How You Hurt Your School Fundraising Sale...

Here ya go!

How You Hurt Your School Fundraising Revenue...

There's a lot of ways to succeed at school fundraising.  There's probably a million more ways to fail at it.

Things you do or don't do determine if your sale is helped or hurt.  How are the decisions you make around fundraising season hurting your fundraiser?

Planning

1) If you choose to fundraise late in the year (October, November) you are hurting your sale.

2) If you select a fundraiser or fundraising company with low average sales and participation rates you are hurting your sale.

3) If you are not willing to get behind the sale and support it fully, you are hurting the sale.

Partnership

1) If you neglect to rally the support of others within the school (principal, administration, teachers), your sale suffers.

2) Even though many of today's fundraisers require few volunteers, if you forget to get some folks to help you, you hurt your sale.

3) If your fundraising company is not offering you tools you can use to succeed, you have a lame fundraising company and are hurting your sale.

Promotion

1) If you do not reward students for participating in very basic ways (prize programs, contests, incentives) your sale will suffer and participation will drop.

2) If you're just handing out the information and seeing what comes back, you will surely hurt your sale (yes, people do this).

3) In certain circumstances, not doing a live kickoff is acceptable, however, if you are able to get a large group of students together and get them pumped up, you sell more!  If it's just sending packets home without any sort of rally, your fundraiser will suffer.

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The moral of the story is that even though a fundraiser is very likely designed to run itself, it shouldn't.  To get behind a sale for just two-weeks or so is simple.  What's more, that two weeks of effort saves countless hours of planning additional fundraisers or deciding how to cut expenses.

GET BEHIND YOUR FUNDRAISING FOLKS!

Fundraise LESS but MORE EFFECTIVELY!

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Free eBook 101 Low & No Cost Promotions for Your Fundraiser
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Why School Fundraising Companies Are Awesome!

Fundraising awesome!

Fundraising companies are awesome!

Hey, you either think that fundraising companies are selfishly making money hand-over-foot or you know the truth.  Fundraising companies benefit only when schools raise money.


These days, anything that is not good or helpful or in demand, is going away. 



Think about the things that you love to do and support.  Well, if you didn't support them and the other folks that love them were to stop supporting them, what would happen?

Fundraising companies operate in margins that no brick and mortar or online retailer would bear. To provide a 40-50% cash payment to groups followed by paying for product, shipping expenses, prize programs, incentives, catalogs and order forms, websites, customer service and so much more would seem ludicrous.

So, if you have a good fundraising company, you will be earning significant funds.  Many times, this is above and beyond previous fundraisers dollars raised and in some cases, new fundraising records are achieved!

On top of the dollars raised being very substantial, kids should be satisfied - parents should receive quality goods at fair prices.  Customer support should be free and included and good.

If you find such a company, support them back because they're awesome!

Ok, until next time!

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Two Week Elementary School Fundraisers & School Principals

Principals and school fundraising.

This is really more of an appeal. 

If you are a principal, just know that our philosophy is congruent with yours.  Good fundraising companies have the same goal.

Speaking of my fundraising company in particular, we want to interfere as little as possible inside the classroom.  We want to encourage the parent teacher relationship.  We want more learning.  When it comes to technology, we want schools to be more on the cutting edge, allowing collaborative learning to take shape.  We want to help children find their passions!

In order to do that, we believe in a two-week focused campaign where principals, teachers, students and parents team up to raise such significant funds in the Fall, that only one main fundraiser is requred in the Spring.

Limiting fundraising is important. Promoting the fundraisers that make a huge impact, is how we team up to make a big financial difference while not causing undue distraction in the classroom.



Ok, until next time!

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Work With a School Fundraising Company You Trust!

The most important thing you can do is to trust your fundraising company.  There are requirements you have as a PTA or PTO running an elementary school fundraiser.  There are promises made to you from your fundraising representative or fundraising company.

During a fundraiser, things are intended to work smoothly.  Ideally, everything would be available to you ahead of time and all products would arrive in perfect condition.  But, we all know that anyone can fall short.

Ask yourself if your fundraising company fell short in some way, would you trust them to fix it?


If you were promised something, do you have the confidence that it will happen?

You want to work with someone who will see your fundraiser through from the planning to the billing and everything in between.  With any luck, you'll be able to trust them as well.

Ok, until next time!

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True or False: Most of the Fundraising Proceeds Go to the Fundraising Companies and Not Schools

School fundraising companies provide real benefits.

