The wrong approach to elementary school fundraising...

I think I can prove once and for all with just one quote, that fundraising in schools is too frequent and hurts school revenue. 

Frequent fundraising undermines all the work fundraising companies have worked so hard to achieve.  It also undermines the relationship between parents and teachers by confusing what's important.

I believe schools need to focus on less fundraising throughout the year and ensure that people participate in those few fundraisers.  I hope schools begin to realize that 'free money' from these smaller fundraisers may actually be costing schools a lot of money.

Here ya go, a Mom's comment from a parenting website: 

"Since we already support the school with Market Day and box tops,  I don't worry too much about the Sally Foster / Innisbrook stuff."

This means that by supporting Market Day (10% commission to the school) and box tops (maybe $3 per participating family per year) that the parent's charitable contribution has been taken care of in it's entirety.

These fundraisers take the place of school gift wrap and catalog fundraisers with significantly higher sales like Sally Foster or Innisbrook.  I don't think her opinion is uncharacteristic.  I believe most parents that contribute something, believe they should feel good about their contribution and they should!  If you volunteer in your child's classroom once a month, you still do a good thing despite the fact that you're not there every single day.

So, I get it. 

The challenge is two fold.  Give parents a way to feel as if they've contributed but allow the contribution to make a big impact!  In doing so, market day and box tops would come after a school fundraising catalog (full disclosure - this is my company) fundraiser for instance.  At least, that's the logic.  The rational is that a parent is raising $100 for their school in just two weeks by participating in a catalog fundraiser for instance, while they raise just a small portion of that over the entire year with a combination of other fundraisers.

Hey, I'm not making this stuff up.  Look at the quote above again.  Then consider the financial difference that could be happening with just this one parent.  Multiply the difference contributed by the number of kids at your school. 

Then ask yourself, shouldn't be be promoting the fundraiser that brings in the most money?

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Providing fundraising reps a true 'Home'

Providing fundraising reps a true 'Home'

Anyone in the fundraising world knows that there have been a large number of changes in the industry lately. Reports in from schools running fall 2009 fundraisers with our competitors are less than stellar. It seems there were several problems including lower profit than expected, numerous backorders and vouchers and promises that were not delivered.

As a fundraising rep, you need to know that your schools will resign with you and that they feel the fundraiser was a success free from any major issues. Fall 2009 proved for many of our competitors to be a tough year where supplying a rep.

If you are a fundraising rep at another company and experienced problems in fall 2009, we can provide you a true 'home'. Last fall, we rose to the occassion lowering prices, improving product quality and providing exceptional customer service. Here is an excerpt from a former fundraising representative that is proud to call Believe home!

"Believe really does provide a full-service fundraiser! Everything was provided from collating to providing marketing materials so the amount of work I would normally have done was gone! On top of that, the entire Believe team helped communicate with my schools, empowering them with all the information I would normally have to worry about."

Another rep furthers the point:

"I love being a Believe Kids representative. It’s a wonderful company. They make it so easy and fun that it’s hard to imagine this is my job. When I meet with the decision makers at different schools, I am completely confident that everything I have promised to them will be delivered.

Providing the quality products and the best customer service in the industry is so important to Believe Kids, and it shows. We offer so much more than we need to because we know all the little extras mean so much.

Every single person in the Colorado office is upbeat, helpful, and friendly every time I call. The management is fabulous and they make me feel “part of the team” even though logistically I am far away.

Believe Kids Rocks! We are going to blow the industry away in a short period of time. You can’t be this great without everyone finding out about us!"

and finally, these inspiring words from a Believe rep after their first season working with us:

"I am thrilled to be representing BELIEVE Kids! I first heard about BELIEVE in 2004 when I stopped in to see a previous customer of mine. They had just finished their first BELIEVE fundraiser and could not stop saying enough great things about the company.

Since then, I have heard similar things about BELIEVE from other schools I've been in. The comments have ALWAYS been "over the top" positive. I would always wonder as I left the schools, "How can one company do such a great job in customer relations EVERY TIME?" It's obvious to me that BELIEVE makes customer service their Number One Priority.

On another note, This has also been the FIRST Fall season that I saw sales productivity INCREASE on a "dollars per student" basis, since 2001! It's been a long time coming. BELIEVE has a guaranteed system of success that they train the sponsors at the school to follow. When they do, sales go UP! Not bad, to see a sales increase, during a recession! This has been a delightful first semester!

We can point out how easy and effective we make school fundraising but it's not until you truly experience Believe for yourself that the full picture comes into focus. If you currently work as a school fundraising rep for Innisbrook, QSP, Cherrydale, Sally Foster or another fundraising company and have a proven track record, please find out more here.

Please accept our cordial invitation to find our more - we won't let you down!