to our kids who work so hard to earn these prizes where do we turn to get something for our kids?
I'm a former Giftco employee and was there on that infamous day. It's with a heavy heart that I look back on the life changing day for so many of us but am happy to see we were in the thoughts of our colleagues. Thank you. It's been 3 years and I can finally say things are looking better. I hope the same goes for all that were affected by Gifto's departure.
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