A very common belief found on messageboards and blogs in the Fall is that most of the proceeds from the sale of fundraising items goes to the fundraising companies and not the schools.

While it seems to be common understanding that companies get 40% - 50% of the profit from a fundraiser, what seems to be lost in translation is that schools get 40% - 50% of the gross sale - not profit.

Semantics.

Schools do not purchase wholesale products in a conventional sense.  They want to be able to offer hundreds of items at will and not be overstocked.  They want a way to sell products through catalogs and online without providing customer service.  They want to reward students as well and they want to do this all without paying money upfront.

This means that they do not simply buy a wholesale item then get a split of the profit if that makes sense.  Just to clarify, schools are keeping a percentage of the total collected. Out of the split that the fundraising company gets, the product needs to be paid for.

Doing the math.

So, excluding some of the fundraisers out there where a company gets 10% - 20% profits, an average profit margin is somewhere between 40% - 50% of the money collected.  So, the fundraising company gets 50% - 60% back.  At this point, the fundraising company is making more than the school but when the product price is taken out, it's no longer the case.  Not by a long shot.

Benefits.

Schools that rely on fundraising catalogs for their fundraising efforts know why they do.  It's because they get a true comprehensive service.  They get to offer a large number of products that appeal to a wide audience without dealing with inventory.  They get to run the fundraiser free of expenses, free of product ordering and warehousing and free of customer service.

In just a few weeks, schools earn tens of thousands of dollars without risk or the need for lots of planning or volunteer hours.

Think about all the services provided:  custom parent letters, catalogs, order forms, student prize programs, catalog shipping, online shopping, teacher incentives, student participation programs, top-seller prizes and other drawing prizes, packing orders by student, product shipping and many times, special challenges like fundraising limo rides or special lunches are paid for.

There's expert advice, inspiration and marketing materials thrown in there as well!


Misconception.

When you take into consideration that 50% of the sale of each item supplies all these benefits listed above and also pays for the product, things begin to look differently.

Instead of fundraising companies riding high while kids do all the work, it seems more like schools teaming up so they can avoid the work involved in trying to replicate the long list of benefits a good fundraising company brings to the table.

Ok, until next time!

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Helping Children Find Their Passion - Believe Kids Elementary School Fundraiser...

Normally, I wouldn't post this sort of thing because it's my fundraising company, but I want you to see it.  This is a very short video introduction for Believe Kids Fundraising. 

The thing is, quality top-dollar fundraising helps children find their passion.  By providing money for items important to the school such as teachers, supplies, books and technology, children are engaged.  This engagement can lead to them discovering what they truly love. 

Additionally, by making a concise fundraiser that is important to the school, fundraising can take two weeks instead of lingering all year long.  This lack of interruption lets teachers and students learn.

Take a look:



Ok, until next time!

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elementary school fundraisers

Fundraising Problems... Mistakes New Parent Groups Make...

Feeling bad about the outcome of a fundraiser is not a good thing.  Still, a lot of new PTA and PTO  members will experience some pretty staggering losses in comparison to previous years school fundraising efforts.

There's a few key factors to discuss but I really don't want to get too heavy and complex today.  Recently, I had a conversation that got a bit technical.  I saw some glassy eyeballs for just a moment.  So today, I'm keeping it simple.

1) Your involvement matters - PTO and PTA Groups that experience a loss in fundraising revenue had one of a few issues.  The first is just not doing much.  If a school fundraiser is just sent home willy nilly, it's probably going to fall flat. 

Good fundraising companies will team up with you to plan and promote a fundraiser.  This is where you succeed!  A bit of planning in key areas wins the day.

2)  Your administration matters - The elementary schools that run the best fundraisers involve the administration.  If your school principal teams up with the parent group on an incentive or contest, or otherwise makes the fundraiser important, it will be!

3) The numbers matter - You can ask any fundraising company for historical data before you choose your main fall fundraiser.  If you use average number of sales per student, average sale dollar amount and that companies historical participation rate in your area, you'll be able to predict with some accuracy how your fundraiser will do!  No numbers means mistakes can happen.

Ok, there's just a few mistakes that PTA and PTO parent groups make.   New parent groups and new members are particularly susceptible to lower than expected fundraising revenues but it can be avoided!

Ok, until next time!

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Keep the conversation going on twitter - twitter.com/believekids

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Fall is the Best School Fundraising Opportunity!

