What's the deal with Fall Gift & Wrap Fundraisers...

Gift and wrap brochure or catalog fundraisers have been around for quite a while.  The fundraisers are widely regarded as the most successful fundraisers in existence and are known for the highest retail sales and highest actual profits to schools.

In recent history, some of the companies that made gift wrap fundraising what it was, changed to more passive fundraising, getting out of the catalog side or fell off in terms of quality, fulfillment or offerings.  For example, Sally Foster, the company known for quality wrap fundraisers, went to passive online fundraising in 2009 leaving some customers looking at other options.

Some companies let quality slip and prices rise.  This was a certain contributor towards some schools and groups hoping there was more out there.

Today, there are a few very good gift and wrap fundraising companies you can count on but there are some!

Many of the companies today have improved customer service and have fulfillment with very few errors. Every top brochure fundraising company follows up every sale with customer service so any lost or damaged items are attended to quickly.  I know fundraising companies often replace chocolates that were eaten on the bus :)

A school really can count on a and wrap brochure fundraising company these days to offer a number of services and benefits to ensure the fundraiser is a success.

My company info is listed below but there are other companies out there.  Regardless of if you use my company or a competitor, you'll see that gift and wrap fundraising catalogs are, if not the best, one of the very best options in fundraising today.

I'll leave you with this.  Two-week campaign, no risk because items are paid for up front, lots of variety in the catalog, higher quality items at lower prices and delivery sorted by student!  If that's not sounding good enough, remember you don't need an army of volunteers to run this one!

Ok, until next time!

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Nut-Free School Fundraising Programs and Options

It's an interesting question that was just posted on the PTOToday.com website:

What are the peanut free fundraisers out there?

Well, as a nationwide fundraising company, we have 2 main fundraisers that are responsible for the vast majority of fundraising revenue in the fall. They are a Fall Gift Catalog Fundraiser and a Frozen Cookie Dough fundraiser.

Both of these heavy-hitters are not nut-free. The plants that manufacture the chocolates in the catalog as well as the cookies do process them in a facility that also processes nuts. But...

The thing about a fall fundraising gift catalog is that it has 160 plus items, only a small number of these are food items. We believe that someone who can't eat peanuts can find many other interesting items that have nothing to do with food such as candles, gift items, calendars, magazines and jewelry. A fall fundraising gift catalog should remain an option for anyone regardless of food allergies as long as they avoid products that are not safe for them and purchase alternatives.

If you have a child with allergies so acute that you've asked parents not to eat peanut butter at home before school find out if they would have a problem with students having individually bagged orders containing some boxes of shrink-wrapped chocolates around. I don't think this poses a problem but if you have an extreme case to take into consideration, read on.

If you're trying to avoid peanuts, frozen cookie dough brochures will not be for you because as far as I know, any program available nationwide includes nuts.


The other fundraiser available that is nut-free is flower bulbs. A good flower bulb fundraiser (which are available in fall or spring) are both excellent options as a replacement for selling chocolates. Ask us if you would like to use this because it's really a great program! To the best of my knowledge there is no allergy risk with flower bulbs.

There is a post related to this on the PTOToday.com messageboard if you'd like to take a look at the post and list of peanut-free school fundraisers and nut free school fundraisers.

In the end, it may be better to find an alternative product to sell such as a fall gift catalog, flower brochure, jewelry brochure, magazines or maybe throw an event such as an auction.

The options available for peanut-free school fundraisers and nut-free school fundraisers just don't seem to be as readily available as it would seem given the apparent rise in peanut allergies.

Not selling chocolate may just be the answer you're after if you want to fundraise without the risk.

Easy Fundraising Ideas for your Elementary School

When it comes to the easiest of fundraisers, a fall gift catalog may just be your best option.

You need to know that I represent a nationwide fundraising company so I am certainly biased. There's no question about it. I believe that an exceptional fundraising gift & wrap catalog is the easiest heavy-hitter on the market!

Yes, I am aware of a few fundraisers that can possibly raise more than a gift catalog but perhaps not consistently and certainly none with no volunteer hours. Raising more than is possible with a gift catalog is rare.

I recently discovered a private school that raises $800,000 using a combination of donations, auctions, gambling nights and more all in a single weekend. This is spectacular! Unfortunately, what this private catholic school accomplished is not easy to orchestrate. There were countless hours of planning and complicated volunteer staffing issues. This sort of fundraising does not happen without a full-time team which is not what we are talking about here.

Within the scope of this article, an easy fundraising idea would be one that a public elementary school can run without significant volunteer involvement. In the case of a fall catalog, the only help needed is perhaps on distribution day but it's not like a huge team has to be recruited.

What's more is that the sales process is made easy because fundraising companies that offer a fall catalog, also package that with collated materials, complimentary catalogs, prize programs and a number of incentives.

For example, Believe Kids offers a charm necklace promotion.



This promotion encourages children to report their sales for a prize. They receive a free designer necklace when they sell 5, 10 and 20 items. We have seen a significant jump in participation when schools take part in this complimentary program. Check with your fundraising company to see what they offer. Perhaps they have a way to increase sales as well. This promotion is just one example of how a gift & wrap school fundraising company offers more than just a simple catalog.

Here are some things you can expect from a catalog sale:

• Fundraising packets for students are generally customized and include everything they need to inform parents about the sale and how to participate.
• Student prize programs also double as money collection envelopes.
• Packets are collated and shipped to you in most cases free.
• Order forms are easy to complete and return.
• Online sales duplicate efforts and allow for sales from out-of-town friends and family.
• Little or no volunteer help is needed.
• All product is guaranteed!
• Schools offer quality products at a great price.
• Student prize programs, daily incentives and drawing prizes, etc. are all included at no cost.
• Each student order is separately packed and clearly labeled!

I run a fall gift catalog company so call me crazy. It's easy! No, really. It's an easy fundraising idea in that the entire school can participate with no money upfront and no risk. Schools can offer true value and get a complete package from sales materials, promotions, online sales and a great delivery all in one simple and quick fundraiser!

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This isn't really supposed to be a self-serving post but rather a testament to quality gift & wrap catalogs. They really do raise a lot of money for schools so if we can talk to you about it, regardless of who you choose to fundraise with, we would appreciate the opportunity.