Fall rolling into winter and winter welcoming the holidays means schools have a terrific opportunity to host a successful fall school fundraiser!

So, do your research in the spring and settle on a fundraising company as early as you can!  If you wait until school is back in after the summer, you've got some catching up to do.

Start early!  That two week period of your Fall fundraiser is the most important revenue generation time of the year!  Definitely worth planning ahead for.

Ok, until next time!

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Planning for Elementary School Fall Fundraiser

You can start planning your Fall fundraiser now!  Yep, it's not too early to start thinking about it. Nothing serious of course, but, you can earn so much income in just two weeks, that it's worth thinking about now.

So, raise your right hand and make a pledge, I will succeed at my Fall fundraiser!

Here are some questions to get you started?

What fundraising company will offer you the ability to earn the most sales?
What will you do to get the word out on the fundraiser?
Who can you get to help?  Will your principal throw a contest or respond to a challenge?
How important will you and your parent group make the Fall fundraiser?

I do have a book on fundraiser promotions that you can download from slideshare if you would like.  Here's the link. http://www.slideshare.net/believekids/101-low-nocost-promotions-for-your-fundraiser

Ok, until next time!

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Keep the conversation going on twitter or facebook or below in the form of comments left on this blog.  If you like what you see, please share with others!  The direct link to this website is fundraising-advice.com or believejay.blogspot.com

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What would you like to see as a school fundraiser?

I'm gonna be upfront with you.  People don't really like fundraising.

They don't like being told to give money.  Fundraising confronts people with charitable giving and not everyone is up for it.  This past Fall, a drunk guy fired a gun at a fundraising football team after buying a discount card from them (story).  I'm not sure exactly what that was all about, but the point is...

Fundraising should be more relevant.  So, it's your turn!

If you run across this post for whatever reason, please chime in.  Leave a comment here below, on twitter, facebook or email me at home at believekids d ot  co m.

I would very much like to hear your first-hand suggestions of what people would really want to purchase or support through a school fundraiser.  Is there a fundraising item you think people really need?  Is there a service folks would flock to if you were to offer it?  What could a fundraising company offer that would be the next big thing?

Let me know!  You just could be the catalyst for true change in the fundraising industry!

Ok, until next time!

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Are People Talking About Your Fundraising Company?

"You can't handle the truth!"

Actor Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup
in the 1992 film A Few Good Men. Source - USA TODAY

Every single one of us can do a better job than we do today.

If we're stuck in a pattern, we can break out of it.  So, when it comes to school fundraising, do you think the products and services you provide are worth getting excited about?  If so, get fired up!

We need a nation of good and energetic fundraising companies offering products and services worth talking about.

Ok, until next time!

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Fundraising myth... Schools only get a fraction of money collected.

The myth of fundraising...

"The only people to really benefit from these fundraising activities are the companies supplying the goods that are being sold. The schools receive a fraction of the money collected."

The numbers don't warrant this type of thinking.  After all, fundraising companies produce, warehouse and ship product, provide marketing materials, catalogs, order forms, prize programs and other incentives. 

Schools get 50% of every retail sale to schools right off the top. 

They don't pay for the product, then split the profit, they get it on every single retail sale.  Then they get the extras such as free shipping, complimentary prize programs, catalogs, order forms, how-to-guides, customer support and a slew of extras. 

When you look at this type of thinking, it's clear that there are hard costs for the products involved and so yes, there is some truth to the comment that schools get only a fraction of the money collected because they sell a physical product.  Yet, that isn't an accurate portrayal.  The product cost is a real cost.  Clearly, the fundraising company is the group receiving only a fraction of the money collected after paying for the product, warehousing and distribution, shipping and marketing and 50% off the top.

Here's the irony...

If a school were to offer their own product, a widget of some sort, folks would say they earn 100% of the profit.

Funny huh.

Ok, until next time!

Selling Products & Services to the School Fundraising Industry

In the course of product or service development, it's very likely you and your company has determined that the school fundraising industry is a good way to sell products.  It certainly is one way to distribute your product or get word out on your service, but is it a viable route to take? 

Let's explore for a moment.

The first thing to understand is that you are supporting education.  Having said that, products that don't fit the growth of schools and children, just don't fit.  On the flip side, if you have a product or service that directly supports children, families or education, you owe it to yourself to find out more. Having a product that is congruent with the message of education will go a far way to making sure the product is well-received.

Secondly, you and your company can promote via fundraisers in lieu of profit.  If you would like exposure for your brand, category or service, you can utilize school fundraising companies in the capacity of an advertiser so to speak. 

Lastly, fundraising is a tough business.  Margins are tight and herein lies the challenge for most manufacturers.  In order to serve the fundraising industry, you very well may be asked to accept less for your goods or service than you would like in order to get the product out there and selling.

So, If you have a product that works well within the message of schools and education and you benefit from the exposure you get, you may just be able to price your item so it works for fundraising companies.  We're quite happy to offer the right items as long as the conditions exist to do so.

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Why Anyone, Even Busy People, Can Host a Successful School Fundraiser.

There are many types of people in the world and most of them are busy. Today, it's not just normal busy but crazy busy.  Being busy doesn't mean that hosting a profitable fundraiser is impossible.  Quite the opposite.  It is possible today to host a high-dollar fundraiser and succeed.  But, there are caveats.

The first thing is that in order for busy people to host successful fundraisers, they have to remember one thing. Simplicity rules the day. Any product or event that is complicated, is not going to be the best use of ones time.

There are two reasons for this.  The first is that time should be reserved for marketing.  If something is complicated, the marketing time is usually what get's pushed to the side.  Secondly, there are products and services right now that are not complicated already in existence.  Choosing complicated just doesn't make sense.

Event fundraising can be demanding.  You may very likely need volunteers and planning time.  Consider this before jumping into an auction or other event when putting in a lot of time is a major consideration.  I recommend schools keep with what works, so if your school already throws a particular event every year, you may find that it's better to keep that event even if it does take work.  It really depends, but sometimes complicated is worth it.  If you have an idea for a brand new event, the one thing you don't want to do is fall short.  For that reason, you may want to take a look at some other options.

Product fundraisers may just be for you.  They are easy to run and proven time and time again to be successful.  If you utilize a fundraising company to help with your fundraising efforts, you may just find that some of the work typically associated with fundraisers is handled for you.  Because I am in the business of providing catalog product fundraisers I want to temper this so it's not about me or my fundraising companies service but it's a fact, the fundraisers are simpler.  Because everything is provided, all you need to do is send information home and make sure everyone is doing their part. If you choose a good product fundraising company you will find that everything is provided from catalogs to product distribution. 

Donation drives are a possibility for your school as well.  Although a donation drive may not solve your problems in the long run, a well-orchestrated donation drive can bring in a lot of money in a short period of time with just a few letters home.

So, here's the deal.  If you are busy and want to succeed at fundraising, you can host an easy long-standing event, a donation drive or host a catalog fundraiser.  Regardless, if you realize you've got a support system in place, you'll be better off so any fundraising company you use can help you keep things simple.  If you have a long-standing event, previous volunteers may be able to help you better understand what needs to be done to succeed.  If you host a donation drive, all you have to do is write a few letters and you'll see some results.

Regardless of your fundraising technique, make sure your fundraising is important to you and necessary.  Then, spend your time wisely!  Here's to successful and easy fundraising!

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Keep the conversation going on twitter - twitter.com/believekids
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Friday Inspiration - Creating and Recognizing Your PLN - Personal Learning Network

You have a PLN - a personal learning network.  You may not be aware of it but everyone has a PLN both online and offline.  Simply put, it's the people and places you go to for support on a given topic. 

Here's an example:

If you are a school PTO and you are the fundraising chair, you may appreciate visiting my blog from time to time.  You may also visit the PTO Today website or maybe you do a search for help with help throwing an event fundraiser.  You also have a friend in another state that is a PTO president whom you keep in touch with and you call a representative from the fundraising company you use as well.

All these add up to having a PLN.

You have a PLN online and offline.  Consider this, let's say you like fitness.  You have a local gym you go to, a dance class on thursdays and a private yoga lesson on Fridays.  This is your fitness PLN.  Chances are you also have a place you go to buy gear for these and sports drinks, etc and you probably get a magazine delivered to the house.  This is the environment around you that contributes to your knowledge and enjoyment of fitness.

So, here's your challenge for the weekend... Just describe to yourself a personal or professional topic you have interest in and list the people, resources and research tools associated with that topic on and offline.

It helps to recognize who and what it is around you that contributes to your learning and enjoyment of a particular topic.  Have fun with it!

Until next time!

Elementary School Fundraiser with 100% Profit

I've seen several references lately to schools doing fundraising themselves and keeping 100% of the profit.

That sounds reasonable, but, there is a funny curiosity about it. It doesn't actually make sense.  With every school fundraiser, through a fundraising company or hosted on ones own, a school always keeps 100% of the profit that they receive. After all, it's profit.

Hey, just sayin'.

Semantics aside, how about this one.  If a school hosts it's own fundraiser, they keep 100% of the money?

If there are expenses incurred, the school is not receiving 100% of the money.  That implies no expenses.  The minute a cash prize, a Nintendo dsi, pizza party, t-shirt,  trophy, limo ride or water bottle is offered, that costs money.  Even expenses like printing, sign-making, paper plates or whatever cost real money. 

That means a school is not getting 100% of the money.

In fact, I looked at a school blog where they raised something like $600 on a product they were reselling on their own then offered a limo ride as the prize. Chances are they kept close to 0% of the money.  I guess they do keep 100% of the money, but it doesn't make sense if the expenses aren't taken into consideration.


Ah well.  Thought I'd start the week off with a bit of a humorous look at how schools view profits and money. 

We just have to remember that when we talk fundraising profit, it's the percentage of the retail per transaction that goes to the school after expenses that matters.

Is Your School Fundraiser Controversial?

I often wonder why a school would get involved with the weird and wacky fundraisers,  especially controversial ones that earn 2k or less for a school.

A lot of the time, it's tradition that keeps fundraisers going that draw controversy.  In a way, a consistent proven fundraising event is really a good thing.  Enter irony.

Hey, the owner of the fundraiser in question realizes that having picketers outside his events is good for business.  I just don't know.

So, I want to resist getting into the cruelty claims.  As important as that issue is, it's only relative to this article in a few ways.  First off, I do not think this game makes the animals happy at all.  And lastly, I think schools and groups should be proud of the fundraisers they offer and promote safe, fun events that include the biggest group of donors they can. 


I know that promoting a legitimate top-dollar fundraiser from a good fundraising company will raise significantly more without the risk associated with smaller, gimmicky fundraisers.

No risk, no safety concerns, no angry donkeys in the gym, no picketing lines.  Regardless, check out this article and see what you think.

Redford Union's 'donkey basketball' school fundraiser is cruel, protesters say

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Please leave comments below!!! 

Last Minute Elementary School Fundraising Ideas

Ok, you've waited until the end September to find a fundraiser for your elementary school.  There's not much time left.  I'm not big on self-promotion, in fact I won't do it here.  I won't be talking about my company or products but I will be making a suggestion to you.

This is for you if you are looking for last minute elementary school fundraising ideas!

A suggestion that can make you tons of money in just two weeks. A word of warning though.  I sound a bit sarcastic when I rant about this stuff.  I blame extreme amounts of coffee for my tone.  Please don't be too hard on me for how straight-forward I approach this topic.

You have a good week or so to find a quality fall catalog or cookie dough company and get a fundraiser going. What you will find is that these two fundraisers are doing well right now and will work for your school...  for a few more weeks that is.

The reason these product fundraisers work so well is two fold.  First off, the school fundraising companies have a system in place on top of offering products that sell and incentives to increase participation.  Secondly, there is no real need to put in all the work associated with school events.  Hey, I'm all for school events but with just a few weeks of the fundraising season left, you can host a successful catalog sale now and still plan a spring carnival, auction or other volunteer intensive event for later in the year!

If your school misses the boat on offering a quality fall fundraiser, you will be so far into the holidays that making significant funds is much more difficult.  This get's into wreath and christmas tree fundraising time and that's tough for an entire school to effectively run.

There's only a few reasons not to offer a quality fall catalog or frozen food fundraiser at your elementary school:

1) You know that zero effort will be put in and I mean zero.  It's not all that fair to make a fundraising company do their part without just a little bit of excitement being generated on the school side.

2) You offer a ton of small fundraisers and get very little participation.  You don't want to offer cookie dough if you are going to get stuck with shipping costs.  It's expensive to ship frozen goods so make sure you can get over the minimum order quantities to get free shipping!


On that note, I better call it a day before I get myself into trouble.  I'm fired up!  The fact is, a good fundraising company is not out to scam anyone or make things worse or take all the profit.  A good fundraising company only exists to allow schools to make more money than they can on their own.  That's the case with my company and others I know about.  Find them and allow them to help your school raise more money, more effectively!

Cookie dough fundraising in a bad economy.

There are a few things that still sell well in a bad economy.  Food is at the top of that list.  So, if you are a school or large group considering a school fundraiser, a frozen cookie dough fundraiser may just be for you.

Food sells.

There are certainly some folks out there that would tell you that product fundraisers are not working.  Don't believe them.  Event fundraising is suffering along with any other fundraiser out there.  There is no magic and there is a formula.  In my opinion it looks like this:

• Pick a reputable thing to sell or a quality event to host
• Have an average sale or donation amount high as you can (or reach a lot more people)
• Extend the sale beyond just the school's parents
• Offer a product or service the public understands and will get behind

Selling something such as frozen cookie dough fits these criteria because the average sale is high, people are accustomed to the product and the community will purchase it without reservation.


Sick of hearing about the economy?

Me too.  Anyone can put the fears of the economy behind them when they realize others are succeeding and taking their fundraising revenue over the top!  Gone are the days where you just receive a fundraising packet and it is what it is.  If you really want to succeed, you need a plan and will have to put time and effort into it in some way. 

Pick a reputable fundraising company, put promotions into place, market effectively and reward students and sellers and you will reverse the effects of the economy with your next frozen cookie dough fundraiser.

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Thanks for looking!  I hope you find the information on my blog valuable!  The best thing you can do is reward me with a comment below.  Thanks :)

There are some frozen cookie dough fundraiser ideas posted here.

5 Tips for Choosing an Elementary School Fundraising Company

There are a number of fundraising options available this fall. Anything from single item fundraisers to large events. Of course, it is our contention that fall gift & wrap catalogs, frozen cookie dough fundraisers or well-promoted events will generate the best results.

Regardless of who you choose to help you with your fundraising efforts, you will want to know the company has your best interests at heart and will help you achieve additional sales and participation over your previous efforts. Today, schools should not accept average in themselves or the school fundraising company they choose.

For the purposes of this post, I will be assuming that you are doing a fall gift & wrap catalog sale or frozen cookie dough fundraiser which for most groups is their main fall fundraising effort:

1) Stay positive - When choosing a fundraiser and fundraising company, being open to discussions about fundraising only serves to better inform you of what is out there and what is being offered.

All too often, schools blindly return to fall fundraising efforts that don't work well because of a general unwillingness to research what heavy-hitting fundraising programs and options presently exist.

By simply letting companies know that you will be making decisions on a certain date, you will not be 'sold' anything but you will have the opportunity to gather valuable data by each and every fundraising call or visit.

2) Define your parameters - It's best to start off by jotting down any specific needs your group has. If you do a dunk tank every year for example, make sure to mention this right up-front in your discussions with various fundraising companies and fundraising representatives.

If you know you have certain needs that are specific to your school, mentioning these right away allows fundraising companies and fundraising representatives the opportunity to put them into their written proposals which means in most cases, they pay for them. If you wait to mention them until after you are registered, you'll most likely be picking up the bill.

3) Get it in writing - It's best to have a few fundraising companies vying for your attention. If you choose 3 reputable companies that seem to fit the bill, let them know what you are trying to accomplish and get their offer in writing. It's all too easy for fundraising reps to say 'we can do that' or 'that's something we can do' and really not commit. Saying 'we can' is not the same as 'we will'.

4) Be honest - In the discovery period before you choose a fundraising company, if you have any historic numbers of your sales, feedback from parents or insight from the principal about what would help the sale, let it be known. There's really no reason to hold anything back.

Your fundraising company can help you increase your sale! They just need to know a bit about your fundraising history.

5) Negotiate - Rarely do schools take the time to negotiate a deal but there are times where it's in your best interest as an elementary school to do so. When you get to the point that you have an offer in writing, your last call to that fundraising company should include something like... 'If we sign today can you throw in a top-seller prize? We were thinking a new bike?' Then pause and wait for your answer.

At this point, your chances of getting that bike are pretty good! At least from my experience here over at Believe Kids Fundraising. I know that when we offer an elementary school fundraiser and we get to this point in the negotiations, it's very likely we will accept.

So, there you have it. 5 solid tips for choosing an elementary school fundraiser. I have some other free insight for you. Check out this post entitled Choosing a Fundraising Company - Why Comparing Apples to Apples is Tough...

We don't have to take our school fundraising so seriously all the time - so, make sure you have some fun with it! Having said that, we should take our negotiations seriously!

Good luck out there!

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and blogs here and at the School Fundraising PLN

I encourage comments and suggestions here or on the believe kids twitter.

If you enjoyed the insight here, please share this link www.believejay.blogspot.com with friends and aquantances.